I wish I knew this before or during pregnancy. There is simply not enough data out there on the science of breastfeeding, in simple, practical terms. Most of the times, people rely on generational data passed from grand mothers or aunts or mothers to a new mother. Movies and videos make breastfeeding look so simple and natural, like evolution has magically prepared the mothers and babies to automatically latch like how SpaceX rockets dock on to mothership – International Space Station. Spoiler Alert – Nope, it’s not that simple (you heard that right, not as simple as rocket science).
There is no need to panic, though. A little bit of research, historical data, common sense, patience, and perseverance, would be more than enough, most of the times. Trust me- you master this, 75% of new parenting (~first 6 months) is covered. This is if you plan to exclusively breastfeed your baby for the first 5-6 months (highly recommend it, doctors do too).
First, let me explain what do nurses do immediately after you give birth. Roughly after 20 minutes of delivery, the baby is ready for it’s first every yummy mummy food, your milk. And the first milk is called colostrum, and it’s very nutritious and loaded with all the goodness necessary for the baby. It may not look like a lot of milk, but the baby seems content. Now, not all babies latch on to mummies immediately. And different nurses from different shifts will teach you different positions – football position, cradling, turn this side, that side, upside down, keep pillows etc etc..trust me, it was super crazy trying to hold the tiny baby in one hand and recollecting all the videos that you had seen in your preparation for this moment – meanwhile your partner trying to keep everything together, when the nurse is giving the family a stern look – it’s chaos.
So now- let’s try to fix this. I’m never into doing a lot of research pre-birth. I feel it could add to the stress, combined with the once in a generation pandemic. But this is one topic, I wish I had done the research pre-delivery.
Read about:
- Breastfeeding positions
- Nipple shields
- Breastfeeding pillow (yes, it’s a separate pillow)
- Pumping (Very Very important)
I’ll go into each of the above topics in detail in separate posts, but let me give you a quick summary.
Breastfeeding positions:
There are many, but I feel the regular cradling the baby position should work if done confidently. I was too nervous and wanted to be careful around the baby – and did whatever the nurses told me to do, and nurses’ shifts keep rotating and everyone has their own (very different) opinion on what’s the best way to do it. So my 2 cents – do your research, and be more confident. You and your intuition are equipped with way more than you believe (okay, this may be evolution ?!)
Nipple shields:
Now, as soon as the baby is ready to have their first feed, the lactation consultant would come in, and try guiding you to feed the baby. But if it’s not successful in the first 10 minutes – they’ll give you something called nipple shield. This is basically a silicone object that sits on the mother’s breast and acts as if an Engorgio spell (Harry Potter reference – a magical charm that engorges objects) has been cast and the nipple has been magnified so the tiny baby can latch on easily. Now the trick – hospitals will generally have a specific brand – most probably from the company called Medela – to hand it to you, and will recommend you to use it if the baby has difficulty latching on the mother. The problem – which I found out 1 month later, after the baby never got enough milk from me and was constantly hungry and the internet kept saying it’s just “cluster feeding” (google that now – tldr; it means the baby keeps feeding constantly to increase the milk supply – basic supply and demand economics). But the actual problem, which I figured after a month, was the Medela nipple shield (which has like 3 holes, to let the milk out) restricted the milk flow too much, and the baby was getting milk way too slowly, and hence constantly hungry. I mean I feel so bad that the baby had to work so hard all day long!
The moment I changed the nipple shield to a different brand – called Mam, which had a larger opening for the milk to flow through, instead of the 3 dots – it was magic, the baby started getting the right amount of milk and I started to get some sleep.
So do your research, keep a few brands of nipple shields ready in your hospital go-bag, so that you are not dependent on the one given by hospital (if at all nipple shield becomes necessary). And be confident, don’t be afraid to ask questions.
Breastfeeding pillow:
Ah the brestfriend (it’s an actual product – here) – this is way better than positioning the baby with the help of 27 pillows – trust me, they are tiny! Buy this and get it to the hospital, you will thank me.
Pumping:
And the most important topic of this post – If you are a working professional, and plan on going back to work after your parental leave – you need milk stash. I made the mistake of thinking – “I’m gonna work from home, so I would not need to pump and store milk, will do that if and when needed” – Nope! You are going to have work related stuff, and home related stuff. Someone other than the mother should be able to feed the baby with mother’s milk from bottle. Pump from week 1. Go home, set up the machine – and this is tricky – first time parents (including me and my partner) get so flustered looking at the complex setup of pumping machine. Persevere – it looks tricky, but after a couple of times, you get the hang of it. And remember – most health insurance companies provide one for free – so talk to your health insurance company before delivery, and have the set up ready. You will thank me when your partner or family member is feeding the baby at night and your are reading a book in your bed, ready to sleep.
To recap – do your research on:
- Breastfeeding positions
- Nipple shields
- Breastfeeding pillow
- Pumping machine
Pattu Mommy 