Why do you want to start breastfeeding early? Because children need to eat and because breastfeeding is good. The benefits of breastfeeding are familiar, but the most crucial benefit is that breast milk is the most suitable for infants.
We know that newborns are characterized by two major systems that are immature, which two systems? The immune system and the digestive system. Immaturity of the immune system makes the child prone to infections and allergies; immaturity of the digestive system makes the child prone to diarrhea or constipation.
For example, when infants have diarrhea, the mechanical barrier function of the intestinal tract decreases, and large heterogeneous proteins are more likely to pass through the intestinal barrier, inducing allergic diseases in newborns; probiotics, which promote immune function, can simultaneously promote the digestion and absorption of nutrients.
In response to the immaturity of the immune system, breast milk contains a variety of immunoglobulins, especially secretory IgA, which can adhere to the mucosal surface of the digestive and respiratory tracts, forming an immune barrier in the intestine and preventing the two most common infectious diseases in infants – infant diarrhea and infant pneumonia. Breast milk contains bifidogenic factor (a kind of prebiotic), which can promote the growth and reproduction of probiotic bacteria, which form the biological barrier of the intestine, and the more beneficial bacteria, the less harmful bacteria. Infectious diarrhea kills 5 million people worldwide every year, mostly in infants aged 6 to 12 months, and is less common in breastfed children than in artificially fed children, which is related to the fact that breast milk is rich in more than 100 kinds of oligosaccharides (prebiotics).
In response to the immaturity of the digestive system, breast milk provides the right ratio of each nutrient that is easily digested and absorbed. For example, calcium/phosphorus is 2/1 (milk is 1.2/1); whey protein/casein is 60/40; linoleic acid/linolenic acid is 5-15/1; polyunsaturated fatty acids/saturated fatty acids are 0.3-0.9/1.
The child absorbs well (good digestive system) and does not get sick (good immune system), the body will naturally develop well, and the IQ will be higher. This is why the World Health Organization and UNICEF believe that breastfeeding is the scientific method of child-rearing.
The key to successful breastfeeding is early contact, early sucking and early initiation. Early sucking is the most important of the “three mornings” and should generally be done within half an hour after delivery, because this is the golden opportunity to start breastfeeding early, the later the first breastfeeding, the less milk. But early sucking is not the same as frequent sucking, early contact and early sucking is the basis for early start and more lactation, sufficient sleep and balanced nutrition is also the basis for early start and more lactation. If a woman is fatigued, depressed, underfed or weak, she is likely to have spasms of the smooth muscle of the milk ducts, which can cause a significant lack of milk. During the first three days after delivery, suck on the nipple 10 times a day for 15 minutes each time, and the baby should suck on one breast for 5 to 10 minutes. If the nipple is sucked too often at the beginning, it will cause nipple edema and nipple cracking, which will affect the mother’s rest and also affect the smooth lactation, discharge and breastfeeding in the future.
Most experts advocate on-demand breastfeeding, i.e., irregular and variable amounts, with the mother fully feeding her newborn, not specifying the number of times and the time of breastfeeding, eating whenever she wants, giving when the child is hungry or when her breasts are swollen, and gradually becoming regular, but breastfeeding should not be <8 times a day, and should not stop at night.
Indicators of adequate breast milk: ①Mother’s breasts are full, with thick milk and soft breasts after breastfeeding. ②The child has a strong sucking force, with several to a dozen gulps of milk, and after a few minutes, the force is gradually weakened and slow, and finally the nipple is released or only the nipple is held. ③The mother has the feeling of breastfeeding. ④The baby falls asleep quietly and no longer cries or automatically lets go of the nipple and starts to play. ⑤ Normal stool, 2 to 4 times a day, golden yellow, paste-like or thick porridge-like. ⑥Diapers are wet more than 6 times in 24 hours. ⑦The baby’s weight gain is obvious. However, it should be noted that after birth, due to water loss and fetal stool weight loss, from the 10th day after birth weight only began to increase, at full term can increase by more than 600 grams.
Indicators of insufficient breastmilk: ① The mother feels her breasts are empty or they are still swollen after breastfeeding, which means the baby is not sucking enough and the breasts are soft after full breastfeeding. ②The baby does not sleep well, cries just after eating or soon after falling asleep, turns her head back and forth looking for the nipple, and has frequent hunger cries or is unresponsive. ③The baby takes a long time to feed, sucks hard but cannot hear the swallowing sound, sometimes the baby will suddenly let go of the nipple and cry. ④The baby’s bowel movements are less frequent and the amount is significantly insufficient. ⑤ The baby’s weight gain is slow, and the weight loss is more than 7% of the birth weight. The average weight gain of the baby is less than 150 grams in the first week, and less than 200 grams per week for 2 to 3 months.
