Signs Your Baby is Hungry
One of the most common ways your baby will let you know they're hungry is to cry. Other signs your baby is ready to be fed include:
Licking their lips or sticking out their tongue
Rooting, which is moving their jaw, mouth, or head to look for your breast
Putting their hand in their mouth
Opening their mouth
Fussiness
Sucking on things
Breastfeeding Benefits for the Mother
Breastfeeding burns extra calories, so it can help you lose pregnancy weight faster. It releases the hormone oxytocin, which helps your uterus return to its pre-pregnancy size and may reduce uterine bleeding after birth. Breastfeeding also lowers your risk of breast and ovarian cancer. It may lower your risk of osteoporosis, too.
Since you don't have to buy and measure formula, sterilize nipples, or warm bottles, it saves you time and money. It also gives you regular time to relax quietly with your newborn as you bond.
Will You Make Enough Milk to Breastfeed?
The first few days after birth, your breasts make an ideal "first milk." It's called colostrum. Colostrum is thick, yellowish, and there’s not a lot of it, but there's plenty to meet your baby's nutritional needs. Colostrum helps a newborn's digestive tract develop and prepare itself to digest breast milk.
Colostrum is the first phase of breast milk, which changes over time to give your baby the nutrition they need as they grow. The second phase is called transitional milk. You make this as your colostrum is gradually replaced with the third phase of breast milk, called mature milk.
You’ll start to make transitional milk a few days after birth. By 10 to 15 days after birth, you’ll make mature milk, which gives your baby all the nutrition they need.
Most babies lose a small amount of weight in the first 3 to 5 days after birth. This is unrelated to breastfeeding.
As your baby needs more milk and nurses more, your breasts respond by making more milk. Experts recommend trying to breastfeed exclusively (no formula, juice, or water) for 6 months. If you supplement with formula, your breasts might make less milk.
Even if you breastfeed less than the recommended 6 months, it's better to breastfeed for a short time than no time at all. You can add solid food at 6 months but also continue to breastfeed if you want to keep producing milk.
Is your baby getting enough milk?
Many breastfeeding moms wonder whether their babies get enough milk for good nutrition. If your baby is getting enough breast milk they should:
Not lose more than 7% of their birth weight in the first few days after delivery
Seem content for about 1-3 hours between feedings
Have at least 6 diapers a day wet with very pale or clear pee by the time they are 7-10 days old
Are There Medical Considerations With Breastfeeding?
In a few situations, breastfeeding could cause a baby harm. Here are some reasons you should not breastfeed:
You are HIV positive. You can pass the HIV virus to your infant through breast milk.
You have active, untreated tuberculosis.
You're receiving chemotherapy for cancer.
You're using an illegal drug, such as cocaine or marijuana.
Your baby has a rare condition called galactosemia and cannot tolerate the natural sugar, called GA lactose, in breast milk.
You're taking certain prescription medications, such as some drugs for migraine headaches, Parkinson's disease, or arthritis.
Talk with your doctor before starting to breastfeed if you're taking prescription drugs of any kind. Your doctor can help you make an informed decision based on your particular medication.
Having a cold or flu should not prevent you from breastfeeding. Breast milk won't give your baby the illness and may even give antibodies to your baby to help fight off the illness.
Also, the AAP suggests that -- starting at 4 months of age -- exclusively breastfed infants, and infants who are partially breastfed and receive more than half of their daily feedings as human milk, should be supplemented with oral iron. This should continue until foods with iron, such as iron-fortified cereals, are introduced in the diet. The AAP recommends checking iron levels in all children at age 1.
Discuss supplementation of both iron and vitamin D with your pediatrician. Your doctor can guide you on recommendations about the proper amounts for both your baby and you, when to start, and how often the supplements should be taken.
Retrieved from https://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/nursing-basics#1-3
コメント