Why breast feed?

The feeling of being pregnant and the feeling of a life growing inside you is beyond words. But as soon as the baby comes into the world, the mothers gets more and more conscious about taking care of their child in a best possible way. Doctors keep giving advices to new mothers about what to do and what not, yet there are few things the mothers keep worrying about.

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Parentune.com, a pro-parent community, organized a workshop to clear some basic doubts of mothers on how to take care of your new born baby. Dr.Neha Joshi, pediatrician at Shri Ram Bhartia, Qutub institutional area, who participated in the workshop, guided the mothers on what is the better way to feed and why breast feed is the best feed for the baby.

Breast-feed: Breast milk is the best milk. There is no other alternative to it. Breast milk is species specific and changes with season and with time. It helps you bond emotionally with the baby and provides the best care and nutrition to them. No matter where you are and whom you are consulting, whether its American Academy of Pediatrician, Indian Academy of Pediatrician or any other health organization, no one would suggest you to stop breast feed before six initials months of your baby, hence, it is strictly recommended.

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Breast feed is responsible for providing a lot of defensive enzymes, white-blood cells, immunoglobulin’s etc. which plays a vital role in preventing ear and eyes infections, diarrhea, cold, cough asthma and a lot of allergic issues etc. Breast feeding not only plays an important role in building immunity of the infants, but its effects last till adulthood. It also participates in ideal growth development. A lot of nutrition is present in freshly produced milk which is delivered in right temperature and right quantity suited to the needs of the baby. It can never be compensated for any other product, be it cow milk or an alternative milk product.

Certain facts to know about breast feeding:

When you deliver a baby, the first secretion which comes out from your nipple is colostrums, which is highly thick secretion and rich in vitamins and certain anti-bodies for your baby. This secretion is for protection of your baby which would protect it when it is exposed to the outer world too. The secretion of this liquid differs from mother to mother, for some it would long for 48 hours and for some it can last up to a week. This is something needed to be understood by the mothers because they live in a myth that they aren’t producing any milk and the baby is hungry.

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Colostrums is designed in a way by the nature that it is produced in small quantities, so that your baby demands more frequently and you get more bonded with the baby and that sets a stage for repeated stimulus to the mothers to enable easy lactation and right quantity of it for the baby.

Transitional Milk: This milk is secreted for first two weeks. This is to help the baby in receiving initial immunity requirements and nutritional requirements. As time passes by, the sugar and the fat quantity in the milk increases, this is to take care of the satiety of the baby and allow the mother and baby to set in.

Mature Milk: This milk consists of two components, fore milk takes care of the thirst of the baby; it is rich in protein, water, electrolyte and sugar. As the lactation proceeds and the mother continues to feed, towards the end the mother produces behind milk, which is rich in fats and takes care of the satiety of the baby. It is important when the mother feeds that she finishes feeding from one breast completely and then move on to another, so that the baby can derives benefits of both components of the mature milk. Therefore, it is not recommended that you try five minutes on one side and move on to another.

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Rooting and sucking reflexes: When you introduce the nipple to the baby’s mouth, it will start sucking it. The baby’s mouth has inbuilt reflexes to initiate feeding. When you touch the baby’s upper lips or chin, it tries to locate the thing which has touched it, this is called rooting reflex. This can be easily used to stimulate the baby and began with the feeding. Sucking reflex is when you touch the nipple with the roof of the mouth; it allows the baby to suckle the object in the baby’s mouth. So using these two reflexes is an easy way to initiate and sustain feeding.

Lastly, it is really important for the mothers to feel at peace. The warmth, the sight, the sound and the touch of the baby stimulates a gland in your brain to secrete the milk and eject it. So, the more you stress yourself the more you stop yourself from producing milk. Remember; make your baby grab the complete nipple to suck, as even half hold of it would not help you to produce milk.

Enjoy the motherhood as there is nothing more special than this and remember your babies are not going to stay the same forever, so cherish the moments you have.

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