HOW TO BREAST-FEED BABY
Baby can be breastfed even after 4-5 hours of his birth. A light yellow-coloured, thick fluid oozes from breasts for the first 2-3 days. It is full of protein that protects babies from various infective diseases. Take these precautions—
• If you are using any drug for your own ailment, consult your doctor about breastfeeding your baby lest the effect of medicines adversely affect the baby.
• Never feed the child while you are lying in bed. Sit comfortably on a sofa, chair, bed or on the ground or use a raised pillow. Let the child suck milk alternatively from both the right and left nipples.
• When feeding from the left nipple, keep the left side higher and hold your breast nipple with your hand in such a way that the index finger remains touching the upper side and the rest of the fingers on the lower side of the nipple.
• Firmly hold your breast and position it in such a way that milk does not enter in baby’s nostrils.
• For the initial 4-5 days, there is no necessity to excessively milk-feed the baby. As long as the baby does not fully start to drink milk, he may be given pre-boiled and then cooled-down water with a bottle
• For the first 2-3 days from birth, breastfeed the baby only for 3-4 minutes each time, after which ( say after a week or so) let him suck milk for about 10 minutes at each time of feeding.
• Thoroughly wash your nipples before and after feeding, and wipe the child’s mouth, chin, nose, and neck each time.
• Try to fix timings for breastfeeding. It is harmful to feed the child whenever he cries or weeps. Probably, the cause of his weeping/crying may be some discomfort or disease.
• If your child is asleep, do not disturb breastfeeding. You can feed him when he is awake, nor feed him when he is weeping, as milk may spill over to his windpipe and hiccough may ensue. Do not feed him when he is in an angry mood or even when he is happy and playing.
BELCHING OR ERUCTATIONS
Some amount of air enters into the child’s stomach while feeding—either by breast or bottle feeding. If the air is not expelled, he may either vomit milk or suffer from colic due to wind accumulation. So, after milk feeding, the child should be seated on your thigh—keeping one hand on his stomach and the other on his back. Now lightly and gradually, revolve your hand around his back and pat gently. This way, the trapped wind will get discharged through eructations. It is an indicator to the point that the milk feed has not disturbed him. Another method is to cling the child to your shoulders, keeping his neck and head touching and resting on your shoulder. Hold him with one hand but, with the other hand, gently tap or massage his back. While belching, the child may emit some amount of milk also, which is natural; there is no cause for any alarm.
A mother can breastfeed her child for the first 5-6 months, after which there is not enough milk in her breasts to feed her baby. After a lapse of 6 months, the child may be fed with cow’s milk (diluted).
BOTTLE-FEEDING
An infant imbibes infection mainly through unhygienic nipples. If a baby is to be bottle-fed, the following steps are required to be taken.
• Sterilize the feeding bottle thoroughly with hot water and let it dry.
• Make sure that nipple is also thoroughly sterilized and check the hole is not blocked. If the hole is blocked, it should be punctured slightly but not punctured so broadly as to cause an excessive outflow of milk, which could gag the child. So, a hole in the nipple should be widened to such an extent that only a thin flow of milk comes out.
• Before feeding, drop a few drops on the back side of your hand to check up on its temperature. Serve only lukewarm milk— neither too hot nor cold.
• Prepare only the required quantity of milk, and if, perchance, some quantity is left behind or if the child refuses to be fed, do not serve it again to the child. Always give fresh bottled milk.
• Sterilize the bottle after use and keep it in a dry and neat place—free from dust, flies, smoke, impurities etc.
• Frequently check/change the nipple and never use any hard nipple which can injure the child’s tender membranes.
• Width of the nipple’s hole should be gradually widened as the child grows, in proportion to the quantity of feed intake. Use only a duly heated pin or needle.
• Quantity of milk to be prepared and served is indicated by the baby. Still, the actual feed quantity can be modified according to actual needs and the baby’s health and digestive capacity.
• Do not overfeed the baby to make it quickly fat and healthy.
• Raise the level of the feeding bottle as the milk’s quantity reduces in the bottle.
• Before feeding, let out a few drops to ensure a free flow of milk.
Note—100 gms of Amul Spray or Glaxo will give 22 gms Protein, 18 gms Fats, 50 gms Carbohydrates, Vitamin-D 400 units and 450 Calories. But the same quantity of Lactogen will give 16.1 gms of Protein, 24.2 gms of Fats, 53 gms of Carbohydrates, 450 units of Vitamin D, and 495 Calories.
• Never cleanse the feeding bottle and nipple with soap or any detergent powder, or any other chemical. All said and done, hot boiling water is the best medium.
• Fix timings for feeding. Do not feed whenever the child weeps or cries nor force milk feed upon him. Once the child gets accustomed to the feeding pattern and schedule, there won’t be any problem.
• Preferably use a glass bottle or a stainless steel bottle but avoid using plastic/synthetic feeding bottles.