Nursing Mothers

Baby's First Meal

 Just about everyone knows that breastfeeding an infant is much better than bottle feeding. But not many people can name more than a couple of reasons why nursing a baby is better.  The fact is a book could be filled with advantages of breastfeeding and there would still be enough material left over to write several more books.  

When a baby is born she basically comes out of a nice secure womb and is thrust into the cold germ filled world.  The baby is cold and in need of a parent’s warmth.  She is tiny, frail, and completely dependent on her mother. She has no motor skill and has much to learn. About all she has is an impulse to suckle.  That’s where breastfeeding comes in.  The first milk a mother produces is called colostrum (coh-LOSS-strum). Colostrum is a thick yellow fluid and is rich in protein, nutrients and antibodies, and one of the big benefits of breastfeeding. 

 The thick gold color fluid has been called liquid gold because it provides everything a newborn needs. Colostrum provides 100% of your baby’s fluid and dietary needs.  A newborn has a tiny little tummy and doesn’t eat that much at first.  But the thimble full of milk she drinks at those first meals is the best food in the world for her. Nutrition is not all that colostrum gives a baby.  It gives the newborn a big head start against infections. Bacteria are everywhere. Germs are in the food we eat and the water we drink. It’s on our clothing and on our skin.  In most cases our immune system easily shrugs off any illness. 

A newborn is quite different. They’re tiny immune systems have very little resistance.  Colostrum and mothers milk directly impart the much needed antibodies that will help your child to resist illness. The first feedings are a learning process for mother and baby. A newborn is born with a suckling instinct.  That instinct is strongest immediately after birth. 

It is best to introduce your newborn to your breast as soon as practical after birth.  This first feeding  will not only stimulate your breasts to start producing more milk but will also help both you and baby to learn how to breastfeed.  At first your breasts will not manufacture a lot of milk.  This is normal. 

A baby doesn’t need a lot of milk. In fact it is helpful that your breasts are not full of milk at first.  Breasts with little milk in them are softer and more pliable that breasts that are full of milk.  During the learning process it’s easier for the baby to latch onto a softer breast. A newborn will lose a little weight after birth.  This is normal. 

The baby’s appetite and your milk production will pick up. Slowly over the first week your milk will change from colostrum to the more traditional creamy milk.

The volume of milk you produce will also increase dramatically.  Some women have referred to this stage as when their milk came in.  This is also called transitional milk.  The milk is creamy, but not as thick as colostrum.  Mature milk will appear approximately one week after childbirth. Mature milk is produced in great volumes and is more watery than transitional milk.