Are Contractions and After-Pains Normal?
When breastfeeding after pregnancy you will feel some uterine contractions when your baby begins to nurse. These contractions are also called after-pains. With nipple stimulation, your uterus regains its tone and expels excess blood, so you may also feel a simultaneous gush of blood on your sanitary pad. These contractions are a normal occurrence... [Read more...]
Breastfeeding Benefits to the Mother
We always hear about the benefits of breastfeeding for the child, and the benefits on the mother/child relationship. There are also substantial benefits to the mother, independently. Breastfeeding stimulates a woman’s body to release the hormone oxytocin. This becomes important in a couple of ways in the days immediately after the birth of the baby.... [Read more...]
Breastfeeding while Pregnant
Pregnancy and lactation are quite compatible and continued breastfeeding helps the older child feel secure during a time of change. During your pregnancy you and your toddler will have to accommodate some changes. Beginning about the fourth month of pregnancy your breast milk may decrease in volume and begin to change to colostrum. Your toddler may... [Read more...]
Breast Crawl – How to initiate breastfeeding
This video has been produced by UNICEF to save the lives of babies by making sure they have what they need to begin breastfeeding in the first few moments of life. And what they need is to be placed on their mother, naked skin to naked skin, and left to get on with it. Do make sure you stay with it until you see the latch happening at the end. All... [Read more...]
Small Milk Storage Capacity
If you have a small breast milk storage capacity, it is no reason to worry that you may not be able to supply enough nutrition for your child. You will have no trouble providing all the needed nutrition for your child but it will be on a different rhythm than mothers having a larger capacity. One breast or two – Mothers with a smaller breast... [Read more...]
Should I donate my breast milk?
All babies can benefit from the nourishment in breast milk, but in babies born premature, before the 37th week of pregnancy , the benefit can be much more pronounced. These tiny infants can substantially benefit from human milk’s rich nutrients and disease-fighting protection. Breast milk is also beneficial for babies with failure to thrive,... [Read more...]
Excellent feeding
How much milk is your child consuming is a question that concerns every mother regardless of experience. This video (the first in a set of four) show an excellent feeding. Watch the jaw and cheek muscles on this child as large amounts of milk are being extracted from the mother’s breasts. This child will likely feed for only a few minutes before... [Read more...]
Breastmilk Weaning and Diarrhoea
Weaning a Critical Time for Diarrhea Transmission Infants are at greatest risk of diarrhea when foods other than breast milk are first given. This is because during weaning infants are being exposed to food-borne germs for the first time and they are losing the protection of breast milk which has anti-infective properties. High levels of contamination... [Read more...]
Excessive Leaking of Milk
Most women experience some leaking of milk when their milk ejection reflex is triggered. Most commonly milk will begin to drip from one breast while your child nurses at the other. Women also experience different triggers, for example some women find that their milk ejection is triggered during lovemaking. If you find that milk leaking embarrassing... [Read more...]
Can I stay a vegetarian while breastfeeding?
Being a vegetarian will not affect your ability to produce milk. However if you are following a more strict vegan diet as opposed to lacto-vegetarianism or lacto-ovo-vegetarianism, be sure to consult with a nutritionist to make sure that you are consuming a balanced diet for your baby. Vegan should be sure that their diet includes proper amounts of: Vitamin... [Read more...]
