When a newborn is fed for the first time. The nuances of the first feeding of a baby after childbirth. Attaching to the breast

01.05.2024 -

Every mother wants to see her child healthy and from the first days of his life begins to give him everything he needs. This is breast milk, which contains useful substances and microelements necessary for the growth and strengthening of the child’s body.

However, in addition to the feeding process itself, other factors are also important - proper breast care, position comfort, pumping, the need for supplementary feeding, etc.

Find out all the nuances from our article: how to properly feed a newborn baby, the rules of feeding breast milk and formula, nutritional features during mixed feeding, how often and after what period of time to feed the baby (schedule and norm of food consumption for infants).

Natural feeding

In the first year, breast milk is a vital food for the baby. In order for this period to bring only joy to the baby and mother, you should know about the basic rules of feeding.

What determines the amount of milk a mother has?

The amount of milk can be affected by:

suffered stress;
insufficient sleep;
mother's nutritional characteristics;
lack of physical activity;
fatigue
hereditary predisposition;
lack of rest.

Breast size does not affect milk supply. Neither the shape of the nipple nor the type of milk matters.

Read on the pages of our website! Let's talk about the manufacturer and the composition of the product, how it differs from other infant formulas.

Breastfeeding rules and breast care

When feeding, there is only one rule - feeding should be carried out in a separate room, where there is no one except mother and baby.

It doesn’t matter what position you take during feeding - sitting, lying, standing; the main thing is complete relaxation and convenience.

Separately, we need to talk about pumping and breast massage. These procedures should be carried out in the first 3-4 weeks after birth. Then the milk supply returns to normal.

Before pumping and massaging, hands and breasts should be washed with soap. Do not use products containing alcohol.

Regular baby soap is an excellent antiseptic. It is also necessary to ensure that the detergent does not remain on the chest after washing procedures.

It is not recommended to use soap before each feeding.. The product is able to remove the fatty film that protects the mammary glands from external influences.

That's why You only need to wash your breasts once a day. If necessary, warm running water is sufficient.

The massage itself is not difficult. However, make sure that the glands are of the same density. If seals are detected, the massage is performed in this area more intensely.

The chest is supported with one hand from below. The second, using 4 fingers, you need to massage the mammary gland in a circular motion, starting from the ribs and moving to the nipple. The hand that supports the chest from below should not be idle - the technique is similar.

At the site of compaction, movements do not intensify, only the duration of the massage increases.

Pumping is an important step for a nursing mother. If excess milk is left unattended, it will lead to the development of mastitis.

So, only two fingers should be involved in pumping - the index and thumb. It is important to press not on the nipple, but on the gland tissue. The most effective method of expressing is using a breast pump..

Many difficulties associated with breastfeeding consist in the appearance of cracks and abrasions on the nipples. These phenomena occur due to:

child activity;
characteristics of the mother's skin;
insufficient hygiene.

Preventive measures must be followed. This includes:

the nipple should always be dry after feeding (to do this, blot it with sterile gauze);
breast cleanliness;
a nursing mother should not wear underwear containing synthetics - only cotton;
the child should grasp the area around the nipple (halo), and not the nipple;
if a crack is discovered, treatment begins immediately;
the mother's nails should be short (so as not to get scratched during pumping);
Do not hold your baby near your breast for more than 20 minutes;
You cannot bring the baby to such a degree of hunger that he attacks the breast;
perform massage and pumping;
Keep your chest open if possible.

To treat abrasions and cracks, use oil-based vitamin A (sold in pharmacies), Bepanten, sea buckthorn oil, and special aerosols (without antibiotics).

If suppuration appears, you should immediately consult a doctor.

Meals by the hour or on demand

After how many hours should a newborn baby be fed breast milk?

Two options for natural feeding are being considered– feeding by the hour and on demand. Both options are equally relevant and acceptable.

Feeding by the clock is carried out strictly at a certain time every 3 hours. At night there is a break of 6 hours.

This regime lasts up to 2 months. Then the interval between feedings increases to 3.5 hours, and at night - up to 7 hours.

The advantage of this method is teaching the child discipline from early childhood. Otherwise, this method is a radical choice on the part of the mother, since not all children agree with the regime.

Feeding on demand is the most popular choice among modern parents.

After birth, the child experiences extreme stress, and the only effective way to get rid of it is physical contact with the mother. That's why it is so important to put your baby to the breast when he wants it. After all, sucking is not only a process of receiving food, but also an effective method of calming a child.

This method is a highly effective means of maintaining lactation.

However, frequent feeding will not allow the mother to do household chores., therefore, the baby should be put to the breast not at the first signs of anxiety, smacking lips, grunting, sniffling, but when the baby really needs food - once every 2 hours with a 20-minute feeding duration.

Dr. Komarovsky will tell you a few words about the breastfeeding regimen and how to properly feed a newborn baby with breast milk:

Which option to choose

The basic rule is a healthy child knows when he needs food. You shouldn’t wake him up just because, in his mother’s opinion, it’s time for him to eat. Exceptions are the following cases:

if mom needs to leave urgently;
children who weigh little.

The optimal interval between feedings for children under 1 month is 2-3 hours. Then the baby himself will gradually increase it as he grows and develops.

An important condition is to apply only to one breast during one feeding. This rule is irrelevant if the baby has not eaten enough or if the mother has cracks in her nipples.

Make sure that your baby makes swallowing movements rather than sucking while latching. If you don’t stop his desire to “hang” on his mother’s chest in time, then in the future it will be quite difficult to wean him from his favorite activity.

