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‘Page A18 —-Terrace Standard, Wednesday, March 13,1901.

*

By MARYBETH ESAU

_ A local resident, Marybeth
sau has a /7-month old
daughter called Elizabeth.

. Have you had the desire to
breast’ feed your baby but are
unsure of the facts? Breast
feeding is’simple, isn’t it?

Prior to my pregnancy, my
attitude. toward the breast
feeding mother .was negative
and generally unsympathetic.

Looking back I can unders-
tand why I felt. this way.
Everyone around me who was
pregnant or who had children
had chosen not to breast feed.

When you are pregnant it is
natural to ask many questions
of your family and - friends
about feeding and I, of course,
was no exception. If the norm is
bottle feeding then it was my
assumption that there must be
something wrong or difficult
about breast feeding.

I could not have been further
away from the truth.

Breast feeding can be made
simple with positive support
and knowing the proper chan-:
nels to obtain accurate informa-
tion, There are negative situa-
tions that may arise to deflate
your strong desire to breast feed
but there are resolutions to
these situations. ;

With support and the right in-
formation, difficulties can be
met in a positive way.

I became aware of some of
the facts on breast feeding
through: my prenatal class. It
seemed to be a positive and
natural way to feed and nurture
my baby.

A support group here meets
regularly to discuss problems
and give a whole lot of positive
support.

At my first meeting I found
nioms and toddlers, moms and
newborns and moms in waiting
(pregnant).

Some of the moms shared
problems which they were ex-

periencing at the time. We

t.

‘One mom's experience

discussed them openly and
other moms were able ta share
similar situations and offer
solutions. Co
Lactation consultant Pamela
Straker was able to give us prac-
tical information based on her
experience. and on - current
literature and research.
. I brought a list of questions
which we went through and the

Now that I had mastered the’ —
wonderful art of relaxed nurs-
ing in the comfort of - the
hospital, 1 thought I had seen an
end to my breast feeding pro-
blems.

Once again I could not have
been further from.the truth, At
home I. did not. have the wat- .
chful eye of the nurses. Nor did
I have the: daily visits from

“If the norm is bottle

assumption that there must be something wrong or
Offficult about breast feeding. | could not have been:

feeding then it was my

further away fram the truth.”

answers filled in some of the
gray areas. Conversations also
came around to general baby
care and nurturing. I made up
my mind to breast feed during
the meeting. ;

Our daughter graced us. with
her presence late one autumn
afternoon. It gave me a great
sense of pride to put this tiny
baby up to my breast to feed.

It all seemed so natural, The
food was there, it was ready to
eat and I had a lot to give.
Believe me, there was alot — as
much as my daughter needed.

To my surprise my little bun-
dle was not latching on proper-
ly, Who knew there was a right
way and a wrong way for the
baby to suck?

It did not take long ta realize
we were doing it the wrong way
as busters began to appear on
my nipples. The nurses assisted

‘us with my problem and also

suggested I have a visit from
Pam.

She made some suggestions
on different ways to hold the
baby while feeding, to give me
maximum comfort and the baby
maximum sucking ability. At
first I was skeptical of how
changing the-positioning of the
baby would make a difference,
but it really did,

Breast feeding
the right way —

The following questions and
answers were prepared by
Marybeth Esau with the help of
fectation consultant’ Pamela
Straker.

Q. What do the experts say
about breast feeding?
A. The Canadian Paediatric
Society is pro-breast feeding. It
states: .
* ideally all infants should be
breastfed.
® breast feeding should be the
only source of nutrients for the
first four to six months of life,
* breast feeding should con-
tinue for as much of the first
year of life as possible.
Mothers have the choice of
weaning at any time, but baby-
led weaning is most likely to oc-
cur naturally somewhere bet-
ween the second and third year.

Q. Why all the fuss about

‘breast is best"?

A. Breast milk is biologically

specific — it’s designed

specifically to provide the exact

nutrients for human.infants.
Particular health benefits

provided by human milk in-

clude: :

® optimal growth and develop-

ment.

® antibodies,

© defences against intestinal and

respiratory diseases. .

* protection against allergic

responses.

# more than 100 known ingte-

dients, many of which cannot

be duplicated in formula.

* changes in composition to

meet babies’ changing needs

during a feed, at different times

of the day and according to the

age of the baby,

Q. What is the basis for suc-

cessful breast feeding? _

A. Proper positioning involy-

ing:

* having the mother as comfor-

table and as relaxed as possible,

© placing the Infant's body tum-

my to tummy, neck in flexion,

chin tilted toward:. and. nose

“They're” advertised ..i

ethe mother’s hand cups and
supports the breast, thumb.and
fore finger always parallel with
infant's upper and lower lips
respectively.

* placing the infant’s lips
around sufficient of the areola
with lower lip folded out.

e having the infant’s tongue
under the nipple. -

Proper positioning promotes
effective sucking, desired milk
production, maximum milk
transfer, even breast drainage,
healthy nipples and comfort —
breast feeding should not
“*hurt"’, —

Q. How do I know that my
baby is getting enough to eat?
A. You can't argue with the
evidence. Mothers gain con-
fidence by understanding the
significance of proper position-
ing, more deep drawing sucking
followed by observable
swallowing than short burst
sucking, appropriate weight
gain, six to eight wet diapers in
24 hours, bowel movements and
a generally healthy and con-
tented baby.

Q. What can a nursing mother
eat? -

A. A normal diet that's balanc-
ed and varied with a moderate

intake of healthy foods similar «

to that of the last trimester of
pregnancy. Maternal dict is
culturally determined and
babies thrive on breast milk in
all cultures.

Mothers. also need to know,
however, that alcohol concen-
‘trations in breast milk reach
equivalent levels to thase in
maternal blood. Caffeine levels

in breast milk are about half

those in maternal. blood but
have ‘been linked with infant
wakefulness or jitteriness
because of accumulative effect.
' Theobromine from chocolate
is found in milk at about 80 per
cent of maternal serum and has

been associated with infant ir-:

ritability,.
“More information is available
from support group meetings.

tilted away from the breast, "papers, ;
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Through the first six months,
Pam helped me solve. many of
my breast feeding problems. I-
had. several breast infections,
These started by poor drainage .

pressés, breast
quent drainage.) ::
this ‘period: ‘my. physi¢ia

n, Dr,

‘Almas, was: wonderfully sup. -

portive and helpful.” -

-We also worked through my
daughter’s active feeding habit
which, along with sore: nipples,
caused ‘a lot of tension. This
problem was due to my inability
to relax,; Once 1: relaxed my
daughter also calmed down and

~ We were able to enjoy or special

time togethier,
I was also able to use breast
feeding as a comfort and calm-

“ing tool when my daughter

became upset. My milk ‘was
quickly available, in the middle
of the night to settle a cry or

<. fulfil a hunger pain,

Pam, but I did have a phone! |

‘enjoy trouble free breast
‘feeding. Although I. had many
‘feeding setbacks, I never felt in-

There are many women who

capable of continuing,
Bottle feeding was never an

focal |.

option, How could it be when
milk ducts. all I had to do was look at how

The blockages were usually healthy and happy my baby
alleviated through hot com- Was. ,

which caused blockages‘in my

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reast feeding for Marybeth Esau, and.
daughter Elizabeth a worthwhile experience. Mother and cdughter
benefitted by a qualified consultant and by a local support group.

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