Food for Thought: Breastfeeding and Bottle-Feeding

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Getting breastfeeding off to the best possible start . Common questions and concerns about breastfeeding . Breastfeeding tips for special situations . Choosing a breast pump . Storing breast milk . Bottle-feeding

Food for Thought: Breastfeeding and Bottle-Feeding

In 1995, approximately 60% of new mothers in the United States were breastfeeding their infants either exclusively or in combination with formula feeding at the time they were discharged from the hospital, but only 21.6% were still nursing their babies on a part-time or full-time basis some six months later. It's a statistic that frustrates members of the American Academy of Pediatrics's Work Group on Breastfeeding—a group that would like to see breastfeeding become the norm for American women and their babies.

Although studies have shown that breastfeeding offers a number of health advantages to mothers and babies—advantages that bottle-feeding can't match—not all women will choose or be able to breastfeed. That's why we've chosen to include information on both breastfeeding and bottle- feeding in this chapter.

Getting breastfeeding off to the best possible start
As we mentioned in the previous chapter, newborns are particularly alert during the first hour after birth. If you're intending to breastfeed, this is the ideal time to try to establish a breastfeeding relationship.

" Nursing is so much more than a method of feeding: it's a whole way of mothering.
—Tracy, 31, mother of one "

The first time
The majority of healthy babies are born with a strong rooting reflex—a reflex that makes them open their mouth wide and move their mouth frantically in search of a nipple. You can stimulate your baby's reflex and encourage him to latch on by gently stroking his lower lip with the nipple. Your baby will then open his mouth widely, at which point you can move him toward your breast.

When your baby takes your nipple into his mouth, his jaws should close around the areola (the flat, pigmented area surrounding the nipple) rather than on the nipple itself. You can help him to latch on properly by grasping your breast with one thumb above the areola and the fingers and palms below it, and then gently compressing your breast. You can then direct your nipple into the baby's mouth. The nipple should be level or pointed slightly downward to avoid having it rub on the roof of your baby's mouth.

Let the baby nurse at the first breast for as long as he likes, and then put him on the other side until he stops nursing by himself.

You can tell that your baby is nursing properly (rather than just playing with the nipple) if you

• experience the let-down reflex (a tingling or tightening in your nipple that occurs as your milk is ejected);
  
  
• hear swallowing sounds (a sign that he is engaging in vigorous "nutritive sucking" rather than the more relaxed "non-nutritive sucking"—a source of emotional comfort to young babies);
  
  
• feel uterine cramping (something you will experience only during the first few days postpartum and might not experience much at all if this is your first baby);
  
  
• notice that your baby falls asleep after nursing and appears to be satisfied with the amount of food he received.