Feeding a baby from a bottle

Bottle feeding a baby is different from breastfeeding. In the latter case, he himself determines the volume of milk and the duration of feeding. Due to this, milk production adapts to the baby's needs. and changes as it grows.

There are different ways to feed a baby with breast milk if the mother is not around. This situation is justified due to the mother’s inability to put the baby to the breast (severe pain, urgent departure, etc.).

Then it is allowed to feed from a bottle with a nipple. Today, this method is in demand for artificial and mixed feeding or if the mother is not around.

Advantage of pacifier– the safest and most natural process of food absorption.

However, sucking from a bottle and from the mother's breast have significant differences. In the first case, the baby puts in less effort. Therefore, after getting acquainted with the bottle, many infants refuse their mother's breast.

An alternative is to choose a special pacifier.

When tilting the bottle, no drops of milk should come out of the nipple.
When pressing on a wide area of the nipple, a trickle should appear.

Remember to care for your bottle. It is necessary to regularly wash and rinse children's containers with boiling water.

Expressed breast milk can be frozen. This will preserve all the vitamins and beneficial microelements, and the newborn will not remain hungry if the mother is away on business. It is not recommended to mix milk after several pumpings. Frozen liquid can be stored for no more than 2 months.

What to do if there is no lactation

What to feed a newborn baby if there is no milk? Often in medical practice there are cases when the mother does not have enough milk to adequately nourish the baby. Additional measures agreed with the doctor can correct the situation..

Mom should drink at least 2 liters of water per day.
You should apply crumbs in the first days of his life as often as possible.
Do not replace breast milk with other liquids.
Night latching is the main condition for good lactation.
Proper nutrition for mom is also important.

10-15 minutes before feeding, mother should drink a glass of warm sweet tea with milk or dried fruit compote.

No stress or worries: with emotional disorders in women, lactation worsens.

Why can't you eat grapes while breastfeeding? You will find answers to questions about nutrition for nursing mothers.

Introducing formula into a baby's diet

If, despite all the efforts of the mother, there is still enough milk, then, willy-nilly, you will have to use additional nutrition - switch to mixed feeding. In the case of a complete transfer to infant formula, we can talk about artificial nutrition.

What to give

The baby should receive food that is as close in composition to breast milk as possible. Such products are mixtures. All mixtures are divided into 3 groups:

partially adapted (children after one year);
less adapted (after 6 months);
maximum adapted (up to 6 months).

The best mixture will be the one on the packaging that says:“Intended for feeding children from birth to 1 year.”

You should not change baby food often, as the baby may develop unpleasant reactions in the form of diarrhea, frequent regurgitation, allergic rashes, etc.

It is necessary to switch to another mixture in the following cases:

if the baby is not gaining weight;
if he has frequent constipation.

It is unacceptable to give diluted cow's milk as supplementary feeding (full feeding). This can lead to irreversible consequences.

The product does not contain those beneficial minerals and vitamins that are found in an adapted formula or breast milk.

Mixed feeding rules

Give breast first, then formula.
Only one feeding can be replaced with formula.

The product should be introduced gradually, starting with a small amount. The temperature of the mixture should not exceed the child’s body temperature. The product must be diluted only with boiled water.

Here is another interesting video with the participation of Evgeny Komarovsky, from which you will learn about the feeding regime of a newborn, whether you need to feed him at night and how many times this can be done:

Feeding hours and dosage

How to properly feed a newborn baby with formula and do you need to do it over time?

With artificial feeding in the first months of life, 6-7 meals a day are recommended with an interval of 3-3.5 hours.

At night, you should do a 6-hour interval. It is important to consider the required volume, which is calculated depending on age and weight.

So, for the first six months of life, a baby needs 115 kcal per 1 kg, after 6 months - 110 kcal.

The daily amount of food required by a baby with normal weight indicators is:

from 7 days to 2 months – 1/5 body weight;
from 2 to 4 – 1/6 body weight;
from 6 to 12 months – 1/8.

A new mixture is introduced according to the following schedule:

1 day – 10 ml once a day;
Day 2 – 10 ml 3 times a day;
Day 3 – 20 ml 3 times a day;
Day 4 – 50 ml 5 times a day;
Day 5 – 100 ml 4 times a day;
Day 6 - 150 ml 4 times a day.

Start of complementary feeding

Learn to distinguish between “complementary feeding” and “supplementary feeding”. In the first situation, the baby receives additional food to prepare for adult life and food. In the second - in case of lack of milk, it is supplemented with formula feeding - during breastfeeding and in 5 - during artificial nutrition. Until this time, nothing other than mother's milk, formula and water can be given.

Start gradually and with caution. For the first time, you need to give half a teaspoon of complementary foods, and then supplement with milk or formula. A “test” is possible before the second feeding, at 9-11 am.

Assess the child's reaction to a new product. If there is no rash, irritation, anxiety, constipation (diarrhea), then the next day you can give 2 times more.

Under no circumstances should you introduce an unfamiliar product during illness or after vaccination. If any reaction occurs, the start of complementary feeding is delayed for 1-2 weeks.

Don't force your child to eat. Perhaps the baby is not yet ready for a new stage in life.

Find out more on our website! We will tell you how the drug works and what are the indications for its use.
How to properly give Espumisan Baby to a baby? you will find out how effective this remedy is against abdominal discomfort in the little ones!
Reviews have been collected about the Malyutka dry mixture and the composition of this product.

Where to start feeding

It's better to start with vegetables. These are zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli. Any vegetable is thoroughly washed and boiled (in a double boiler or in a regular saucepan). Then it is ground with a blender.

On the first day - half a teaspoon. Then the dose is increased by 2 times every day and brought to normal.