Causes of insufficient breast milk
1.Improper feeding. ①No early sucking, early opening of milk, no nursing on demand or no feeding at night, so that the number of sucking and time is not enough. ②Infants with poor oral motor function, such as premature babies or babies with cleft lip. ③Mother and baby are separated, lack of sucking stimulation, and not emptying the breast in time. ④Incorrect breastfeeding posture and poor latching cause cracked nipples, swollen breasts, and reluctance to let the newborn suck due to pain. ⑤ Adding complementary foods too early. Some mothers feed their babies milk and sugar water due to low milk secretion, resulting in less sucking and less breast milk.
2. Improper guidance. Medical staff did not often go down to the ward to give guidance and encouragement to breastfeeding. Regular sucking can stimulate the secretion of prolactin to make milk secretion early and abundant, maintain the amount of milk and prevent milk distention.
3. Temporary insufficient secretion. Such as fatigue, depression, weakness, placenta residue, menstruation recovery, low thyroid function of the mother; use of drugs that affect lactation, such as birth control pills, whey cream; poor nutrition due to the mother eating little and partial food.
Eating hen stew too early after giving birth. After giving birth, the estrogen and progesterone in the blood drop greatly, which facilitates the lactogenic effect of prolactin, but the ovaries and eggs of hens contain estrogen, which can inhibit the effect of prolactin. So generally after the birth of a child to 10 to 14 days later or when the milk is sufficient to eat hen.
4, the influence of psychosocial factors. Some mothers lack self-confidence, thinking that their breasts are small, flattened nipples, sunken, impossible to breastfeed. Some mothers are overly worried about the lack of milk, fear that breastfeeding will change the body shape, dissatisfied with the sex of the newborn, family discord, poor mood leading to their own reluctance to breastfeeding. There are also some because there is no special breastfeeding room in the workplace or breastfeeding affects the satisfaction of the boss.
5, other reasons for insufficient breast milk. Such as mammary gland dysplasia, history of surgery; nipple depression; re-pregnancy during breastfeeding.
Mammary gland obstruction. Foreign mothers with less breast massage to take milk after examination, the results found that more than 80% of the mother’s milk with chemical fiber and wool, which is due to wearing chemical fiber fabrics and wool for the shirt, bra directly with the breast friction, so that the tiny fibers, wool off and blocked the mammary ducts, resulting in poor discharge of milk caused by insufficient milk.
Reasons why babies refuse breast milk
① Do not like the smell of soap or soap nipples. The increase in secretion of sweat and sebaceous glands under the areola after pregnancy will cause the skin surface to acidify and soften the stratum corneum, making the nipples soft. The soap cleanser will wash away the oil that lubricates the skin, alkalize the breast skin, promote the growth of alkalophilic bacteria, make the local skin of the breast acidification disorder, resulting in dry and hard skin, prone to nipple cracking.
The actual fact is that you will be able to get a lot more than just a few of the most popular and most popular items. The immune system of infants is very fragile, adding protein-based complementary foods too early can easily cause allergic reactions, adding unnecessary burden to the not yet sound digestive system and kidney function. You can wait until four months later, when the infant can sit by itself without support, show great interest in eating, and start to reach out and grab food before feeding.
③ Nipple illusion. If the baby uses a bottle too early after birth, because the nipple is long and saves effort and pain, the baby will find it difficult to hold the mother’s nipple when it is used to the bottle nipple and then suck on it, and will be reluctant to suck on the mother’s nipple.
It is not necessary for a while. Babies do not necessarily want to eat in the first few days of life, and their appetite will change at any time, sometimes eating more, sometimes eating less, because low-quality milk powder contains several times more protein, fat, minerals than breast milk, the newborn’s digestive system is not yet mature, which can cause indigestion. This is done by feeding the baby according to his needs, and after a few weeks of bonding, a feeding schedule will automatically develop.
⑤ Milk tastes bad after exercise. Lactic acid is produced in the mother’s body during exercise, and lactic acid retained in the blood will make the milk taste bad. Lactic acid can be produced by exercise of moderate intensity or more, so it is advisable for the nursing woman to engage in gentle exercise and rest for half an hour after exercise before breastfeeding.
(6) The newborn is sick. Such as intracranial hemorrhage, neonatal jaundice, neonatal anemia or vomiting, diarrhea, intestinal colic, intestinal flatulence, etc. make the infant’s appetite decrease.
It can be seen that successful breastfeeding is not a simple matter, it involves physiological, pathological, psychological and social, involving the mother, the baby and the health care provider, involving rest, nutrition and human awareness. Breastfeeding is not only the child’s natural human right, but also a heavy mother’s love!