Manna Midwives | Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding

You can do it!

Why breastfeed?

It’s the perfect food for your baby.
It protects baby from infections and diseases.
It reduces the incidence of SUDI.
It’s always available
Breastfeeding builds a strong emotional bond between you and your baby.
Helps babies brain development
Reduces the risk of eczema, allergies and asthma.
Breastfeeding has health benefits for you, reducing breast and ovarian cancer and osteoporosis.

How to prepare

The New Zealand “BreastFedNZ” app has excellent information on preparation for breastfeeding.

How to latch

Latching right from the beginning is so important to establishing a good supply

These links are informative on how to latch well.

http://kellymom.com/ages/newborn/bf-basics/latch-resources/

http://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/pregnancy-and-kids/first-year/helpful-advice-during-first-year/breastfeeding-perfect-you-and-your-baby/how-breastfeed

The second night, oh no!

There is a lot of information on the second night. This is a busy night where the baby has gotten over the birth ordeal and is now ready to establish a good supply. They miss the womb and the warmth. Don’t be tempted to feed formula. All babies do this! It is not that they haven’t got enough to eat, it is that they want to stimulate a good supply to come and they miss their close warmth of their Mum.

Here are some good links to strategies for the second and third night.

http://kellymom.com/ages/newborn/bf-basics/second-night/

http://www.beststart.org/bflinks/Res_Baby's%20Second%20Night.pdf

How much do they need?

Newborns need very little in the first few days if they are a healthy newborn. They are born with extra fat called brown fat and this tides them over in the first few days while Mummy's milk is coming. The colostrum has more calories than the milk coming through. The picture below shows how small the newborn stomach initially is and how little they need.