If there are no adverse reactions to the new product, after 4 days you can try another vegetable, and then prepare a puree from the previously proposed products. After 10 days, one meal of dairy food should be completely replaced.

For the 7th month you can offer porridge. This should be done at the very last dose - before bedtime. To begin with, the baby should be introduced to buckwheat, rice and oatmeal, then gradually expand the diet.

Use special baby cereals, intended for 7 months of age. Giving semolina porridge at this age is not recommended due to the presence of gluten.

At the 8th month, two feedings are already replaced. Now you can introduce your child to fermented milk products - kefir. On the 4th day, offer low-fat cottage cheese.

Fruits are introduced into complementary foods when the baby's first tooth appears.. The first is an apple. It is not recommended to completely replace feeding with fruits. They are given in addition to the main diet.

Meat is introduced at 9 months of age, and fish at 10 months.. You can add half an yolk and vegetable oil to your diet. From the age of 10 months, soup is prepared in meat and fish broth, to which bread crumb is added. The introduction of vegetable oil and cookies is allowed.

By the age of one year, all 5 feedings should be completely replaced. Although some mothers still put their baby to the breast at night.

Water must be included in the diet. Its temperature should correspond to the baby's body temperature.

The main thing during breastfeeding is to eat well. It is prohibited during this period:

drink alcoholic beverages;
eat spicy, salty, spicy foods.

Necessary:

exclude cow's milk, peas, beans, and white cabbage from the diet;
limit the consumption of caffeine and chocolate;
exclude fast food and semi-finished products.

During the feeding period, you should avoid stress and adhere to a sleep and rest schedule.

From this video lesson you will learn a lot of useful information about positions when breastfeeding a newborn, how to properly feed a baby in a sitting position and lying on its side, in which position it will be best for you and your baby:

For the first six months of a newborn baby’s life, mother’s milk is the most complete food. In order for this period to be comfortable for the mother, and for the baby to bring only benefits, every inexperienced mother should know basic and most important rules of breastfeeding.

Note to moms!

Hello girls) I didn’t think that the problem of stretch marks would affect me too, and I’ll also write about it))) But there’s nowhere to go, so I’m writing here: How did I get rid of stretch marks after childbirth? I will be very glad if my method helps you too...

Attaching the baby to the breast. Important points:

Features of modern breastfeeding

One of the principles is free and unlimited feeding at the baby’s first request. Unlike old methods, this method has a positive effect on the psycho-emotional state of the child and. It is advisable to give breastfeeding in any restless state of the baby, without waiting for him to cry. If a baby requires 10-16 feedings in the first months, this is normal!
Up to six months, the baby needs night feedings, as they bring the greatest benefit to the child, and the mother develops stable lactation.
The duration of sucking depends only on the child. The last milk in the breast is the fattest and healthiest, so it is recommended to let the baby suck on one breast until the very end. The second should be offered only at the next feeding. An exception can only be if there is not enough mother's milk in one breast for complete saturation.
A baby up to six months old can survive only on breast milk without introducing additional nutrition. ()
The best option for the full development of a child, strengthening the immune system and protecting against viruses is breastfeeding for up to one and a half to two years.

When breastfeeding you do not need:

Wash your breasts frequently, as frequent washing removes the protective fat layer from your nipples. The absence of a protective film leads to painful cracks in the nipples and areola. It is enough to take a shower once or twice a day.
Give your baby water - excess water can reduce appetite and increase flatulence in the baby's digestive system. A teaspoon of water per day can be given only if the baby is constipated from mother's fatty milk.
Use pacifiers and drink from a bottle for up to six months. If the baby does not have enough mother's milk, then supplementary feeding should be given using a spoon or pipette. The baby may confuse sucking from the breast with the nipple (it is more difficult to suck milk from the breast than from a bottle), and incorrect sucking can lead to cracked nipples. In addition, the child may completely refuse breast milk.
After each feeding, resort to expressing the remaining milk. The exception is breast congestion, engorgement, or forced separation of mother and baby.
Weigh your baby frequently. It is enough to control your weight once every one to two weeks. Frequent weighing can stress the mother and encourage unnecessary supplementation.
Give the baby sweet tea. Sweets can harm future teeth, and tea can contribute to iron deficiency anemia.

Video #1

Video No. 2

Breastfeeding a child is an individual, natural process. All children, like mothers, are different. Only with the help of her own experience will any mother be able to establish the rules for feeding an infant, based on the characteristics of her baby and following the recommendations of specialists and mothers who have fed more than one child.

A newborn needs to be close to his mother and cuddle with her as soon as possible (“skin-to-skin contact”), but he should be put to the breast for the first time when he begins to show signs of readiness for the first feeding.

You need to feed your baby at intervals of no more than 1.5-2 hours during the day and 3-4 hours at night. Then the mother produces more milk, and the baby does not lose too much weight.

Before the milk comes in, the baby eats colostrum - this is a concentrate of the substances he now needs. Do not supplement or supplement your baby's food in the maternity hospital without compelling medical indications.

Choosing a maternity hospital
If you are going to breastfeed your baby, choose a maternity hospital where it is customary for mother and baby to stay together after childbirth and where “” is observed.

It is very good when there is a place in the ward for the father, who will help with the baby and support the mother in the first days. Even before giving birth, find out the phone numbers of lactation consultants; if necessary, they can come to the maternity hospital.

In the maternity ward
According to modern principles of obstetrics, the baby and mother in the maternity hospital should not be separated immediately after birth if they are healthy. The baby is placed on the woman’s stomach so that they are in skin-to-skin contact.

Some babies immediately readily take the breast and begin to actively suckle. Others need time for their innate reflexes to become fully operational.

