Breastfeeding Information

Hunger Cues
Signs of a Good Latch
Signs of a Good Feeding
Breastfeeding — What Does it Mean for Baby
Breastfeeding — What Does it Mean for Mum

Hunger Cues

Babies show several cues in readiness for breastfeeding.  Tuning into your baby’s cues will make your feeding more successful and satisfying for both you and your baby. 

Your baby does not have to cry to let you know he is hungry. CRYING is the last hunger cue.

Awakening
Soft sounds
Mouthing (licking lips, tongue out, licking lips)
Rooting (turning the head towards the breast and opening the mouth)
Hand to Mouth activity
Crying beginning softly and gradually growing in intensity.

Try to catch your baby’s signals early in the cycle of feeding cues and begin breastfeeding.  Catching baby at early stages of feeding cues will lead to a less stressful baby and a much more pleasant experience for everyone.

Signs of a Good Latch

Both the upper and lower lips are flanged (rolled out).

All or most of the mother’s areola is in the baby’s mouth (at least 1” from the base of the nipple).

Mother is comfortable throughout the feeding.  There may be some latch-on pain that subsides quickly.

There is movement in the baby’s temples with sucking and the jaw moves up and down an inch or more.

There is slight movement of the mother’s skin near the baby’s lips.

Signs of a Good Feeding

Hearing swallowing at least every third suck.

Noticing that the breast get softer after feedings.

Appropriate output for age.  (1 wet nappy on Day 1,  2 wet nappy on Day 2, 3 wet nappies on Day 3,  etc up to day 6 when baby should have 6-10 wet nappies per day and several stools per day.)

Feeling strong, deep, “pulling,” sucking.

Seeing milk in the baby’s mouth.

Leaking from the other breast or feeling of a “let-down” reflex.

Feedings can be up to 30 minutes long on each breast depending on baby.

Breastfeeding – What Does it Mean for Baby

Breastfeeding is the normal way to feed a baby, and so provides optimal nutrition for your baby. 

Breast milk strengthens a baby's immune system and protects against many kinds of infection. Breast milk is full of antibodies that protect babies from bacteria and viruses. If you breastfeed, that means your baby is less likely to develop ear infections, diarrhea, or respiratory illnesses -- which in turn means fewer visits to the doctor. Breast milk also seems to boost a baby's immune system, so that babies have a better response to their immunization injections.

Breast milk may help protect against serious diseases such as leukemia and diabetes. In 1999 researchers at the University of Minnesota reported that primarily breastfeeding during infancy for any duration was associated with a 21 percent reduction in the risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia. Babies who were breastfed for more than six months had the lowest risk. A larger study, published in 2004, found that breastfeeding also helps protect against another form of leukemia, known as acute myeloblastic leukemia. Also in 2004, researchers in Lithuania reported that breastfeeding for longer than two months helps protect against Type 1 diabetes.

Breastfeeding protects children from obesity. Breast milk provides the right amount of fat, protein, and other components that babies need for optimal growth. Breastfed babies often don't gain as much weight as formula-fed babies. Studies show that breastfed babies are less likely to be obese later in life.

Babies fed on artificial infant milk are likely to suffer more incidences of:

Stomach upsets
Coughs and colds
Ear infections
Diabetes
Asthma and eczema
Obesity (being very overweight)
High blood pressure later in life
Improper mouth formation leading to crooked teeth

Breastfeeding – What Does it Mean for Mum

Breastfeeding burns calories. Making milk requires your body to burn about 200 to 500 calories per day. That's approximately the number of calories you'd burn if you swam about 30 laps in a pool or bicycled uphill for an hour. If you had diabetes during your pregnancy, you are at an increased risk of developing diabetes later in life -- losing pregnancy weight will lower that risk.

It helps your uterus return to its normal size. When you nurse your newborn for the first time, it stimulates the release of oxytocin from your pituitary gland. This hormone not only tells the breasts to release milk to the baby (known as the milk ejection reflex, or "let-down"), but also produces contractions in the uterus. This prevents postpartum hemorrhage and helps the uterus to return to its nonpregnant size.

Breastfeeding produces a sense of calm. Prolactin, the milk-making hormone, appears to produce a special calmness in mothers. Having a newborn in the home can be very taxing, so breastfeeding may help you weather the early, stressful months more easily.

Breastfeeding reduces your risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers. In 1999,researchers at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill examined data from the Carolina Breast Cancer Study and compared the rates of breast cancer in 751 mothers who had breastfed at least once and 743 mothers who had not. The study found that the risk of breast cancer among women who had breastfed was reduced by 20 percent in women age 20 to 49 years and 30 percent in women ages 50 to 74 years, in comparison to those who had not breastfed. The researchers speculated that breastfeeding may cause structural changes in the breast that offer the protective factors. In addition, several studies suggest that breastfeeding also protects against ovarian, cervical, and endometrial cancer.

So feeding your baby formula increases your risk of:

Breast cancer
Ovarian cancer
Bone thinning (osteoporosis) in later life

It can also mean a slower return to your pre-pregnancy figure. It is more expensive because of the equipment that is needed. You have to prepare bottles which means more work.