What is Breastfeeding?
Breastmilk is the ideal food for infants. It is safe, clean and contains antibodies which help protect against many common childhood illnesses.
Breastfeeding could be quite easy. You may start your breastfeeding on the first day after give birth.
There are several common breastfeeding positions, choose the one that suits you and baby best.
- You need to find a comfortable place to breastfeed.
- Choose the most comfortable position for breastfeeding,
- Ensure your baby has a proper latch
Cradle Position
- Lower the baby to the level of the breast (so you won’t have to lift the breast).
- Hold the baby close to your body, well supported by your cradling arm. Rest your arms on pillows for support if needed.
- Line up the baby’s body so that your nipple touches the baby’s nose.
- Hug the baby’s hips close to your body.
- Wait until the baby tips and reaches for the nipple. Some mothers use their free hand to put slight pressure on the breast right above the nipple. This helps point the nipple to the roof of the baby’s mouth.
- Draw in the baby at the neck, shoulders and hips (the chin will touch the breast first). The baby’s chin will be tucked close to your breast and the nose will be tipped away.
- Avoid drawing the baby to breast by pushing on the head. This will bury the nose and block your view of baby’s face. The baby’s lips should be flanged.
Cross-cradle Position
- Cross Cradle (to latch baby to left breast)
- Support the baby with your right arm. Hug baby's hips close using your upper arm. Use your right hand to support the baby at the base of head.
- Shape your left breast with your left hand.
- Stroke the baby's lips with your nipple, encouraging baby to tip the head slightly to reach it. This helps baby open wider.
- Use your left thumb to tip your nipple toward the roof of the baby's mouth as he/she comes on. Hug the baby in close at the shoulders and hips.
- Once latched, baby’s chin will be tucked into the breast and the nose will be tipped away. Mother and baby should be able to look into each other's eyes.
Side-lying Position
- Rest comfortably on your side - Use pillows at your back if needed.
- Place the baby’s lower shoulder close to your ribs - Tucked close under your breast. Roll the baby toward you.
- Baby should be ‘down hill’ from your breast - Your nipple should touch the baby on the nose or even between the eyes.
- Baby will sense the nipple and push up to take it - This will tip the nose away from the breast and allow you to look into one another’s eyes. Baby’s chin will be tucked close to the breast.
- Some babies need their mother to shape the breast to help them latch (especially if the breast is large, very full, or the nipples are flat).
Clutch Position
- Tuck the baby’s bottom up against the back of the chair or bed pillow (if baby’s feet are straight back, baby will push away and be stiff).
- Turn the baby’s body in toward yours.
- Lift the breast and stroke the baby’s lips until baby tips back and reaches for the nipple.
- Hug baby close with pressure on the neck and shoulders. Draw baby in with the chin touching the breast. This allows baby’s head to tip back slightly so nose is unblocked. Mother and baby should be able to look into each other’s eyes.
Nutrition of breast milk
Your breast milk is 87.5% water.
The rest contains millions of different components, including various carbohydrates, fats, proteins and minerals.
During a feed, breast milk changes colour and becomes thicker as the amount of energy it contains gradually increases.
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Provides all the nutrients a baby needs in the first 6 months
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Help your baby to develop a healthy immune system through the gut
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Contains immune cells (leukocytes), will increase in number if you or your baby are ill to protect your baby from infection
Learn more about breast milk
Carbohydrates
The main carbohydrate in breast milk is lactose.
Lactose works with other carbohydrates in breast milk to provide energy contents of breast milk to allow all the normal process in the body to occur.
Lactose also helps with mineral absorption and help your baby to absorb more calcium from your breast milk. And it helps the ‘good bacteria’ in your baby’s gut, as any lactose which isn’t digested in your baby’s stomach will be fermented by the ‘good’ bacteria in your baby’s gut.
Protein
Protein provides the basic building blocks (amino acids) for the growth and repair of all the cells in baby’s body.
Protein in breast milk are in form of "whey" and "casein". There are also many proteins in breast milk, which have very specific and important roles in baby's body.
For example, breast milk contains an enormous amount of antibodies that help to support baby’s immune system, and therefore help fighting off the infections.
Fat content
Breast milk contains many different types of fats which are playing different important roles in baby’s development.
For example, long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPs) are important for the development of your baby’s brain. Research has shown that two particularly important LCPs – AA and DHA – are found in breast milk.
Consuming more of the important fats during pregnancy and while breastfeeding can help your baby’s development, encouraging better visual and brain development and movement skills.
The main ways to include LCPs in your diet are by eating fish, eggs and meat.
Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs)
Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are carbohydrate molecules that naturally occur in breast milk.
Each litre of breast milk contains approximately 12–15g of HMOs, as with all factors in breast milk these levels are various between different mothers.
Breast milk has around 200 known HMO structures that work together to help your baby develop a healthy immune system through the gut.
Vitamins and Minerals
Breast milk contains many different types of vitamins and minerals (e.g. vitamins A, B6, D, etc).
It is important that you make sure you have a healthy balanced diet throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding, as these vitamins and minerals come from mothers.
All these vitamins and minerals play some roles within the body from vitamin E’s role in immune system stimulation to iodine’s role in growth and mental development.
Other
Breast milk contains millions of other factors which help baby from helping their immune system to developmental benefits.
For example, breast milk contains stem cells, growth factors, postbiotics, bacteria, immune factors (cytokines), hormones and immune cells.
Breast milk is rich in nucleotides, which are the building blocks for all cells in the body, including the immune system. Research has shown that nucleotides support the activity of certain cells within the immune system, helping protect the body against infection.
Hormones found in breast milk change throughout the day, and helps to regulate the baby’s body functions like energy balance and sleep.