Let the child lie down for 20-40 minutes until he tries to raise his head and begins to stretch his lips. This innate reflex is called searching, and its appearance means that now is the best time to offer him the breast for the first time.

In the delivery room, your midwife will help you put your baby to your breast. Ask her to show you how this is done again, because both the amount of milk your baby receives and your comfort during feeding will depend on following the rules.

The breast is presented to the baby when he fully opens his mouth, so that the areola of the nipple is almost invisible under his lower lip, and the chin (and sometimes the tip of the nose along with it) touches the mother’s breast. The baby's head should be thrown back, and in order to achieve this, the mother only needs to press the baby's tummy more tightly to her stomach.

In the postpartum ward
On the first day, children behave differently. There are restless babies who demand the breast every half hour, and it happens that after birth, babies sleep for almost a day.

In the first case, the baby needs to be applied “every squeak”, and after giving birth the mother immediately learns to sleep at the same time as the baby during the day, at least a little at a time. Restless babies do not need supplemental feeding, especially if they latch well and calm down at the breast.

Babies who fall asleep after the first attachment should be woken up and fed no later than 5 hours later.

Then in these first days, feed the baby at least every 2 hours during the day and 4 hours at night and at least 10-12 times a day. This rule especially applies to children who developed physiological jaundice on the 3-4th day.

These babies are big sleepers, so they definitely need to be woken up and fed. If they fall asleep at the breast or suckle sluggishly, it makes sense to express breast milk or colostrum and supplement them with a pipette or syringe without a needle, pouring milk into the cheek.

In some maternity hospitals, it is customary to feed children from a small bottle (5 ml). This is also convenient and useful, because the child then does not confuse the breast with the nipple. The good thing about the bubble is that its volume ideally matches the volume of a newborn’s stomach. This is exactly the amount of colostrum that a baby receives from the breast in the first days of life.

Colostrum is a highly concentrated nutritional solution that contains a maximum of antibodies, proteins and essential fats; it is an ideal food for the baby until the mother's milk appears. 3-5 days after birth, colostrum will be replaced by transitional milk. It will be greasy, yellowish in color, and at first the baby will not be able to eat the entire volume, which is why the mammary glands sometimes become engorged.

If a mother has difficulty latching on to the breast, midwives and pediatricians should definitely help her. Feel free to ask them questions again and again.

Do not agree to offers to supplement your baby with artificial nutrition, be firm and persistent - we are talking about the health of your baby and your breast.

Solve problems
If a young mother has engorged mammary glands, most often, she does not require special procedures, for example, rough squeezing of milk from a hard, painful breast (the so-called obstetric pumping). It is enough to warm the breast before feeding and soften the nipple before giving it to the baby, pressing on the areola until drops of milk appear.

If you offer your baby the breast frequently and make sure that he swallows milk when feeding, severe engorgement will go away in 2-3 days.

In situations where your breasts become too tight, you can express just a little milk before feeding your baby to help him latch onto the nipple. But in all other situations there is no need to do this, even if we are talking about milk remaining in the breast after feeding, because next time it will come even more. Start feeding with the breast that feels fullest.

If you have problems with breastfeeding, do not be left alone with them. Breastfeeding support telephone numbers are now available, do not hesitate to ask even the most “obvious” questions, because all mother-baby pairs are different, and for each you need to look for your own solution.

The signal for the beginning of lactation is childbirth. It should be said that with natural childbirth, the formation of lactation occurs faster than with surgical delivery. Nevertheless, high-quality breastfeeding can be established after a cesarean section, and even if mother and baby are forced to separate for health reasons for up to several weeks.

How does lactation develop?

The formation of lactation occurs in several stages. At the initial stage, colostrum is formed in the mammary gland - a thick yellowish liquid, characterized by high energy and nutritional value and having pronounced immune activity. Colostrum begins to be produced during pregnancy, and after childbirth it provides the baby with the biologically active substances and energy it needs during the first 3-5 days.

It should be said that the body of a newborn is experiencing enormous stress associated with adaptation to a new environment for him, therefore colostrum for a newly born baby is a very valuable product, which allows you not to prematurely load the digestive system with a large volume of nutrition, and immature liver and kidneys - a necessity transform and remove foreign substances from the body. Considering that everything necessary is contained in just a few drops of liquid, which, moreover, due to the active enzymes it contains, digests itself, the baby significantly saves energy during the feeding process, allowing his body to spend energy more efficiently.

On the 4th–5th day, a transitional protein begins to be produced in the woman’s mammary gland, as a result of which its “maturation” occurs: the protein concentration gradually decreases, while the content of milk fat and sugar, on the contrary, increases. The amount of minerals and vitamins gradually comes into line with those in mature milk. The “transition” stage is characterized by a significant increase in the volume of milk produced, which is subjectively felt by the woman as a rush. In this case, the mammary glands increase in size and become engorged due to the filling of small milk ducts with milk.

By 2-3 weeks after birth, milk becomes mature - its composition is more stable than that of transitional milk, and the volume of production is more regulated by the individual needs of the baby.

Breastfeeding should begin immediately after birth. The duration and quality of subsequent breastfeeding is largely determined by the successful development of the necessary skills in the very first days after childbirth and their consolidation in practice.

Breastfeeding regimen in the first days after childbirth

The first time a baby is put to the breast should ideally occur within the first 30 minutes after birth and last for at least 20 minutes.

Huge: in a woman’s body, it actively starts the lactation process, helps contract the muscles of the uterus and stop postpartum bleeding. Together with colostrum, the newborn receives a powerful energy boost, a portion of protective immune factors and substances that stimulate the growth of beneficial microflora in the intestines.

