Breastfeeding Benefits and Tips

Mothers who choose to breastfeed benefit themselves, as well as their babies. For example, one of the most important benefits a baby receives from breastfeeding is the mother’s antibodies. One of the mother’s benefits is never paying for formula, which can be expensive.

The Additional Health Benefits of Breastfeeding

For the Baby:

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, breastfeeding helps prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and reduces the possibility that the baby will become overweight/obese during childhood, develop leukemia, necrotizing enterocolitis, as well as celiac disease. Furthermore, breastfeeding decreases the likelihood that the baby will develop asthma, diabetes and allergies.

For the Mother:

Breastfeeding helps the mother lose excess weight and assists her uterus with returning to its pre-pregnancy size. When a mother breastfeeds, she decreases her likelihood of experiencing postpartum depression and delays the return of her menstrual cycle. Moreover, her risk of developing breast cancer, cardiovascular diseases, ovarian cancer, hypertension, endometrial cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and type 2 diabetes decreases.

Breastfeeding Tips: Preparing for Baby’s Arrival

During the last trimester of pregnancy, a mother who intends to breastfeed needs to begin preparing for her baby’s homecoming. Use the breastfeeding tips below to ease the transition into life as a breastfeeding mother.

4 Breastfeeding Tips—Getting Everything Ready to Bring Your Baby Home

Consider a Breastfeeding Class.

Some mothers find that taking a breastfeeding class helps them prepare for their baby’s arrival.

Have Everything Necessary for Breastfeeding Before Baby Arrives.

Purchase the items that mothers use for breastfeeding ahead of time (e.g., a breastfeeding cover, a nursing bra, soothing nipple covers and a nursing pillow).

A Complimentary Breast Pump?

Check with the hospital and health insurance company to see if they provide new mothers with a free breast pump. If not, purchasing a pump now is a good idea because, in the event that the mother needs to be away from her baby, she can pump and then store her milk.

Prior to the Baby’s Arrival, Consider Making an Appointment with the Pediatrician.

A mother who has questions about her baby and breastfeeding should consult the pediatrician who will be caring for her baby following his or her birth. Addressing concerns before the baby arrives is beneficial because once her baby is born, she will need time to recover and adjust to motherhood. Therefore, anything an expectant mother can take care of ahead of time is highly beneficial.

7 of the most common questions expectant mothers ask pediatricians include:

When should my baby be back up to his or her birth weight?
Which growth chart does the office use?
Do you think it is okay for a mother to use a nipple shield to help the baby latch on?
How often will my baby need to breastfeed?
What if I have poor milk production and have to add a supplement? Which formula do you recommend?
Would you recommend that I wake the baby so he or she can nurse during the night?
Should I limit the length of time my baby breastfeeds?

Besides all the other benefits of breastfeeding, it helps mother and baby build a strong bond. Contact Parker Pediatrics today to learn more.

Nipples, Sore

This article is an excerpt from "The Nursing Mother's Problem Solver" by Claire Martin.

Some mothers have sore nipples, even if their babies seem (to an untrained eye) to be properly latched on, with textbook-style suckling. Pain always indicates a problem that needs to be diagnosed and resolved. Breastfeeding is not normally a painful experience. With some detective work, you may be able to isolate the source of your pain and remedy the problem.

If you've had pain nursing right off the bat-nipple pain that hasn't lessened since your first nursing session-there may be a problem with positioning, latch-on, or your baby's suck. It also is possible that the problem is physical. Ask the pediatrician and/or your lactation consultant to examine your baby's mouth. She may have a high palate, or a short or tight frenulum (the tissue under the tongue) that makes it difficult for her to use her tongue.

If breastfeeding already is established, and your nipples are suddenly sore, you may have thrush. To properly diagnose thrush, both you and the baby should be examined by a lactation consultant and then by your physician. Sometimes, even if you've taken medication for thrush-lotrimin, loprox, nystatin-the thrush may still be present if you and the baby haven't been treated simultaneously for at least 2 weeks. Thrush is persistent, and it can be resistant to drugs, returning after you think that you've treated it. If you do have thrush, do not treat your nipples with hydrocortisone; it only makes your nipples even more sore.

If your nipples are red and sore, but thrush has been ruled out, another possibility is eczema of the nipples. This occurs in women with a history of eczema and dry, sensitive skin, and it usually is accompanied by burning and itching.

Sore, tender nipples also can signal pregnancy, especially if you're also exceptionally tired and nauseated. Could you have a breast inflammation or infection? Did you have mastitis? Even if you treat mastitis with penicillin, the drug may not have resolved the staph infection. If your pain is caused by a persistent staph infection, ask us about dicloxacillin, which must be taken conscientiously for 2 weeks.

Could you have a bacterial infection in your nipples? Are they cracked and refusing to heal? Those infections are painful and can lead to a bout with thrush. (See Thrush).

If you've eliminated infections, inflammation, thrush, and positioning as the culprits, you should see a dermatologist familiar with breastfeeding-related problems. (Your lactation consultant, or the local La Leche League, should be able to suggest someone.)

Tips for preventing or healing sore nipples:

Check the baby's position when she latches on. Make sure the nipple is pointing at the back of her mouth and that she's encompassing as much of the nipple and areola in her mouth as possible.
Make sure the baby's lower lip is flanged, not sucked into her mouth. Pull down his lower lip. You should be able to see his tongue between his lower lip and your nipple.
Use warm compresses and expressing a little milk to soften nipples hardened by engorgement.
Use your finger to break the baby's latch suction, rather than pulling the baby off your breast.

www.amazon.com

About the Author

Claire Martin is a parenting writer at the Denver Post. Her writing has won national and regional awards, and has appeared in publications such as the St. Petersburg Times, Good Housekeeping, and Sunset magazine. She lives in Denver with her husband and two daughters, both of whom were breastfed.