Breast care and preparation for breastfeeding

  The breast is a woman’s nursing organ. A woman’s first menstruation (menarche) occurs between the ages of 12 and 14, marking the woman’s entry into the puberty initiation period, from which the breasts also begin to develop: the nipples protrude, the breasts are slightly elevated, followed by the fusion of the breasts and areolas protrude, and then the nipples and areolas clearly protrude above the breasts and enter the sexual maturity period. The breasts and nipples of women in this period are obviously enlarged and protrude, and the breasts appear to be full, and a unique female physique appears. However, the shape of the breasts is generally about five years after the launch of puberty, that is, about 17 or 8 years old.  The correct use of bras to protect the breasts The use of bras (commonly known as bras) is not simply for aesthetic purposes, but more importantly to protect the breasts. The use of bras can reduce the impact and abrasion of external forces on the breasts, avoid and reduce the chance of inflammatory lesions and tumors in the breasts, as well as reduce the discomfort caused by the shock to the breasts during labor and sports, and not to affect the local blood circulation and breast development due to the sagging of the breasts. The bra should generally be worn about five years after the start of breast development (i.e., 17 to 18 years old) is more appropriate, prematurely wear said to affect the normal development of the breast.  During breastfeeding and after weaning are required to wear a bra, the former helps to hold up the breast, protect the nipple from infection and bacterial invasion, and help prevent the occurrence of acute mastitis, the latter can help restore the fullness of the breast shape and prevent the triggering of breast asymmetry. Therefore, the only way to meet the requirements of physiological hygiene is to wear a bra all year round and to be consistent.  The ideal bra should be soft, breathable, sweat-absorbent cotton products, the size of the fit, not too tight, the best use of a section of the horizontal belt with adjustable function “elastic band”, the strap should not be too narrow, so as not to embed the skin and affect the local blood circulation. At present, many women are fashionable to wear a bra with a wire edge to hold up the breast, in order to make the shape more beautiful, but do not choose the wrong type resulting in the two sides of the wire edge tightly pressed in the outer lower quadrant of the breast embedded in the breast and hinder the blood circulation of the breast. Some women, in order to pursue the beauty of towering breasts, often take advantage of bras to over-support the lower part of the breast, this aesthetic practice is not desirable.  The actual fact is that you can find a lot of people who are not able to get a good deal on a lot of things. This will enhance the toughness of the skin of the nipple and areola and prepare the skin for breastfeeding, as well as prevent and reduce infections caused by nipple breakage during breastfeeding.  If the nipples are sunken, you should clean them and rub them with your fingers daily, and then pull them outward, as long as you insist on doing this from the third month of pregnancy, the sunken nipples can usually be corrected. (In addition, if you are suffering from mastopathy, you should treat it early before pregnancy to facilitate the secretion and smooth flow of breast milk after delivery. In addition, if you are suffering from mastopathy, you should treat it as early as possible before pregnancy, so as to facilitate the secretion of milk after delivery.  Breastfeeding methods Early breastfeeding “Early breastfeeding” is a long-standing custom in China. The key to the success or failure of breastfeeding is how early or late the milk starts. Some experts believe that breastfeeding should start as early as one hour after birth, and it is generally considered appropriate to start breastfeeding for the first time six hours after birth. Because lactation, in addition to genetic factors, is also closely related to endocrine, because the baby’s strong sucking, through the nerve conduction can stimulate a burst of prolactin and oxytocin secretion in the mother’s body, thus promoting lactation, lactation.  Early sucking can also stimulate the increase in the number of prolactin receptors on the mammary gland, resulting in an increase in milk production. Clinically, we often see premature babies born in incubators or for other reasons, and those who are unable to start breastfeeding as early as possible after delivery, their mothers do not secrete enough milk. (If this is the case, you can use other babies or adults to help them start breastfeeding early).  The rule of breastfeeding is to give milk on demand gradually to achieve regular breastfeeding. Once the fetus is born, it is too late to adapt to the rhythm of life outside, so it should be fed day and night as needed within one month after birth. The baby is full term, the rhythm of life to normal, then there should be a regular regular feeding, generally every 3 to 4 hours to feed a milk, a day to feed 5 to 6 times is enough.  The method of breastfeeding (1) to go to the milk: before each breastfeeding, the mother should wash her hands, the nipple with a clean soft towel dipped in warm water to wipe the nipple clean, and squeeze out a few drops of milk, Chinese medicine is called “to go to the milk”. This is because the front end of the mammary ducts may have unclean material, squeeze it out and then give it to the child to suck on, both hygienic and disease prevention. After squeezing out the milk, you can open the five fingers flat. (Right hand for the left breast, left hand for the right breast) Place the fingertips on the breast and comb the breast from the top to the bottom (nipple) 3 to 5 times to unclog the milk channels and stimulate the breast to lactate before letting the baby suckle.  Each feeding time 15 to 20 minutes is appropriate, taking turns to suck the empty breast (this time the right breast first, the next time the left breast first, so that the two breasts can be balanced sucking after weaning two breasts can be equivalent to restore the beauty) If there is still surplus milk after feeding, should be squeezed out, do not feel sorry for sucking out the extra milk, know that the more empty the milk, the more milk secretion.  (2) Breastfeeding posture: Sitting: The mother rests one leg on the knee of the other leg or one foot on a small stool. The baby is reclined in the mother’s arms, and the nipple is sent to the baby’s mouth by gently holding the areola with the middle and index fingers. This will prevent the breast from blocking the baby’s nostrils or causing the baby to cough and choke due to an overly rapid milk shower.  Horizontal: Both mother and child should sleep on their sides, with the mother pillowing the baby’s head with one arm so that the nipple is on the same level as the baby’s head, while the other hand delivers the nipple to the baby’s mouth as before. If the mother wants to sleep, she should pull out the nipple to avoid blocking the baby’s nostrils with her breast.  As the mother is overworked during the day, she will easily fall asleep during the night when breastfeeding, which will cause the breast to block the baby’s nostrils or cause the baby to cough and choke due to the milk bout being too urgent, resulting in choking and accidents.  (3) Nursing care after breastfeeding Folklore has it that “hold the child after breastfeeding, so that its body is straight, fearing that weakness will cause milk overflow”, which is scientifically justified. Because the stomach is horizontal, the esophageal cardia is looser, the sphincter at the lower pylorus of the stomach is relatively tense, and the stomach capacity is small, coupled with frequent inhalation of too much air when breastfeeding, resulting in backflow of milk and vomiting. Frequent and severe spitting up will inevitably affect nutrition absorption and growth and development. So after feeding and sucking, you must gently hold the baby close to you, put the baby’s chin on your shoulder, and pat the baby’s back so that the air in the stomach is expelled, which can reduce vomiting. After feeding a breast-fed child who often spits up milk, sleep should be in a sleeping position to the right. Put a small pillow on the head and do not move and tease the baby for one hour after feeding. If the baby still vomits after careful care, or even if the vomiting is severe due to jet vomiting and gas, he/she should go to the hospital for examination to confirm whether there are congenital causes and diseases.