VebieAB

... and its Preparation

When it comes to pregnancy or breastfeeding, there are many people who chose to be the "let's just see about it later, when the time comes", or "if people in the past can do it, I think we can do it too" types.

But being a curious person, I never stop reading and searching for information, including regarding pregnancy and breastfeeding (especially I'm a newbie!).

I realized that there's no 100% guarantee that everything will run smoothly and successful, but I believe that educating oneself (and one's support system) as early as possible is very important.

By the recommendation of my sister-in-law, Nasya, I signed up for two breastfeeding education classes, held by AIMI (Asosiasi Ibu Menyusui Indonesia / Indonesian Breastfeeding Mothers' Association).

Last Saturday, April 25th 2015, was the first class.
It was very informative and interesting, I feel like I have to share it, especially with those who are like me.. expecting their first baby, or simply with those who want to know.

It was a half-day long class, and there are many topics covered.
I'm going to share some important points.

Early Initiation of Breastfeeding (Inisiasi Menyusu Dini or IMD)

Breastfeeding has many health benefits for both the mother and infant. Breast milk contains all the nutrients an infant needs in the first six months of life. Breastfeeding protects against diarrhoea and common childhood illnesses such as pneumonia, and may also have longer-term health benefits for the mother and child, such as reducing the risk of overweight and obesity in childhood and adolescence. Breastfeeding has also been associated with higher intelligence quotient (IQ) in children. (WHO Website)

It is recommended by WHO for mothers initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth.
Immideate mother and baby skin-to-skin contact, for at least an hour, should be encouraged.
This helps increasing the likelihood of exclusive breastfeeding later on, but the main goal is not for the baby to find his/her mom's nipple, but the contact itself.

Here are some benefits of IMD:

Immediate mother-baby bonding (dad too)
colostrum for the baby
higher chance (80%) of successful and longer exclusive breastfeeding
lower the risk of death in newborn babies (22%) and toddler (8,8%)
lower the household expenses (for not buying those expensive formulas)

IMD could be done if:

support obtained from family/support system (husband, parents, etc.) and hospital or health facility
mom and baby are in stable condition
provide at least 1 hour - for normal labor, c-section usually require more
ask for the baby to sleep in the mom's room / rooming-in

Steps of IMD:

"quiet alert": baby on mom's chest, (still) being quiet and adjusting to the surrounding
baby starts to move, putting his/her hands in her mouth; salivating; and making noises
ready to find his/her mom's nipples, by slowly crawling

In addition,
it is important for the baby to stay in the same room as the mother, right from the very beginning, or rooming-in. Why?

Other than increasing the chance of successful breastfeeding, it could also minimize the stress level, for both the baby and mother.
Mother's possibilities of catching "baby blues" could also be avoided with this.

The Benefits of Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is very beneficial, especially for the baby.
It contains all the nutrients that the baby needs at all times.

The nutrient content in the breast milk could change every day/hour/minute/second.
It is adjusting, according to the baby's need (mind-blowing fact for me!!).
Breast milk also contains anti-infection protein, for child's antibody, that could never be found in any other milk (cow's or formula)
When the baby is sick or not well, breast milk will act as the "natural medicine".

But what if the mother is sick? Can she still breastfeed?
YES..
In its production process, breast milk will form substances that will protect the baby from the mothers' illness (i.e. antibody).

So, unless advised otherwise by the doctor, keep on breastfeeding your baby.

The golden rule in successful breastfeeding:

Perform IMD / Early initiation of Breastfeeding
Exclusive breastfeeding for at least 6 months
Nutritious food that accompanies breastfeeding, after 6 months (after the baby's digestion system is ready for more solid food)
Breastfeeding for 2 years

To enable mothers to establish and sustain exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, WHO and UNICEF recommend the following:

Initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour
Exclusive breastfeeding – no additional food or drink, not even water
Breastfeeding on demand – as often as the child wants
No use of bottles, teats or pacifiers

Other notes regarding breastfeeding:

Breastfed babies have better immune system and organ functions
Breastfed babies have better emotion condition
Breastfeeding mothers' womb shrink faster than non-breastfeeding moms

The Risk of Formula Feeding

Giving your baby formula (milk) is completely you and your husband's choice.
But before you do 'formula feeding', here are some risk that should be considered:

higher risk of health problems
the risk of 'manganese', substance that could be found in soya, that could trigger brutality within the kids later on
the risk of contamination during production process
the risk of having substances that aren't required by the baby
the risk of malnutrition due to incorrect dose (too much or too little)
and others..

Now..
What are the things we need to know, to prepare ourselves to breastfeed?

The Preparation

These are some important things you need to know:

Know/learn the anatomy of your breasts: each nipple has different number of openings for milk to flow (more openings, more flow). Knowing this will help you develop your breastfeeding strategy
Positions: there are several positions you could use to breastfeed, e.g. football, side-lying, cross-cradle, etc.
Breast-milk production: the production starts on the second trimester, but the length of the production depends on how often the baby drinks (supply - demand)
Psychological factor plays a role in breast milk production: happy mother produces more milk (oxytocin hormone)
Breastfeeding while pregnant: pregnant women can still breastfeed, as long as there is no history of miscarriage and/or no contraction occur.

There's actually a lot more information gained from the (first of two) breastfeeding education class, and I know I will learn more on the second class.

For those who want to know about what I've learned from that class, please let me know.

I'll try my best to help :)

As for now, I'm going to leave you with this, the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding by WHO / UNICEF:

Every facility providing maternity services and care for newborn infants should:

Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health care staff.
Train all health care staff in skills necessary to implement this policy.
Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding.
Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within half an hour of birth.
Show mothers how to breastfeed, and how to maintain lactation even if they should be separated from their infants.
Give newborn infants no food or drink other than breast milk, unless medically indicated.
Practice rooming-in - that is, allow mothers and infants to remain together - 24 hours a day.
Encourage breastfeeding on demand.
Give no artificial teats or pacifiers (also called dummies or soothers) to breastfeeding infants.
Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge from the hospital or clinic.