Breastfeeding: indications and nuances
Man belongs to the mammal family, which means that his first food is mother's milk. The answer to the question of what breastfeeding gives is unequivocal: in the first days, it fully provides the little body with all the necessary nutrients, systems and organs develop correctly, immunity works like a clock, and all this in a complex is a guarantee for good health throughout life.
At least the first month of breastfeeding newborns is accompanied by anxiety on the part of mothers and dozens of questions: does the child hold the nipple in his mouth correctly, does he suck the breast effectively, or does the nursing woman have the right diet. But the mother must control not only the condition of the child, but also her own. Yes, sometimes women have pain in the breast or in the nipple during breastfeeding - it can appear due to irritation of the delicate skin on the nipples, a feeling of distension due to the rapid flow of milk or surges of milk during lactation.
The well-being of the baby largely depends on the diet of the breastfeeding mother. She should choose food products during breastfeeding, remembering that they enter the baby's body through breast milk and cause appropriate reactions. The diet of a nursing mother may include:
- vegetable soups without frying;
- lean meat and fish;
- a variety of vegetables and non-sweet fruits;
- porridge with milk and water.
At the same time, you should remember the restrictions in the mother's diet. They primarily apply to the following drinks and food:
- alcohol;
- carbonated drinks;
- tea;
- coffee;
- chocolate;
- cakes;
- smoke;
- beans.
Breastfeeding and antibiotics
It should be remembered that if the mother takes antibacterial drugs, they enter the child's body through milk with all the negative consequences. Treatment with antibiotics during breastfeeding involves a pause in breastfeeding.
Some antibiotics taken by the mother are considered to be harmless to the baby, as they pass into breast milk in very small amounts. In any case, you should consult your pediatrician and your doctor before taking antibiotics.
Breastfeeding regimen and complementary foods
The mode of breastfeeding a child depends on the age of the baby. In 1 month, she should eat every 2 hours, then the intervals between meals gradually increase - 2.5 hours, 3, 3.5 and so on. The very process of consuming mother's milk is embedded in the child at the level of the sucking reflex.
Although mother's milk is considered the number 1 food in a baby's diet, there comes a time when the child needs to be given complementary foods. The introduction of complementary foods by month during breastfeeding means that more and more new products are gradually introduced into the diet. As complementary foods, both special baby food and food from the home table are offered. The introduction of the main types of supplementary food looks like this:
- fruit juices and purees are given from 3 months;
- from 4 - vegetable puree;
- from 5 - homemade cheese and milk porridge;
- from 6 - yolk;
- from the 7th - meat puree;
- with 8 - fish puree.
Breast milk also satisfies the child's need for liquid. But parents ask themselves the question whether to give water during breastfeeding and if so, from what age. Answer: yes, give. Children can be fed from 4-5 months of age.
Constipation and diarrhea in infants
Age from 0 to 12 months is not an easy period in a baby's life, when he may have periodic problems with the gastrointestinal tract: problems with defecation (constipation, runny nose) in a baby are not a rare phenomenon.
Constipation can occur due to the fact that there is not enough complementary food or the liquid is well absorbed, due to which the fecal masses do not cause the urge to defecate. To combat constipation in this case, the child should be given more complementary foods and liquids. If the constipation occurred due to sluggish work of the intestines, a tummy massage will help. Enemas are prescribed only by a doctor.
Drying may occur due to the fact that the gastrointestinal tract gets used to new food and, not yet getting used to it, may reject it. The mechanism is similar to food poisoning in adults - but it is not poisoning. If the child has a liquid stool, it is necessary to find out whether there is an unnatural color of fecal masses and air bubbles. If not, you just need to wait until defecation normalizes.
Weaning from breastfeeding
If at first the parents had a question about when it is possible to start complementary feeding, then as the child grows up, sooner or later the moment will come when your child will completely switch to food outside of the mother's "breast milk factory", which, moreover, is already well tired of constant operation. At the same time, it is necessary to know how to wean a child from breastfeeding.
It is not worth weaning the baby from the breast abruptly, as this will cause stress in the baby. Wean gradually - at first, lengthen the pauses between feedings, at the same time offer the child a tasty and favorite complementary food, so that he understands that "tasty" does not come only from the mother's breast. One day, try not to breastfeed the baby at all, and at the same time, do not stop tactile contact with her - as before, hug and hold her to her chest. Gradually, the baby will develop an understanding that his mother is not taken away from him, but also fed with something tasty.
When a child is weaned, not only does the little organism adapt to changes in the diet, but also changes in the mother's body, particularly from the side of the reproductive system. First of all, any woman is interested in when menstruation begins after breastfeeding.
You should know that lactation is directly related to the menstrual cycle. The hormone prolactin, which stimulates the production of milk, on the other hand suppresses the production of hormones responsible for the ovarian-menstrual cycle. The restoration of menstruation occurs most often at 20-25 weeks after childbirth - that is, during the period when breastfeeding is still practiced. In a number of cases, the mother's menstruation resumes by the end of the first year of the baby's life - by the time the child is weaned from the breast.
You can get more information about breastfeeding by visiting our site Dobrobut.com.
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