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Breastfeeding Concerns

What we need to know

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• Can I breastfeed?
• How should I do it?
• Is breastfeeding difficult?
• Will my baby latch on and suckle the breast milk?
• Will he have enough to fill his not-so-tiny stomach?
• Is my breast milk enough for the baby?

These are only a few of the many concerns many new mamas have. But take heart... your decision to breastfeed will never disappoint you. Believe me...;)

Every Woman Can Breastfeed

Yes, you can breastfeed. Every mama can breastfeed, unless she is starving herself, or critically ill, or under medication that would harm the baby. Otherwise, it's our mind that determines if we can breastfeed or not.

There's no hard and fast rule on how we should breastfeed our baby. It's not difficult but requires perseverance and determination. Once we get the hang of it, breastfeeding is indeed a very easy and most convenient way of feeding our baby.

Getting Started Breastfeeding

This is the hard part and yet the most critical part. You may not be able to breastfeed right after the baby is born because your breasts are not stimulated to have the milk flow out yet. And the process of recovering from the hard (or even easy) labor is often tiring.

However, breastfeed your baby as soon as you possibly can. Your breasts need the baby's suckling stimulation to produce milk. You won't feel like you're producing much milk at first, and you'll wonder if the baby is getting enough. It's ok to feel this way...and please, continue on breastfeeding...

It's the stimulation of suckling of the breasts and the thought of nursing that cause the production and the flowing of milk. If the breasts are not stimulated by suckling, the milk production may not be established. The breasts will be drying of milk eventually.

My First Breastfeeding Encounter

After Adriel was born, I demanded exclusive breastfeeding (meaning, only breast milk but no formula to be fed to the baby). The nurse was kind enough to always bring the baby to me whenever he cried for feeding.

It was fun (yea...I felt funny) initially, but I soon became nervous as the baby continued crying after feeding. I didn't know that the breast milk hadn't established as much yet on the first day. (And Adriel had the formula before we went home the next day!)

As a new mama, I read a lot about breastfeeding. However, although I was prepared, the first few days were not as smooth as I expected.

Both my breasts were engorged on the second day. They were big, hot, hard, and a slight touch would cause me pain in the bone.

The baby was not ready to feed yet and no matter how I tried to massage the breast, not even a drip of the milk was expressed out. It was as though I was wearing two heavy iron balls on my chest...a real torture!

It was a heavenly relief after I visited the doctor and the nurse brought me to pump out the breast milk using a heavy-duty electric breast pump. I got a total of 9oz from both breasts!

My breasts were immediately softened and the heaviness and pain were gone right away. Since then, I learnt the way to express breast milk when the baby was not feeding.

Be patient...breastfeeding is a learned skill. Practice makes perfect. And as you continue to breastfeed, you'll learn more about your baby and the way of successful breastfeeding.

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