What every Mother Should Know about Breastfeeding
Breast milk is the perfect food for your infant providing the appropriate quality, availability and quantities of protein, carbohydrates and fats. All milk is not created equal. If possible infants should be breast fed as soon as they are born. The actual milk is only produced two or three, possibly four days post partum. In the meantime, the breasts produce a thick creamy yellow fluid called colostrum. Colostrum is low in fat and high in carbohydrates, protein and antibodies. It is also high in calcium, potassium, minerals and fat-soluble vitamins. It is extremely easy to digest so it is the best first food to babies. It has a laxative effect so it helps the baby pass its first stool easily and also helps pass the excess bilirubin and also help prevent jaundice. It is only produced in little quantity but is has concentrated levels of nutrients. After the first three or so days, the mother starts producing transitional milk, a mixture of colostrum and mature milk, with the colostrum decreasing until the mother is producing mature milk.
Mature breast milk contains fat, carbohydrates, milk proteins and sugars. The composition of milk changes constantly, it is different in the morning than it is at night, and it is dependant on the mother’s hydration and diet. You cannot put into breast milk what the mother has not got. As a guide, breast milk provides about 3000-3200kJ per litre, with a range of good fats, including essential fatty acids, triacylglycerols and phospholipids. There is also a small amount of cholesterol in breast milk. The fat content of milk is about 35%. Milk protein, in the form of casein, in complex with calcium makes up about 2.5% of the breast milk. The whey is composed of a variety of other proteins, including immunoglobins, as well as the milk sugar lactose, vitamins (mainly water soluble) and some minerals. The whey of breast milk may stimulate insulin release and this may explain recent research that suggests breastfed babies are less likely to become obese later in life. The amount of lactose in breast milk increases as the baby gets older, as they need more carbohydrates for energy as they start becoming more active and mobile.
Breast milk is best for your baby and is beneficial even if you only breastfeed for a short amount of time, or part-time. It is recommended to breastfeed a baby on breast milk or baby formula until he/she is at least 1-year-old.
Benefits of Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is important and studies continue to show its benefits, for both baby and mother. It contains immune boosting antibodies and healthy enzymes that scientists have yet to replicate. Studies have shown that breast milk:
- Protects against allergies and eczema. If there's a history of either in the family, it may be especially beneficial to breastfeed. Proteins in cow's milk and soy milk formulas can stimulate an allergic reaction in babies, while the proteins in human breast milk are more easily digested.
- Causes less stomach upset, diarrhoea, and constipation than formula. This too is because breast milk is so easy for baby's digestive system to break down and also because formula can be mixed incorrectly leading to dehydration and even infection.
- Reduces the risk of urinary tract infections, inflammatory bowel disease, gastroenteritis, ear infections, and respiratory infections. This is because it contains antibodies from the mother and also because the milk is naturally sterile, unlike formulas which may be rendered unsterile by incorrect mixing and handling methods.
- Breastfed babies are less likely to develop colic.
- Could help prevent obesity. Some studies show that breastfed infants are less likely to be obese later in life and also that breastfeeding women are less likely to become obese later in life. This may be due to the insulin-stimulating effect of the whey of the breast milk.
- Brings the baby closer to the mother. Bottle fed babies form bonds with their parents too, of course, but the skin-to-skin contact of breastfeeding is reassuring to a newborn. Formula feeding mothers can achieve the same effect by cradling the baby against their skin as they feed.
Breastfeeding considerations
Breastfeeding does not always come naturally or easily to mothers. It can be painful, or uncomfortable and some women dislike it. However, it is important for women, if they are able, to attempt feeding their baby, particularly in technique, support and a good diet. To improve a woman’s chances of feeding successfully:
- Get a lactation consultant involved. In many places they are available in maternity wards before women go home. They can also be accessed later through child health clinics and breast feeding associations. They can help with encouragement, difficult feeders, problems with let down and latching and problems associated with poor latching.
- Ensure the mother has support from her partner, friends and family. While they can’t feed the baby, they can assist her with other tasks to ensure she has sufficient rest between feeds and is comfortable and hydrated while feeding.
- Attend to poor latching and suckling early to limit damage to the mother’s nipples and problems like mastitis.
- Try to avoid supplemental feeding with formula, or bottle feeding of expressed milk as long as possible. Often, the teats/nipples on bottles require the baby to make less effort to feed, this can lead to a preference for the bottle and fussing and difficult feeding at the breast.
- If the mother is producing large amounts of milk, expressing some off can ease discomfort; it can also help promote milk production in women who are struggling to produce enough milk.
- If the mother is expressing milk, try feeding it to the baby with a finger feeder or cup, rather than a bottle.
- Be educated and avoid myths and misconceptions about feeding. You can feed from only one side if you need to, you don’t have to stop feeding if you have mastitis and so on.