The impossibility of early breastfeeding is usually due to deviations in the health of the mother or newborn, for example, extreme prematurity of the baby or depression of its central nervous system, Rh conflict. Most contraindications to breastfeeding are temporary and should not be taken by the mother as a death sentence.

From the first days of a baby’s life, it is necessary to focus on a free feeding regime. In this case, the baby is attached to the breast as often as he wants. The frequency of feeding a newborn can reach 10–12 times a day, while at night the need for feeding may be higher than during the day. It is very important not to additionally feed the baby with formula milk, not to give him water, and also not to use objects that imitate breasts (pacifiers, pacifiers) in caring for the child, since by satisfying the baby’s sucking reflex, they disrupt the rhythm of stimulation of the mammary gland necessary for the establishment of lactation . Subsequently, when the baby grows up, he will develop his own diet - from 6 to 8 times a day.

The time spent at the breast is individual for each child. However, it is advisable that the duration of one feeding does not exceed 20–30 minutes, since ineffective prolonged sucking often provokes the appearance of cracks and irritation of the nipples. If the baby sucks sluggishly and sleeps at the breast, you can try to rouse him by stroking his cheek or heel. Weak children who find it difficult to “cope” with the breast are recommended to be breastfed more often. Before the milk comes in, it is advisable to place the baby on both breasts each feeding. This will serve as a good stimulation of lactation. After the milk has appeared, you can continue this practice for some time, which will alleviate the symptoms of “hot flush,” gradually introducing the rule of “one breast per feeding.”

Mastering the breastfeeding technique is very important. The correct technique ensures better emptying of the mammary gland, which means it effectively stimulates lactation. Optimal grip of the nipple and areola during sucking prevents cracks and ensures tight contact between the baby’s lips, tongue and breast skin, so that the baby does not swallow air during feeding and suffers less from colic.

The correct position of the baby at the breast allows him not to turn his head and this is achieved in various positions convenient for the mother, both lying and sitting. The baby should be positioned according to the “belly to belly”, “eye to eye” principle. With the correct grip, the baby takes the nipple into his mouth along with the areola (areola), the baby’s lower lip is turned outward, and the chin, cheeks and nose fit tightly to the chest. The baby sucks in the nipple and areola, and then, pressing on them with his tongue, squeezes out the milk and swallows it.

Breast and nipple care

Caring for the breasts and nipples involves, first of all, wearing special underwear (preferably made from natural soft, breathable fabric), which well supports the mammary glands, thus preventing sagging breast tissue, and relieves additional stress on the thoracic spine, which inevitably arises due to displacement of the center of gravity as a result of significant breast enlargement during lactation. It is recommended to change your bra every day.

To prevent the fabric of the bra from getting wet by milk involuntarily flowing from the breast, it is convenient to use special pads or milk receivers. Gaskets must be changed at least once every 3 hours, and milk receivers are treated according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

As long as you keep your underwear clean and change your pads regularly, washing your breasts before each feeding is not necessary. A regular hygienic shower once a day is sufficient.

Establishing breastfeeding in the maternity hospital

It is always necessary to take into account the specifics of the medical institution in which the young mother and child are located. In a situation with separate stays, it is impossible to apply the principle of free breastfeeding in the maternity hospital, and in addition, there is a high probability of supplementing the child with formula in the intervals between “dates”. An undeniable advantage is provided by postpartum departments of maternity hospitals that practice cohabitation, which allows a woman to quickly and efficiently establish natural breastfeeding in the first days, as well as acquire the necessary skills to care for a baby. While in the maternity hospital, it is advisable to find a common language with the medical staff and ask not to feed the baby with formula, which is especially important in a situation of separation. If, for medical reasons, a child is prescribed additional water, it is necessary to do this with a spoon to avoid the child getting used to the bottle. If you are forced to be separated from your baby for more than 24 hours, you must start pumping as described above.

You can always get answers to your questions and help in solving possible problems with establishing breastfeeding in the first days. To do this, you need to contact your attending physician, a neonatologist who is observing the child, and if they are not at work (for example, in the evening), contact the medical staff on duty in the postpartum department. In addition, many modern maternity hospitals now employ lactation specialists and consultants.

Menu for a nursing mother in the first days after childbirth

What foods should make up the diet of a nursing mother in the first days after childbirth?

Dairy products – 600–800 g per day. Preference should be given to natural fresh kefir, fermented baked milk, yogurt without additives and cottage cheese. It is advisable to use whole cow's milk in the amount of 200 ml per day for preparing porridges.
Meat products, of which lean varieties of beef and pork, rabbit, turkey, and chicken are more suitable for a nursing mother’s menu – 200–250 g.
Cereals (all types), durum wheat pasta – 60 g (dry cereal).
Bread – 200 g.
Animal and vegetable oils (butter – 25 g, vegetable – 15 g).
Vegetables – 400 g and fruits – 300 g, with the exception of highly allergenic ones.
Among confectionery products, it is permissible to consume dry cookies, crackers, and marmalade in moderate quantities.
To replenish fluid, in addition to regular drinking water, you can drink weak tea: black, green and herbal; compotes of fresh berries and dried fruits (except for raisins), fruit drinks, non-carbonated table mineral water.

Does a nursing mother need to drink a lot?
The total amount of fluid you drink before the milk comes in (during the first 3–5 days after birth) should be no more than 800 ml per day, otherwise it will be quite difficult to cope with the symptoms of hot flashes. When milk appears, in parallel with establishing adequate emptying of the mammary gland, it is necessary to gradually increase the amount of fluid consumed to 2–2.5 liters per day.

