Questions every mother has when starting to breastfeed

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor I Truong Nghia Binh - Obstetrician-Gynecologist - Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology - Vinmec Da Nang International General Hospital.
Breastfeeding is a sacred moment for all women. However, many people feel nervous and nervous when breastfeeding for the first time. In order for the moments when your baby receives breast milk smoothly, you should be well-prepared to help relieve discomfort and pain when breastfeeding.
Here are some breastfeeding questions that every mother may encounter in her breastfeeding journey:

1. Is breastfeeding easy?

For many women, breastfeeding is natural and easy. Sometimes this can be easy with the first baby and difficult with the second. So it really depends on the circumstances.

2. How to properly breastfeed your baby

Failure to properly breastfeed can cause discomfort for both mother and baby. The manifestation of discomfort with the baby is that the baby will be fussy, for the mother is the feeling of engorgement, breast pain and if this situation persists, it can lead to loss of milk and fatigue in the mother.
Breastfeeding position
Depending on conditions, the mother can breastfeed the baby in a lying or sitting position, but make sure that both the mother and the baby are in a comfortable and relaxed position.
The child's head and body must be in a straight line. The mother supports the baby's entire body, not just the head and shoulders. The baby's belly is close to the mother's belly. The baby's face is facing the breast and the baby's nose is facing the nipple. The baby's body is close to the mother's.

How to properly latch on:
Instruct the mother to bring her baby's lips to the nipple so that the baby opens his mouth to capture the nipple. The areola above the baby's mouth is more than the areola at the bottom. Baby's mouth wide open. The lower lip is curved and directed outward. The baby's chin touches the mother's breast. The tongue is gathered around the breast, the areola is left more above than below. How to recognize a baby is full:
Track the number of feedings during the day, and combine it with monthly baby weight monitoring. If the baby is full, it will make a hum and then sleep soundly. A well-fed baby will pass yellow stools about 1-2 times a day and urinate many times.

3. Breastfeeding counseling

Breastfeeding should be done as soon as possible after birth (within the first hour) to stimulate breast milk secretion. Feed your baby on demand, day or night. Exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months, no need to eat any other food or drink. Allow your baby to finish off one breast and then switch to the other breast to ensure that the baby gets both the foremilk and the last milk. The average feeding time is about 15-20 minutes. Weaning should be done at 24 months or so if possible. When the mother is sick, the child is sick, or the child cannot feed on his own, he should express milk and feed the child with a spoon.

4. Breastfeeding should eat what?

Regarding nutrition for nursing mothers, in the first 1-2 days after giving birth, it is best for mothers to supplement their energy with light and easy-to-digest foods such as porridge, noodles, and eggs. . Mothers should also avoid eating foods with a lot of fat such as: pork leg, hen meat.
In the following days, along with the recovery of digestive ability, you can eat foods rich in energy and nutrients: chicken soup, bone soup....
To ensure nutrition while breastfeeding, the mother needs Eat enough food including protein, fat, sugar, minerals, vitamins, water. In eating, it is important to pay attention to the variety of food, to combine refined and coarse foods in a reasonable manner. Every day can eat 5-6 meals, the mother should not abstain too much but avoid eating raw foods, high in fat or foods that are spicy and stimulating. During breastfeeding, mothers need to absolutely abstain from alcohol, beer, and tobacco. Some mothers with sequelae of high blood pressure during pregnancy need to limit salt intake.
Mothers who have perineal tears during childbirth and need stitches, should eat low-residue food, divide meals, 5-6 times/day, eat for 3 days. Mothers who have to give birth by cesarean section, after surgery, when intestinal function has recovered (about 24 hours after surgery) can apply a liquid to gradually thickened diet. After the mother is able to defecate on her own, she can eat a normal diet.

5. When should we wean children?

Newborns will naturally wean around 12 months or so because developmentally, babies change so much. Children become less focused on their mother and more focused on learning about the world around them.
However, when the child is 6 months old, at this time milk will not be enough to provide nutrients for the child's development. From this age, start giving the baby solid foods. There is no set time frame for weaning a baby, but breastfeeding should be at least until 12 months of age, preferably until 24 months of age, even longer if possible.
Except for some cases where it is mandatory to wean the baby, such as when the mother is sick, inflammation around the nipple, the mother has an infectious disease that can spread the disease and endanger the baby's health, the mother is required to use drugs to treat diseases that affect breast milk and babies.... In addition, weaning should not be done when the baby is sick, eating poorly, underweight babies, rickets, malnourished.... Weaning only when the baby is healthy, ready to eat solids.
Specialist doctor I Truong Nghia Binh has over 13 years of experience in the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology, has high expertise and long experience in diagnosing and treating Obstetrics and Gynecology diseases such as: screening for diseases of mother and baby before birth chorionic villus biopsies, amniocentesis.. Ultrasound to screen for fetal malformations (3D, 4D ultrasound) Follow-up, birth control in cases of normal or difficult birth treatment of pre-eclampsia, placenta previa, pregnancy with complicated medical conditions... Cesarean section for 1st, 2nd, 3rd time caesarean section... Examination, treatment treatment of gynecological diseases. Examination and consultation of infertile couples

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