Breastfeeding and Bottle Feeding
Breastfeeding
is a very personal decision and there is no right or wrong choice. In some cases, even when a woman chooses to
breastfeed, the newborn may not ‘latch’ and nurse properly, or the mother’s
colostrum or milk may not be sufficient.
Bottle feeding is frequently part of every newborn’s experience, even
for breastfeeding moms, since pumping is usually also part of
breastfeeding. Although there are a
variety of perspectives and opinions, the American Academy of Pediatrics does
recommend breast milk as the best form of nutrition for newborns.
Nowadays, it has been demonstrated that breast milk and
breastfeeding have beneficial effects on the baby and the mom, not to
mention they save the numerous bottles of formula that may seem very far
away when the baby cries!
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Here is some practical information on breastfeeding and its beginnings.
At what point can you start to breastfeed?
At birth, after the placenta is expelled, the pituitary secretes a
hormone called prolactin, which will be at the origin of lactation and
of milk. This occurs about 2-3 days after birth and it is manifested by a
swollen chest and sometimes pain. Note the flow of milk is usually a
little later in women who delivered by caesarean section.
The
first few days the liquid is called colostrums, which will feed your
child and it will perfectly fill his nutritional needs. Then the milk
itself appears. It is nothing complicated in putting the baby to breast
and you’ll even be surprised to see that he already knows how to do it!