When is pumping necessary?

Ideally, milk is produced exactly as much as the baby needs. In this case, there is no need to express. However, when difficulties arise, pumping helps solve a wide range of problems. It is necessary if:

The child is temporarily separated from his mother for health reasons or other reasons. In this case, pumping imitates feeding, stimulates lactation and maintains it until the moment of meeting the baby;
when mother is separated
and a child in the maternity hospital, if the baby missed or “overslept” the next feeding, it is necessary to stimulate the breasts by pumping for 10–15 minutes;
when there is excess milk production, when the breasts are full and become tight and painful, pumping helps alleviate the woman’s condition and helps prevent mastitis. In this case, the breast is expressed until a feeling of relief appears, and the mammary gland itself becomes soft.

The long 9 months of waiting to meet the baby are over! Childbirth is left behind, forever dividing our lives into “before” and “after”. How we waited for this opportunity - to look into the baby’s eyes, smell the top of his head, run our hand over his tender cheek! How much anxiety and trouble preceded this moment, how we prepared and hoped for a successful outcome of the birth...

We tried to organize the most worthy meeting for our treasure - exactly the one he dreamed of when deciding to crawl out of his mother’s cozy tummy. We decided that we would feed him with our milk. We want to give him the best start!

How does breastfeeding begin?

Early breastfeeding

Back in 1980, the World Health Organization recognized the method of early breastfeeding as mandatory for all countries - 20-30 minutes after birth. Why is this step - feeding the baby immediately after birth - so important that it had to be made mandatory at the international level?

Firstly, this recommendation is due to the unique composition of colostrum - a colorless liquid that is produced by the mammary glands starting in the second trimester of pregnancy. Absolutely every woman in labor has colostrum. It is small in volume and is an incredibly rich concentrate of nutrients. It’s like a tiny vitamin, the intake of which gives so much strength during the days of spring vitamin deficiency! Colostrum contains substances to protect the newborn from various infectious diseases (pneumonia, blood poisoning, intestinal disorders). Its composition provides complete immune protection of the baby's immature body. Proteins, fats and carbohydrates are in a form that is 100% capable of being absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract of a newborn, whose functional systems have not yet become fully operational. At the everyday level, feeding colostrum means that your baby will be protected from allergies, dysbacteriosis, liver diseases, quickly regain strength after childbirth, avoid weight loss in the first days, and will not encounter newborn jaundice, water loss and a drop in hemoglobin levels in the blood. Truly, breastfeeding completely continues the intrauterine scenario, when the baby received everything necessary for growth and development through the umbilical cord!

Secondly, the psychological aspect of early attachment is of unique importance. Psychologists discovered the phenomenon of imprinting - the deepest imprinting of first impressions by the human consciousness. The baby, falling into the arms of his mother, forever imprints her as an object of affection and imitation. A special place is occupied by eye-to-eye contact - the attentive, soulful gaze of a newborn meets the loving and admiring eyes of the mother. What a baby encounters in the first hours after birth can determine his future moral and social development. Studies have shown that children deprived of contact with their mother in the first hours and days after birth demonstrate an inability to establish close, loving relationships with other people, have a reduced maternal instinct (women), exhibit sexual weakness in adulthood (men), and lose the reproductive instinct - the ability to create strong and child-loving families. If, from the first minutes of birth, a baby is next to his mother, who loves and understands him, then from the very beginning he imprints love, care and goodwill as the basis and norm of human life.

Thirdly, breastfeeding immediately after birth sends an important signal to the baby: labor is over, you are safe, you can rest and recover! At the hormonal level, it looks like this: stress hormones, necessary for the successful development of the birth process, give way to calming and pain-relieving hormones, which the baby begins to receive with colostrum. Without sucking from the mother's breast, a newborn is unable to cope with stress. This means that his body continues to work in stress mode, absorbing internal resources and slowing down physiological adaptation to extrauterine living conditions.

Fourthly, early feeding is extremely important for the mother herself.

1. The act of sucking the breast stimulates the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland of the mother's brain, and the hormone oxytocin begins to be actively produced. This invaluable substance promotes uterine contraction, bloodless separation of the placenta and, more importantly, eliminates postpartum hemorrhage! Early initiation of breastfeeding ensures rapid contraction of the uterus and prevents the development of pathologies that occur when its contraction is delayed. If the baby latches on to the breast immediately after birth, the mother does not have the slightest chance of dying from blood loss!
2. In addition to the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland, the anterior lobe is also stimulated, due to which the hormone prolactin is formed. A very important hormone! It is he who is responsible for the amount of milk in a nursing woman. Prolactin and oxytocin, produced in response to the baby sucking the breast, contribute to a further increase in the volume of breast cells and full milk production - the removal of milk from the breast.
3. Mechanisms for the formation of maternal instinct are launched. Maternal instinct is not some kind of initially existing given. The ability to feel and understand your child “from the inside” arises only thanks to certain conditions. And one of the most important among them is early contact with the newborn, which in itself gives rise to the establishment of a deep relationship between mother and child. “My baby is alive, beautiful, defenseless, he needs my attention and understanding,” - this is an approximate message to the subconscious, which leads to the emergence of maternal instinct. The absence of active breastfeeding in the first half hour after birth leads to a certain biological insensitivity towards the child. Such a mother subsequently does not fully understand and does not feel the needs of her baby, constantly worries “is everything okay with him, is he developing normally,” underestimates her own importance and indispensability for the baby, entrusts responsibility for him to various specialists and simply advisers . Postpartum depression, which has already become common, is caused precisely by a violation of early contact with the child. Mom’s body feels a certain loss and collapse of hopes: with such love they carried and gave birth - and now, the baby has disappeared in an unknown direction! Let us add just one interesting example: a study was conducted abroad, the purpose of which was to identify the source of mother’s attachment to her child. A group of women who had previously voiced their desire to leave the newborn in the maternity hospital and legally formalize the refusal of him, immediately after birth, the baby was put to the breast. The mother and baby spent the first hour together, feeding in an embrace. After such an experience, only one mother was able to part with her child. Everyone else experienced a surge of maternal love and responsibility!

