Feeding Your Baby: Tips for Successful Breastfeeding

For anyone entering parenthood today, you’ve undoubtedly heard the phrase “breast is best,” and for good reason. That’s because there are simply no substitutes that rival the invaluable health benefits of breast milk, which explains why the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends feeding babies breast milk exclusively for the first 6 months, and as long as possible – ideally throughout the first year. Yet according to the CDC’s 2013 Breastfeeding Report Card, while nearly 4 out of 5 new moms start breastfeeding, only half are still doing so at 6 months, and fewer still – only about twenty-five percent – continue throughout the full first year.

As with so many aspects of parenthood, it has been my experience that it’s one thing to know what to do, and altogether another to know how do it. In the case of breastfeeding, the fact of the matter is that what’s “natural” doesn’t always come naturally. Too many moms are caught off guard by this and quit early because they don’t have the support they need. In other words, they mistakenly think they’re failing when they’re really not. That’s why I think it’s so important to share the following breastfeeding insights and practical tips, as they can really help to increase the odds of breastfeeding success.

  • Catching on to latching on. Don’t be afraid to ask for help if at first your baby doesn’t succeed. Some babies are born with the ability to latch on to the breast correctly right from the start, but others really benefit from some hands-on training before they catch on to this all-important skill.
  • Be sure to send out an SOS (in Search out Support)! Anyone who’s ever done it knows breastfeeding can be time-consuming, tiring, or – if we’re being honest with ourselves – even downright demanding. Breastfeeding moms should always remember to ask for support – whether it’s in the form of a helping hand at the hospital, help tending to baby’s other night-time needs, or to fend off any feelings of isolation or frustration.
  • Remember it’s a matter of supply and demand. Fussy babies often fool moms into believing their milk supply is inadequate. Instead of simply assuming that extra fussing and/or frequent nursing are sure-fire signs of breastfeeding failure, it helps to first understand how the concept of supply and demand applies. Whether in the earliest days of breastfeeding or in the weeks after settling in to a predictable nursing routine, fussing and acting hungry is how babies communicate their growing “demands” so that they can successfully increase the milk supply. If you have any concerns, always remember to check-in with your pediatrician to make sure that everything is on track.
  • Get comfortable. This not only includes finding a comfortable feeding position that works for you and your baby – whether it’s a cradle hold, a football hold, or laying side-by-side – but also becoming comfortable with breastfeeding in general. The ability to find a comfortable position, feel adequately covered-up, and nurse in public and/or on-the-go all serve to make breastfeeding a more enjoyable experience.
  • Don’t get too irritated. Be aware that there are some mild irritations that can show up during the first few days of breastfeeding – most notably some nipple irritation and uterine cramping – but tend to go away within days. After that, remember to be on the lookout for and seek medical advice throughout your breastfeeding months for the onset of any new irritations in order to keep blisters, cracks, blocked milk ducts, or mastitis (breast infection) from getting in the way of an otherwise painless and enjoyable breastfeeding experience.3
  • And finally – remember that breast milk each day really can help keep the doctor away. Not that I am in any way advocating the avoidance of your pediatrician, since a close partnership with your pediatrician and regular checkups are key to your baby’s health. Rather, I find it is both empowering and motivating to finish any discussion of breastfeeding with a reminder that breastfeeding is a great investment in your baby’s overall health – one that not only provides them with the ideal food, but also lots of other health benefits and plenty of opportunity for shared bonding time.

Originally posted on Omaha World Herald’s Live Well Nebraska

The Benefits of Breastfeeding

There sure has been a lot of discussion about breastfeeding in Nebraska lately, and for that I’m glad. But I have to cringe every time it’s brought to my attention that Nebraska is one of only two states without legal protection for “the practice” of breast-feeding. To put it bluntly, as a pediatrician I find this quite embarrassing. Even more than embarrassing, I find it completely baffling. As much as I try to understand the opposition to LB 197 and the right to breast-feed in public, I simply can’t.

After all, you can’t convince me it’s based on concerns about over-exposed breasts. Not in this day in age. Not when Katy Perry flaunts her assets on Sesame Street, Lady Gaga’s outfits leave little to the imagination, and everything from billboards to Superbowl ads bombard us (and worse yet, our children) with nearly bare-all images of women’s breasts. Let me also point out that there’s a huge difference between the pervasive and highly sexualized imagery our society has discouragingly come to tolerate, and breast-feeding. Quite frankly, breast-feeding shouldn’t even be discussed in the same breath. Sure, it involves the breasts, but that’s as far as the connection goes.

I also think that anyone who opposes protecting the rights of women to breast-feed in public is missing the hugely important fact that promoting breast-feeding is one of the single best ways we know to improve the health and well-being of babies (and their mothers). It’s no coincidence that the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Regina Benjamin, recently  launched a nationwide campaign to encourage breastfeeding by removing barriers that discourage it. I applaud well-respected pediatricians Dr. Laura Wilwerding (the American Academy of Pediatrics’ breast feeding coordinator for Nebraska) and Dr. Tom Tonniges (former Associate Director at the American Academy of Pediatrics and now Medical Director at Boys Town) for their recent and ongoing efforts to insure that Nebraskans don’t lose sight of just how important breastfeeding is.

I join them in closely watching what’s happening with LB 197 and hoping Nebraska will soon catch up with the rest of the country in better supporting every new mom’s noble efforts to successfully breast-feed her baby –in the hospital, at home, and yes…even in public.

On that note, I figured it would be most compelling to leave you with a few simple but powerful reminders of just why breast-feeding and LB 197 are so important.

  • Breast milk contains infection-fighting antibodies that provide babies with protection against everything from diarrhea and the common cold to ear infections and pneumonia
  • Breastfed babies are less likely to have asthma
  • Babies who are breastfed for at least six months are less likely to become obese
  • Breastfeeding reduces the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
  • Moms who breastfeed not only return to their pre-pregnancy weight faster, but experience less postpartum bleeding and are at reduced risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

Obstacles such as lack of support, instruction, and accommodation to breastfeed at work and in public all contribute to the fact that while 75% of moms in the U.S. start breastfeeding, only 43% are still doing so at the end of six months (and only 13% exclusively, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics).

Originally posted on Omaha World Herald’s Live Well Nebraska