Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding sometimes doesn’t “just happen”. It certainly didn’t for me, which is probably why I have such a fascination (obsession?) for the topic.

I was going to post a video of a baby doing the breast crawl, but there are so many I didn’t know how to choose! The basic principle of the breast crawl is that babies are born with lots of innate reflexes, which we can stimulate by touching particular parts of the body in a particular way to get a predictable response. For example, if you hold baby upright with feet touching something, baby starts to “walk”. Funnily enough, this same reflex is perfectly designed, in conjunction with several others, to get baby from belly to boob! The recipe is simple: give baby the chance to be tummy-to-tummy, skin-to-skin, with gravity to assist (baby on top), and watch the action. Okay, so I just picked a video for you. If you are interested in finding out more about the breast crawl, check out the work of Suzanne Colson, who has popularised the concept of Biological Nurturing, also known as Laid Back Breastfeeding. Weird how something natural appears to need a modern name, as if it was brand new… but that’s a whole other discussion.

Breastfeeding Practicalities: Breastfeeding can be easy for some, and really tricky for others. A good visual resource is available at Global Health Media; there’s help for: attaching your baby at the breast; breastfeeding in the first hours after birth; positions for breastfeeding; expressing and storing breastmilk; figuring out how to know if baby is getting enough milk and how to increase your supply if needed; and what to do for breast or nipple pain.

For a great description of how to master (mistress? missus?) the cradle hold, check out the free information resource from Dr Robyn Thompson (Breastfeeding: The Thompson Method). You will need to do a quick registration to access the pdf document, and once in, you will find a link to an online video as well. Best of all, it’s really, really simple!

For peer support in the Southland and Otago regions, you can go to Breastfeeding SOS to find someone who to help you. There is also a handy app, called BURP, which you can install on your device/s, so you can find baby-friendly places when you are out-and-about; it also has links to other supports.

Also, if you wish to meet up with other breastfeeding mums, you can attend your local La Leche League support group. Here’s a quick link to the Invercargill branch.

Alcohol and breastfeeding: Do you fancy a drink but think you will have to wean baby, or pump and dump? No! Check out Dr Jack Newman’s facebook post on the subject. And there’s a handy ap (for everything) called Feedsafe which you can utilise on those occasions when you wish to imbibe. Don’t let a tipple ruin your breastfeeding relationship to baby!