Breastfeeding: 6 tips to get off to a flying start

Most women agree: breastfeeding is a great start to life for your baby. When you're pregnant and planning to breastfeed for the first time, you can feel a little anxious because there are a lot of things you need to think of and take into consideration. Don't worry too much though. Here are 6 golden tips for a relaxed breastfeeding period.

1. Your body is designed for it

When you're pregnant, you can't miss the changes in your breasts. Your nipples get very sensitive and maybe the veins are more visible. But the most noticable change is the increase of breast tissue (and subsequently your cup size).
When your baby is born, your breasts aren't full of milk yet and they're not supposed to either. The baby's stomach is too little to deal with a full-on milk production. Mother and baby are tuned into each other and you won't produce more milk than the baby needs at a certain time.

2. Do it yourself

Often other people (the maternity nurse or obstetric aid) will place the baby at your breast. Try to avoid this and do it yourself. It's OK to accept help, but you can do it yourself. It's your baby and it's your body. If you don't feel the need to ask for help, don't let it be forced upon you.

3. Keep an eye on your baby

A lot of mothers that breastfeed for the first time feel anxious, especially about whether their baby is getting enough milk. There are a few things you can keep an eye on. If the following things apply to your baby, you shouldn't be worried:

• Your baby is happy: it doesn't cry often and sleeps well
• Your baby has wet diapers regularly: hard to specify with the new generation of diapers, but when checking before or after a feed, there has to be some urine in the diaper.
• Your baby is growing according to its growth curve.

So relax. A relaxed mother will have more milk production and breastfeeding will be easier.

4. Keep an eye on yourself

Your nipples are being used in a whole new way. They're not used to be stretched out for about five centimeters, ending up in an infant's throat. The milk ejection reflex is also a feeling you've never experienced before. It's not a painful feeling as such, but it can be uncomfortable and overwhelming at first. That being said, breastfeeding should never be painful. If you're in a great deal of pain when your baby latches on, there's something else going on. Maybe your baby is positioned incorrectly, it hasn't latched on properly or it may have a fungal infection. Don't struggle with these serious problems on your own.

5. When needed, get help

Don't keep fretting on your own, but get help when you experience one of the following:

• You're experiencing pain when breastfeeding
• Your baby isn't happy
• Your baby cries a lot
• Your baby is constantly restless

You can get help at your infant welfare centre or you can ask your GP for help. There are also lactation consultants. They'll visit you regularly to identify the exact problem. Of course your friends can also help, but the same rule applies: don't let them mess with your head. Different people have different views and recommendations.

6. All tips above are recommendations

Should you offer your baby one or both breasts? How long and how often does your baby has to breastfeed? Should you feed your baby at its own request or according to a schedule? Can you offer a pacifier or is that the worst thing you could do?
If you were to follow each 'rule' about breastfeeding, you would soon lose all good spirits. The most important rule is that you and your baby are unique and have to make up your own rules. Read books and listen to other lactating mothers and try out what works for you. Try to discover your own rhythm, a very own system that works for the both of you. Do you like to be punctual, then breastfeed according to a schedule. If your baby wants to eat often, let it determine when it wants to eat. A fast drinker may be finished after only six minutes while a less hungry baby may take twenty minutes to finish. 
You have to go with the flow, and when you embrace that concept, your breastfeeding period will be easier and more relaxed.

Sources: www.todio.nl