Breastfeeding: what is it?
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Breastfeeding is the optimal way to feed new-borns. Breast milk is the nourishment that is best adapted to the baby’s needs. It contains sufficient quantities of micronutrients, vitamins and fat. Breastfeeding, unlike artificial milk, also strengthens the infants’ immune defences by providing antibodies.
Breastfeeding is a personal choice and the mother’s sole decision, and the fact that a mother does not want, or is not able to breastfeed, does not mean that she is a bad mother. Breastfeeding is a choice and a difficult experience for some women.
When is it necessary to breastfeed?
Since giving birth, the mother’s breasts secrete colostrum, the first milk secreted. It is consumed by the infant and is considered an additional barrier against possible microbial attacks. Breastmilk reaches maturity at the end of the second week after birth.
Breastfeeding works following the supply and demand principle: the amount of milk produced depends on the frequency of feedings. The more milk the baby consumes, the more often they feed, and so the more milk is produced by the mother. There is no precise time to breastfeed a baby, but do not wait until they cry to start feeding them.
There are detectable signs such as when they suck, or when the baby puts his hand to their mouth. There is no number of exact feedings, an infant can feed on average 10 to 12 times a day during the first few weeks. Thereafter, the mother and the baby will have become used to it and will have found their own feeding rhythm.
What are the complications? What are the contra-indications?
There are some complications, preferably referred to as minor setbacks rather than problems, because they are often avoidable, and breastfeeding can almost always be continued.
These complications include:
- cracks, characterised by skin fissures of the nipple and/or aureole.
- clogging, in the form of secondary breast blockage, due to insufficient milk excretion
- lymphangitis, a secondary inflammatory or infectious reaction to a traumatic aggression of the lymphatic system.
In these cases, it is necessary to talk to your pharmacist or doctor in order to get the right treatment.
Furthermore, some people are told not to breastfeed, because of certain illnesses and medications. People who suffer from active untreated tuberculosis, HIV, HTLV1 and 2, and mothers exposed to radioactive products for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes, can’t breastfeed their child, as well as those undergoing anti-cancerous chemotherapy and drug addicts. Of course, all cases differ and there are many exceptions, so talk to your doctor should you need to.
