A new mother is thrown with so many challenging situations each day with her newborn that she does not understand what to do and what not to do. This is particularly truer in the case of women who have become mum for the first time.
Congratulations on your baby! But now what?
Most women are baffled at how much effort it takes into feeding and nourishing a small baby and to raise them well without making them malnourished because of our own lack of knowledge. It is better to seek help in this case than to believe the wrong opinions and suggestions from your neighbour or an old aunt.
Women have multiple concerns when taking care of their little ones. The most common problem for a woman is how to feed her baby and what to feed her baby. As soon as a baby is placed in the hands of the mother, a whole new set of responsibilities are placed in the hands of the mother that she has zero experience.
However, it is completely natural for new parents to become extra scared or concerned about their new baby. It is in our nature to give the best to our kids and think of every best possible way to handle the situation so that their baby does not have to go through even the slightest of discomfort.
It is good to be extra cautious to worry about your baby’s health and anything that might cause trouble. Such questions must properly be answered, so the baby’s health is not put at risk that could have been avoided easily. It is better to be safe than to deal with severe consequences.
Most parents present to the doctors in their offices, having considerable doubts and questions about how to breastfeed or how to start giving solid food to their baby. The questions most parents raise with a doctor are valid. However, most of the questions are based or mere doubts or debunked myths that have nothing much to do with reality.
Nevertheless, doctors must politely explain the situation to the parents and help them eliminate all the dubious thoughts in their heads so they can take better care of their new baby without worrying too much.
Parents are almost always worrying about the way they breastfeed their babies. The biggest myths that people talk about in a doctor’s office is how to proceed with breastfeeding their little ones.
Unfortunately, there are multiple false perceptions about breastfeeding. Most people also believed that women should not feed their first milk to their newborns because it is not good for their health as it contains contents that are potentially poisonous for the baby’s health.
When in actuality, the first milk that comes out of a human’s breasts is called colostrum, which is, in fact, the most nutritious and healthy milk to feed the baby. The first milk contains everything that the baby needs during his first day in the world in order to survive in the best possible way.
Similarly, many women believe they must not shake human milk when stored in a bottle because it kills all the good nutrients, and the milk then becomes useless. This myth is also not true, and it is completely fine to give a gentle twirl to the milk to blend its content like water and fats evenly. It is to make sure the baby is getting all the contents of the milk in a proper way.
There are several other questions and doubts in the heads of new mothers, and it is necessary to eliminate such thoughts to enable them to raise their babies in the best way.
Therefore, in this article, we are going to talk about things that new moms are commonly worried about. Keep reading the article below to learn answers to your questions and discover new things that you might not have known before.
This is better than going to a doctor’s office to get every one of your questions answered when we can help you with your concerns and your baby.
Breast milk pumping is the easiest way for mothers to store the excess milk that they produce instead of wasting it. A mother may feel the need to use a breast pump for several important factors which may include:
A mother is a working woman. It is especially hard for a working mothers to be always present and feed their new babies when they are hungry. Therefore, in order to keep a meal prepared for them, working moms pump some extra meals for them so that their babies could enjoy their food even when their mums are not there to feed them directly.
When a mother is producing excess milk that is more than enough for their babies, then they choose to store the rest instead of discarding it. At most times, women find it hard to feed their babies a full mean because their babies just refuse to feed any further. In such cases, a woman always has the choice of storing her breast milk for later use.
If a woman feels pressure in her breasts because she is so full of milk, then it is best to pump the milk out. Most of the time, a woman may produce more milk than her baby requires for a daily meal. As a result, women may have to use a breast pump to let out her breast milk and relieve the pain and pressure in her breasts that caused her discomfort.
Similarly, a mother should let go of extra milk in her breasts to prevent themselves from developing breast infection, which can be gruesome.
On the contrary, some babies find it hard to initiate the process of suckling. For such babies, lactation experts recommend that mothers use a breast pump to store their milk in a safe container and then use a bottle to feed the milk to her baby.
