New mothers should master the correct posture when breastfeeding

Whether you are a hot working mom or a new dad, you are always confused when it comes to feeding your baby: How much should a newborn baby eat? How often should he or she be fed? How to pat the back? What other precautions are there? After reading this article, you can transform from a confused new parent to a breastfeeding expert.

1. Start breastfeeding your baby as soon as possible after delivery

Starting to breastfeed as soon as possible after delivery will help the breasts secrete milk, and a drop of colostrum is worth a thousand pieces of gold, even though colostrum looks ugly. According to the recommendations of the World Health Organization, breastfeeding should be started as soon as possible within 30 minutes after birth, and the newborn should be placed in the same bed with the mother so that the baby can be fed on demand according to the principle of unstable feeding time and unstable amount, so that the baby can obtain the most precious colostrum. Although the mother may be physically and mentally tired and her breasts do not feel swollen, she must let the baby suck the breast as early as possible to avoid missing the best opportunity.

2. Newborn feeding time: any time

Babies under two months old can be fed on demand, that is, fed according to the child's needs, regardless of time and place. Newborns have irregular sleep and diet, so it is normal for them to need to feed in the middle of the night. When the baby is about two months old, you can gradually adjust the child's diet and sleep pattern. There is no need to rigidly stipulate the number of breastfeeding times, intervals and amount of feeding. You should pick up the baby and breastfeed him/her whenever he/she cries or when you feel it is time to feed him/her. The baby should eat as much as he/she can. This will increase the secretion of prolactin in the mother's body, thereby increasing milk secretion. It can also prevent the mother from developing milk sores and affect the baby's breastfeeding.

3. Master the reasonable breastfeeding posture

There are two common breastfeeding positions: lying down and holding. No matter what posture you adopt to breastfeed, you need to put the entire nipple and areola into the baby's mouth, which will help reduce the chance of nipple cracks. After feeding, you can apply breast milk to the nipples to help prevent nipple cracks. When the breast milk flows too fast, the mother can pinch the areola with her hands to help control the breast milk flow.

4. Breastfeeding precautions

The feeding method for newborns is breastfeeding on demand; if there is little sweating, there is no need to add water to breastfeeding because breast milk contains about 80% water; the baby should start taking vitamin D regularly 14 days after birth; it is not advisable to breastfeed the baby before and after the child is vaccinated.

5. How to artificially feed

Breast milk is the best food for babies, but for some special reasons, children have to be fed artificially. So how should artificial feeding be done?

Artificial feeding can be done by taking the following steps: wash your hands, fill in an appropriate amount of warm water, pour in the appropriate amount of milk powder (add according to the instructions), test the temperature, and then give it to your baby to drink.

Artificial feeding requires adding 10ml-20ml of water to two meals of milk powder. It is not advisable to add glucose to the milk powder, or to not prepare the milk powder according to the dosage. After the baby starts breastfeeding, the mother should pay attention to the tilt angle of the bottle to match the baby's sucking angle. The milk should fill the entire nipple so that the baby will not inhale too much air. Remember to burp the baby after feeding. Pay attention to the disinfection of the bottle. If the baby does not finish the prepared milk in one go, do not save it for the next time.

6. How to burp your baby

When burping your baby, use your empty palm to gently pat from bottom to top and from both sides to the center. It's enough to wait until the baby burps. After burping your baby, you can let your baby sleep on his side, which will help him spit up milk.