Experts recommend that children be breastfed within one hour of birth, and exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months. Many consider it a great way to bond with their child, though there may be some challenges along the way…
The most likely reason for milk drying up is the inhibition of the ejection reflex (the mechanism by which milk is ejected from the breast). This reduces the production of milk and gradually stops it completely. Often, the drying up has psychological reasons behind it — when people ask the mother whether her milk has… [ Continue Reading ]
Your grandmother, or even your mother, may have fed the baby whenever the baby seemed hungry or cried. This is called the self demand schedule. Later, it must have become customary to feed the baby at fixed times according to the clock, three hourly for a baby below 3 kg and four hourly for a… [ Continue Reading ]
Most babies suckle easily and naturally. They are born with the suckling reflex. To start the suckling reflex, a stimulus has to touch the baby’s hard palate. The stimulus is provided by the nipple, which has to be offered to the baby. But, occasionally a baby has to learn to suck. Especially in cases where… [ Continue Reading ]
Breast feeding is instinctive and most mothers take to it naturally. However, a lot of mothers switch over to formulae at the slightest problem. One of the most common causes cited for resorting to top feeds is inadequate milk production. Primary lactation failure is an extremely rare event. Usually it is due to secondary causes…. [ Continue Reading ]
The other day I went to my sister’s place to see her newborn baby girl. “Oh! She is beautiful Rupa.” I exclaimed as I held the bundle in my arms. I was so engrossed in the baby that it took me sometime to realise my sister was not sounding as excited as I was. Then… [ Continue Reading ]
Milk is produced in the mammary glands present in the breast. This glandular tissue is embedded in fat, giving the breast its round contours and size. The amount of glandular tissue in the breast is similar in amount in all women. Thus, milk production does not depend on the size of the breast. Milk production… [ Continue Reading ]
The milk supply increases from about 100 ml on the second day to about 500 ml in the second week and more slowly thereafter. Some mothers get very panicky as to whether the baby is getting enough breast milk. I have known mothers who weighed the baby after every feed or at least every day…. [ Continue Reading ]
It was two-and-a-half months since the baby was born. I had not stepped out of home after childbirth. That was not because I was ill or was inept at handling the new-found responsibility of parenting. It was because I could not imagine feeding in public, let alone do it. I often wondered how women managed… [ Continue Reading ]
I got a call from Ria. Her baby was not feeding properly, she said. I asked her about her child’s feeding habits. “I feed every two hours,” she said. “And what if she wants food in between,” I asked. Ria had been giving her daughter glucose water whenever she cried in between feeds. No wonder… [ Continue Reading ]
Ria wanted to come over to clear some doubts about her menstrual cycle. “Why don’t you have tea with me,” I offered. Ria was under the impression that the menstrual cycle begins soon after the delivery. Which is partly true. Some women start menstruating as early as six weeks after delivery, but in some breastfeeding… [ Continue Reading ]
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