Regardless of the reason, a mother can choose to pump up her breast milk and even donate it to other mothers who are not able to produce sufficient breast milk of their own or have it placed in a milk bank for anyone to use it to feed their babies.
Mothers are often bothered by this question. Even though the answer to this is not so complicated, it does have a ‘fixed’ answer to it. In fact, as a rule of thumb, a mother should pump her breast milk whenever she finds it convenient or the need to.
It can happen that a woman never finds it a necessity to use a breast milk pump on herself because her breast milk production has naturally synchronized with their little one’s feeding pattern or their hunger schedule.
However, life is not so easy and forgiving for most of us. Hence, there will be times when a mother will find it necessary to pump her breast milk.
There are some instances that may help with the efficient pumping of breast milk.
A woman should ideally use a breast pump first thing in the morning because many mothers tend to produce more milk after they wake up. This way, she will have a chance at pumping out maximum milk before starting her day.
A mother can pump breast milk whenever her baby is done feeding for the moment. In such situations, a mother can pump milk when the baby is done feeding, but they have not consumed the complete volume of the milk that is present in the breasts at that time.
Hence, a mother can store the remaining milk in a clean and sterilized container. This makes the milk usable for later feeding periods when her baby is hungry again.
Essentially, a mother should start pumping her breast milk after two weeks of giving birth. A woman can also pump her milk right at the delivery of her baby in case the baby was born before the end term.
This facilitates the mother in keeping her breast milk safe for the baby to feed later on when the baby is completely healthy.
It is important to understand that a woman’s breast produces milk in different quantities throughout the day. A human body produces more milk in the morning, and it reduces in quantity gradually as the day goes on. This means the body produces less milk in the afternoon, and even less in the evening, or at night.
A woman can choose to pump before or after breastfeeding her baby. In other words, she can pump an hour before feeding her baby. It does not matter if you are pumping when there is a chance that your baby might want to be fed immediately. You will still have enough milk left to feed your baby, and if not, then one can go ahead feed them the milk they just pumped.
Breasts are always producing milk thanks to the stimulus it gets from the sucking mechanism of the baby and as well as the pumping machine. The more the suckling stimulus, the more the milk hormone called ‘prolactin’ is released in the body.
This hormone helps in the productions of the milk and its ‘let down’ mechanism from the ducts.
You can practice pumping both of your breasts at the same time. On the other hand, you can also go for pumping one breast while feeding your baby from the other breast. Simultaneous and continuous stimulation of both breasts enhances milk production and works on the release of the milk.
Anyone can store breastmilk in a sterilized and clean milk bag instead of bottles. Such bags do not allow air to pass through it, which means these bags are much better in keeping the milk safe for the baby to consume later on.
Plastic bottles or any other container increases the chances of contamination and infection.
There are a few prerequisites to pumping milk from the breasts. These are mentioned below.
A mother must always wash her hands with soap and water and pat them dry properly.
The pumping machine should be washed and cleaned before use.
Avoid touching unnecessary things during pumping to prevent contamination of the process or the container bags.
The bags must be properly sealed to ensure no air comes or goes out of the bag.
The question is tricky for some. However, there is no rocket science in using stored breast milk. A woman can go about feeding the stored milk, just like how she feeds her baby directly from her breasts.
A mother can take the following measures to make sure that she is feeding her baby stored milk the right way.
Once pumped, breast milk can be kept in the freezer for almost ten days.
You can use this milk over time. Allow the milk to thaw and attain room temperature.
You can warm the milk before feeding it to your baby. Make sure the temperature of the milk is right. It should not be too hot, either too cold.
You must make sure that the baby has consumed the milk within two hours of warming the stored milk. It is to make sure that the essential components of the milk are still favorable and not destroyed. If you leave the milk for much longer than two hours, the chances are that the milk will go bad, and it will not remain usable for your baby.
It is important to remember that it is not recommended on a usual basis to restore the leftover milk once you have already thawed and warmed it. If your baby has not consumed the whole bag, then it is wise to discard the remaining milk instead of refreezing it.
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