What exactly does the World Health Organization mean by early application? This is not just the placement of a baby on the mother’s stomach, which has become common in Russian maternity hospitals, and awkward attempts to provoke sucking movements immediately after birth. The first attachment is a full feeding, carried out 20-30 minutes after birth, during which the newborn can receive from 40 to 60 ml of colostrum. The baby, having already recovered a little after passing through the birth canal, becomes more active in search of the mother's nipple. Having received what he wants, the baby sucks for a long time. As the stomach fills, stretching of its walls causes sucking movements to slow down, and the baby falls asleep on the mother's breast. It is very important to wait until this moment and not take the breast prematurely. The sleeping baby can be placed next to the mother, who will undergo postpartum treatment, and then can also rest.

It must be borne in mind that the practice of narcotic anesthesia excludes the possibility of early initiation of feeding: the so-called medicinal substances introduced into the mother’s blood during childbirth penetrate through the placenta into the baby’s blood and narcotize its nerve centers. As a result, a newly born baby cannot realize the necessary sucking movements. However, in Western countries, even in this case, they try to ensure early contact between mother and child, and after a caesarean section, they make the first attempts to breastfeed the baby 6 hours after the operation.

Start of a new life

Not only was a child born. At the same time, his mother was born, and the magical transformation of a pregnant woman into a nursing woman took place. How to live together now? How to organize feedings? How to recover after childbirth?

The first application is now complete. The little one fell asleep. Mom also rested. From now on, we will give the baby the breast every time he asks. He will not angrily demand, bursting into long tears. And quietly grunting will show the very first signs of discomfort and anxiety. The fact is that the feeling of hunger for a baby is an unbearable and hitherto unknown pain. Moreover, the pain of his entire tiny creature, which during 9 months of pregnancy had become accustomed to a round-the-clock supply of useful nutrients. But the newborn’s ventricle is still very small in volume, and colostrum is absorbed almost immediately after ingestion. Let's not let the baby cry in pain! Let us be sensitive to the signals by which he expresses his desire to suckle and remember that feedings can have a wide variety of frequency and duration. Usually, during the first days, the newborn sleeps constantly, periodically showing signs of dissatisfaction or activity in search of the breast (opens his mouth wide, sticks out his tongue, spins around, presses his legs to his chest, sucks on a fist or a nearby diaper...). As soon as we notice these changes in behavior, we offer the breast and do not take it away before he releases it himself (unless it hurts; if painful sensations occur, you must carefully remove the breast from his mouth and offer it again in the correct position). It is unrestricted access to the breast that will ensure the timely arrival of a sufficient amount of milk, which will occur 3-5 days after birth. Before this, it will produce nutritious colostrum in the amount the baby needs. If you allow the baby to determine the time for feeding, you will not need to supplement him with formula or water, as is often recommended in the maternity hospital.

After sucking a little (or for a long time) half asleep, the newborn falls asleep again. We will try not to disturb his rhythms of sleep and awakening. Calm sucking and undisturbed sleep are the best conditions for restoring the child’s strength after the labors of birth. Discuss this possibility in advance with the maternity hospital staff - to carry out procedures and examinations not when it is convenient for the “aunt in a white coat”, but when the mood and condition of your baby allows: after feeding, before changing a diaper, at the very beginning of wakefulness, or after bowel movements, when the baby is so surprised by the processes happening to him that he even briefly forgets about the consolation of his mother’s breast.

From the very beginning we teach the baby how to attach correctly. Patiently and persistently we teach him to open his mouth, master comfortable feeding positions, and control the behavior of the little man at the breast. If necessary, we call a lactation consultant for help in mastering sucking skills. The simplest body poses for learning to apply are sitting ones. But even if the mother has stitches and is prohibited from sitting, you can choose several options for convenient feeding in a lying position. And if you don’t have problems with sutures, horizontal positions are still the most optimal for the postpartum period: bed rest is recommended to prevent prolapse of internal organs after the rapid return of the uterus to its pre-pregnancy size. Let us once again remind you of the dangers of using simulators of the mother's nipple - pacifiers and bottles. It is impossible to teach a baby who periodically receives breast substitutes to take the breast correctly...

All of the above logically leads us to the conclusion: the key to a successful start to breastfeeding will be only the mother in labor being together with the newborn. Moreover, the stay is continuous, without breaks for “daily examinations from 10 to 14 o’clock” or for “mother’s full night’s rest.” But really, won’t mom get tired if we have a baby who needs care next to us all the time? Not at all! As we have already said, during the first days our long-awaited treasure mostly sleeps, sometimes waking up to feed. And active and regular breastfeeding will help a woman recover quickly after childbirth. Hormonal levels are normalized, milk flow accelerates, and the process of uterine contractions proceeds smoothly. Long feedings calm you down and force you to lie in an embrace with your baby for a long time, which is useful both for gaining strength and for establishing contact with the little “alien.” I would also like to add that the mother and child staying together after childbirth is point number one in the rules for successful breastfeeding, developed by the World Health Organization together with UNESCO (UN Children's Fund) and recommended for implementation in maternity hospitals around the world.
Overcoming possible confusion and difficulties

Redness or inflammation of the nipples.
In principle, there is nothing dangerous in this - a thicker layer of epithelium is being formed (as when learning to play the guitar - beginners may have pain in the fingertips of their left hand). Let's focus on the technique of proper breastfeeding, during which the nipple is located deep in the baby's mouth, at the level of the root of the tongue, and is deprived of even the slightest possibility of injury to the gums. If necessary, we will use an emollient cream or oil to soothe any irritation.

