One of my patients who just gave birth recently described to me what a failure they felt when they found out that they were not able to infant-feed. They told a horrible tale of being belittled in the maternity hospital and how the lactation consultant made them feel as if they weren’t trying hard enough. You’ll get none of that at the Yinova Center where our job is to support you. So l want to start by saying that whilst there are some benefits to you and your baby from infant-feeding, if you find the task difficult or impossible, for whatever reason, your baby will be fine on some of the excellent formulas that are available. As parents, we all do the best we can and we all end up compromising in some areas. It’s OK.
That being said, your milk provides your baby with excellent nutrition, boosts their immunity, and promotes good digestive health. The hormones you release whilst infant-feeding are good for your mood, help reduce your uterus back to its normal size, and help you regain your pre-pregnancy figure.
Latching On
- Get yourself into a comfortable position with your back and feet supported. You can use a pillow on your lap to support the baby so your arms don’t get tired.
- Cradle your baby so they’re lying on their side with their mouth and nose near your nipple.
- Squeeze the nipple to release a small amount of milk to moisten it.
- Use your free hand to compress your breast so that it conforms to the shape of your baby’s mouth
- Use the nipple to stroke the baby’s lips so that he opens his mouth wide.
How to prevent sore nipples
Although you can expect to be a bit tender for the first few days of breastfeeding, sore nipples are a sign that something is wrong and that corrections need to be made.
- Make sure that your baby is latching on correctly. They should have most of your areola in their mouth with your nipple near the back of her mouth so that her gums are pressing down on the milk sinuses that are about 1″ behind the nipple.
- When removing your baby from your breast, break the suction gently by pulling on the baby’s chin or corner of the mouth.
- Look after your nipples between feeds. We have an excellent sore nipple cream here at the Yinova Center which is non-toxic and gentle. Our new Mom’s swear by it for keeping their nipples in good shape.
What to do if you feel you don’t have enough milk
At the Yinova Center, we have found that most new parents worry about this unnecessarily. Most really do have enough milk for their baby.
- Your body makes milk based on how much your baby uses, so feed your baby frequently and for as long as they want.
- Offer both nipples at each feeding but let the baby stay on the first one for as long as they want so that they benefit from the fat-rich “hindmilk.”
- If your baby tends to fall asleep and stops sucking – try switching them between nipples to wake them up and promote active sucking.
- Drink plenty of water
- Get some rest.
- Try to limit your baby’s sucking on things, like pacifiers.
- Try herbs. To start with you can try over-the-counter herbal teas such as fenugreek and fennel, which some parents find helpful. If that doesn’t work, call us at Yinova and we will have a specially tailored herbal formula made for you. Chinese herbs can really help you to produce more milk but please make sure that you use a specialist to prescribe them because many Chinese herbs are contraindicated when nursing.
- Acupuncture treatments in conjunction with the Chinese herbs can be helpful in increasing milk supply.
Engorgement
If infant-feeding becomes hard and painful, you may be becoming engorged.
- Keep feeding.
- Use a pump to release more milk and store it for the future.
- Soak your chest with warm water just before feeding.
- In between feedings, apply a cold compress to your chest to reduce pain and swelling.
- Wear a loose-fitting bra.
- Try not to sleep on your stomach which compresses the chest.
- In Chinese medicine, engorgement is related to qi and blood stagnation. Call us for an herbal formula that can help move the stagnation and relieve engorgement.
- Acupuncture can be used to move qi and milk in the chest area has been used for thousands of years in China and many new parents find that it brings them relief.
Mastitis
If you are swollen, inflamed, red, and tender you may have mastitis which is an infection. Often this follows engorgement because the milk that does not flow can clog up the ducts in the breast leading to an infection. Other signs of mastitis include running a fever and feeling as if you have the flu.
- Contact your doctor to see if you need antibiotics. Untreated mastitis can lead to an abscess so it is never sensible to wait.
- Keep feeding. The infection will not harm the baby and it is important to keep the milk flowing.
- Feed regularly (every 2 hours) to improve milk flow.
- Massage the tender area to encourage blood circulation and help clear the blocked ducts.
- In Chinese medicine, we see mastitis as a combination of qi and blood stagnation with toxic heat. Acupuncture can help move the stagnation and we have anti-bacterial herbs that can help with the toxic heat (infection).
- Alternate warm and cold compresses on your chest. The warm compresses encourage blood to flow and the cold compresses relieve inflammation.
- Drink lots of water.
- Get as much rest as you can.
If you do need help please don’t hesitate to call us. We are here to support you and we love meeting your babies.
