General Information About Breast Feeding

A large part of knowing how and why to breast feed begins with knowing exactly how the process works

. A woman's breast is pretty much a large gland. Size has nothing to do with how much milk is created or how well a woman can breast feed; size depends upon the fatty tissues surrounding the inner system. Cells inside the breast called aveoli create milk as a reaction to the hormone prolactin. A hormone Oxytocin makes small muscles around the aveoli to tighten and move milk through small tubes that lead to the areola and nipple.

Breast feeding is the natural way for infants to eat. After the birth a mother's breast milk offers all of the nutrients a baby needs as well as hormones, disease fighting antibodies and cells. These give the baby a healthy start to life. Infant formula does not match the chemical design of breast milk and may not offer what a baby needs and is not as easy on an infant's stomach as a mothers breast milk.

The first three to five days after birth a woman makes a thick yellow hued milk called colostrum, this milk contains a large amount of nutrients and antibodies that are very helpful to newborns. After a woman is finished creating colostrum the milk begins to thin out and become whiter to better suit the babies needs. A mother's milk always offers the exact amount of nutrients, fats and sugars that her newborn needs.

A problem a few new mothers encounter is a difficult latching issue. The infant may not latch properly and cause pain to the mother. The infant may only be sucking the nipple and not getting an adequate amount of milk.

After breast feeding the nipple should not be compressed or flat, the nipple should the same as it did before feeding or long and rounded. Keep in mind that babies are born with the knowledge of how to latch.

Breast feeding shouldn't hurt it should be a comfortable experience that brings a woman her child closer to one another. It is best to breast feed as soon after the baby is born as possible. If the woman gives a natural birth then it is best for the woman to breast feed immediately after and delay any procedures that don't need to take place immediately, this will help the infant to know who its mother is.

It is helpful for mothers to learn how their babies act when they are hungry, generally infants become more alert and active when they are hungry and will do things like put their fists and hands to their mouth or make sucking motions they may even turn side to side as though looking for a breast, crying is a late sign of hunger. An easy way for a mother to learn her child's hunger signs is to keep the baby in your hospital room with you over night.

by: Eddie Lamb

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