MEDICAL INSIDER
DR. RIA MASLOG
Newborn
Today’s topic is still a continuation of how we pediatricians
instruct our mothers on newborn care. Let us now talk
more about breastfeeding.
While in the hospital, we emphasize to every mother the
importance of breastfeeding and the benefits that every
newborn will get through this practice.
We, pediatricians and the hospital staff, hold breastfeeding
classes so that mothers will know how to properly do
breastfeeding.
The following are the simple techniques about
breastfeeding that we teach the mothers:
- Mothers should be in the most comfortable position
during breastfeeding. She could either lie on the bed or be
seated properly on the chair with her back rested - The mother should wear a dress with buttons opening in
front and she should wear a breastfeeding bra so that it
would be easier for her to do breastfeeding anytime and
anywhere. - The mother may wash her nipples gently with soft clean
water once a day during her bath and not every
breastfeeding to avoid dryness around the breast area. - Mothers are informed that the key or stimulus for her
breastmilk to flow is the sucking of her baby on her nipple.
This will send signal to her brain to release breastmilk.
This is what is called as feedback mechanism. The more
the mother will let her baby suck on her breast, the more
signal there will be to the brain and the more milk
production will happen. - The baby should lie tummy to tummy with her mother
during breastfeeding and the baby’s mouth should cover
the areola of the mother. The mother is told that she will
know if the sucking position is proper if no sounds will be
heard and a dimpling on the baby’s cheeks can be
observed. - In 5-10 minutes of breastfeeding, the baby can almost
empty the milk content of that breast so they should be
transferred to the other breast so that the baby can also
empty the content of that breast. Both breasts should be
emptied at the same time so that it will be refilled at the
same time, too. For the next feeding time, the mother
should let the baby suck on the breast that was last
sucked by the baby. - After each breastfeeding, we encourage every mother
to burp her baby well. - Purely breastfed babies may not need extra water since
mother’s milk is complete. It is the mother, who should
drink more fluids - We tell the mothers that they should get good sleep,
good nutrition and proper mindset that they have milk and
that they are capable of purely breastfeeding their babies
for 2 years.