Excess milk.
Typically, the colostrum feeding period lasts 3-5 days. After which the composition of the diet changes - its volume and watery component increase. This is called the arrival of milk. For some mothers, this process is associated with a feeling of painful fullness in the chest, an increase in temperature, and hardening in the breast tissue. We are taking the following measures:

1. we work on the baby’s correct latching of the breast to perfection - no one is better able to empty the breast than him;
2. we try to keep the baby at the breast longer, we apply it often and productively;
3. for a day (no longer!) we limit the volume of liquid entering our body to three glasses, drink in small sips;
4. we don’t pump! It is important to launch natural mechanisms for regulating the volume of milk produced. Additional pumping provokes its production in even greater quantities;
5. Under no circumstances do we take medications that reduce lactation! They have a hormonal basis and can greatly damage successful lactation in the future (not to mention the side effects and contraindications for use...). If in the maternity hospital you are offered something to drink to “relieve your condition,” be sure to ask for the name and do not hesitate to ask for an annotation on the medicine to read.

Lack of milk or slow milk supply.
This can happen if there are deviations in the natural development of the birth scenario: you had a cesarean section, were injected with the hormone oxytocin to speed up labor, were given painkillers, did not put the baby to the breast after birth... Let’s not lose heart and don’t give up on breastfeeding! Milk will definitely begin to be produced in the required quantity - just not as quickly as we would like. In this case, it is doubly important to teach the baby to suckle effectively. For supplementary feeding, it is better to use donor milk - maybe negotiate with your roommate? It must be given from a spoon (dropper, syringe (without a needle), cup) or from a special supplementary feeding system (SNS), which is an inverted bottle suspended next to the breast and having at the end, instead of a nipple, a thin catheter attached next to the nipple. This allows you to offer additional nutrition to the baby right while suckling: the baby sucks at the breast and receives supplementary feeding through a tube. After discharge from the hospital, you can use the help of a breastfeeding specialist to establish full lactation.

Weak sucking activity of the baby, severe weight loss.
These situations require the same measures as the previous one: we patiently teach the baby how to attach correctly; we feed in the required amount from a spoon (cup, pipette, syringe, SNS). And most importantly, we find out the cause of the problem. This state of affairs may be a consequence of a difficult birth for the baby, or the use of strong medications during the birth process. Or it could be a symptom of some disease.

Separate care of mother and baby in the maternity hospital.
If it is impossible to influence the situation towards its improvement and achieve the opportunity to be with the newborn around the clock, then we take the following steps to prevent possible problems.

1. Starting from the second day after birth and until the milk comes in actively, we organize regular breast pumping: once every three hours for both breasts, for 15 minutes each. At the same time, it is not so important what and how much is released from the breast. Our goal is to form a “request” for milk production, simulating the sucking activity of a newborn. It is advisable to purchase a mechanical or electric breast pump to facilitate the process of emptying the breast - unskilled manual expression can injure the delicate breast tissue.
2. We use the minutes in which the baby is brought to you for feeding to practice proper attachment or establish skin-to-skin contact if the baby is fast asleep. Let's have no illusions: without his mother, he is fed formula from a bottle. Therefore, he may cry when trying to take the breast or cause you pain from making already formed incorrect tongue movements. Let’s get ready to competently retrain the baby from bottle to breast, which will become possible after discharge home and complete cessation of bottle feeding.
3. As soon as you feel a significant flow of milk (usually on days 3-5), you need to take the following measures:
* limiting the amount of liquid you drink to three glasses per day;
* the breasts can be smeared with ointments that improve lymphatic drainage (Arnica, Traumeel) or cold compresses can be applied (cabbage leaf, wet terry towel);
* we strictly observe the rhythm of pumping and strive for uniform emptying of the mammary gland. Now we will empty our breasts more often - once every 2 hours, for 10-15 minutes each, taking a night break from 24 to 6 in the morning.

It will be possible to finally balance the amount of milk to meet the needs of the newborn only after discharge from the maternity hospital, when the baby will have unlimited access to the mother’s breast and will forever part with its imitators. Let’s get ready in advance to work on establishing breastfeeding: learning how to attach correctly, feeding positions, overcoming a possible lack of milk (or, conversely, its excess), and compensating for violations of early contact with the baby.

Hospitalization of mother or newborn.
Anything can happen in life. And forced separation after childbirth too. It is important for us to remember one thing: you can return to breastfeeding in absolutely any situation. Even if you have no milk left at all, even if the baby has been bottle-fed for a long time, even if he has never eaten anything other than formula - restoring breastfeeding is absolutely possible! If you really want to, it is possible to feed even an adopted child with your milk - isn’t this how nurses made money?
Study, study and study...

You and I are new students in breastfeeding babies. Even if this is not our first birth, we are still students! Each new baby requires a completely new approach. And with each child we go through this school again: the first attachment, the first hours and days, the first difficulties, the first successes. As in everything else - first steps, first words, first grades at school, first matriculation certificates...

Good luck! Let us be patient and forgiving with ourselves. Not everything will work out for us right away. But with great desire and perseverance, it will definitely work out!