Health And Diet

The nutritional requirements for the baby will relysoley on the breast milk, and therefore the mother willneed to maintain a healthy diet. If the baby is large and grows fast, the fat stores gained by themother during pregnancy can be depleted quickly, meaning that she may have trouble eating good enoughto maintain and develop sufficient amounts of milk.

This type of diet normally involves a high calorie,high nutrition diet which follows on from that in pregnancy. Even though mothers in famine conditionscan produce milk with nutritional content, a motherthat is malnourished may produce milk with lackinglevels of vitamins A, D, B6, and B12.

If they smoke, breast feeding mothers must use extreme caution. More than 20 cigarettes a day hasbeen shown to reduce the milk supply and cause vomiting,diarrhoea, rapid heart rate, and restlessness in the infants. SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) is more common in babies that are exposed to smoke.

Heavy drinking is also known to harm the imfant, aswell as yourself. If you are breast feeding, you should avoid alcohol or consume very small amounts ata time.

The excessive consumption of alcohol by the mother canresult in irritability, sleeplessness, and increasedfeeding in the infant. Moderate use, normally 1 - 2cups a day normally produces no effect. Therefore, mothers that are breast feeding are advised to avoidcaffeine or restrict intake of it.

By following a healthy diet and limiting your intakeof the above, you'll ensure that your baby gets theright nutrients during your time of breast feeding. This stage of life is very important - as you don'twant anything to happen to your baby.

Getting Started With Breast Feeding

When you hold your baby for the first time in thedelivery room, you should put his lips to yourbreast. Although your mature milk hasn't developedyet, your breasts are still producing a substanceknown as colostrum that helps to protect your baby from infections.

If your baby has trouble finding or staying on your nipple, you shouldn't panic. Breast feeding isan art that will require a lot of patience and alot of practice. No one expects you to be an expert when you first start, so you shouldn't hesitate to ask for advice or have a nurse show youwhat you need to do.

Once you start, keep in mind that nursing shouldn'tbe painful. When your baby latches on, pay attentionto how your breasts feel. If the latching on hurts, break the suction then try again.

You should nurse quite frequently, as the moreyou nurse the more quickly your mature milk willcome in and the more milk you'll produce. Breastfeeding for 10 - 15 minutes per breast 8 - 10 timesevery 24 hours is an ideal target. Crying is asign of hunger, which means you should actually feed your baby before he starts crying.

During the first few days, you may have to wakeyour baby to begin breast feeding, and he may endup falling asleep during feeding. To ensure thatyour baby is eating often enough, you should wakehim up if it has been four hours since the last time he has been fed.

Getting comfortableFeedings can take 40 minutes or longer, thereforeyou'll want a cozy spot. You don't want to besitting somewhere where you will be bothered, as itcan make the process very hard.