One key to breastfeeding success.
A young mother in the Breastfeeding Foundations for Your Community 20-hour course told this story.
She was recovering from giving birth in the postpartum ward and was given a feeding log and told to check a box for every breastfeed. The log had 10 boxes for each day. When she got to 10 boxes checked, she felt satisfied, “I’d fed my baby enough for the day. I checked all the boxes.”
When she was home after hospital discharge, her mother crumpled up that feeding log and threw it away. Her mother knew that newborns feed as much as they need to feed. How many times a newborn breastfeeds in 24 hours depends on the baby.
What new mothers need to hear is this: “Your newborn will breastfeed at least 10 times a day, and might feed a lot more. Your newborn will show you when they want to feed.” Remind new mothers that their baby is weaning from continual placental feeding during the pregnancy. They will feed often while the milk supply is increasing.
Showing new mothers how to breastfeed while standing helps them tend to the new baby while doing other things. Standing and breastfeeding keeps mothers from feeling anchored or trapped.
New mothers have to get something to eat, or go pee, or let the dog out, or do something for a toddler. Being able to move around while breastfeeding makes their lives easier.
The new mother in this photograph starting standing up to breastfeed when her baby was 2 days old. She was tired of sitting, her butt hurt, and she wanted to stretch her legs.
Standing up to breastfeed is one key to early success and long duration.
The Breastfeeding Foundations course is full of practical information like this that breastfeeding supporters can use to help their clients.
