How to Prepare for Breastfeeding Before Your Baby Arrives
Experts recommend exclusive breastfeeding, which means feeding the baby only breast milk for the first six months. After that, they recommend complementary breastfeeding, which means continuing to breastfeed while also giving the baby other food until the baby is up to two years old.
Breastfeeding has many benefits, but it's not always easy. This blog will help you get ready for a good breastfeeding experience.
What is Breastfeeding?
Breastfeeding has many benefits for both babies and parents. Here are some benefits, as stated by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Breastfeeding Is Good for Babies
Healthy food helps baby grow: Breast milk has all the important nutrients that your baby needs to grow, like fats, proteins, and sugars. Breast milk also changes overtime to give your baby what they need as they grow.
Fights sickness, now and later: Breast milk has special proteins called antibodies that help protect your baby from common sicknesses like ear infections, tummy troubles, and breathing problems. Breastfeeding can also lower the chance of your baby getting sick later in life with issues like allergies, asthma, and diabetes. It can even help lower the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), which is the leading cause of death for babies ages one month to one year.
Easy to digest: Breast milk is easier for babies to digest than formula. This means breastfed babies are less likely to have tummy troubles like gas.
Promotes positive feelings and connection: The close contact your baby has with you while breastfeeding helps your baby feel safe and loved, creating a strong bond between the two of you.
Breastfeeding Is Good for Parents
Helps the body heal: When you breastfeed, your body releases a hormone that helps your uterus, or womb, return to its normal size and can reduce bleeding after birth.
Helps with weight loss: Breastfeeding burns calories and can help you lose weight after having your baby.
Lowers cancer risk: Breastfeeding can help lower your risk of breast and ovarian cancers.
Promotes positive feelings and connection: Breastfeeding can make you feel proud and happy, because you are able to give your baby the food it needs. And the close contact you have with your baby also helps you build a strong bond between the two of you. Also, when you breastfeed, your body releases a hormone that helps you feel calm and relaxed. This can help prevent you from feeling sad, stressed, or worried—which is common after a person has a baby.*
*It is important to know that some people feel very sad or worried or even numb for a long time after they give birth, week after week. When this happens, it is called postpartum depression, and it can be really scary. It is important to talk to your healthcare provider if you have these feelings, so they can help you. (National Institutes of Health)
You should also know that the more milk your body releases, either through breastfeeding or pumping, the more milk your body will produce in the future. So, do not worry that you only have a small amount that you need to save.
Why Is It Important to Prepare for Breastfeeding During Pregnancy?
Even though breastfeeding starts after your baby is born, it is good to prepare while you are pregnant. Most healthy babies are ready to breastfeed within an hour of being born and giving birth is hard work, so you'll be tired. Preparing before the birth of your baby can make breastfeeding at this important time easier.
What Are Some Ways to Prepare for Breastfeeding?
Learn All You Can
Learning about breastfeeding can make you feel more prepared and confident. There are many resources that can help you.
Explore books and websites: There are many books and websites about breastfeeding. For example, La Leche League USA and La Leche League International have lots of information and can help you find breastfeeding support groups in your area.
Attend classes: Hospitals, birthing centers, and lactation consultants often offer breastfeeding classes. In these classes, you can learn about how your body makes milk, ways to hold your baby that can help them latch (attach to you for feeding), how to pump milk and store it safely, and how to handle common problems like sore nipples or not making enough milk.
Find Out What Your Healthcare Provider and Hospital Can Offer
Find out what kind of help your healthcare provider and your hospital or birthing center can offer for breastfeeding. Different providers and different places offer different services, but all can help you prepare for breastfeeding.
Talk to your healthcare provider: If you want to breastfeed, talk to your doctor during your pregnancy check-ups. They can give you advice based on your health. They can also help you deal with any breastfeeding problems that you may have after your baby is born, and they can suggest a lactation consultant.
Call or visit your hospital or birthing center: When you pick a hospital or birthing center, ask how they help with breastfeeding after you give birth. Some places have special breastfeeding experts who can come to your room and help you start breastfeeding right after you have your baby. Some places are officially called "baby-friendly," and provide special care to help you breastfeed and bond with your baby. For example, these places allow your baby to stay in your room with you (unless the baby needs special care), rather than keeping your baby in a separate nursery. This can make breastfeeding and bonding easier. For US-based audiences, visit Baby-Friendly USA to find a baby-friendly hospital or birthing center near you.
Build Your Support Team
Breastfeeding can be tiring and sometimes painful. Having people around to support you can make a big difference. Here are some ideas of how you can create your support team.
Talk to family and friends: These are people who can cheer you on and listen to you share what you are going through.
Join a support group: Other parents who are breastfeeding can share their experiences, so you do not feel alone. They can also offer ideas to help you if you have problems breastfeeding.
Find a lactation consultant: Lactation consultants are breastfeeding experts. They can teach you about breastfeeding, give you advice before and after your baby is born, and help you find a healthcare provider if you need medical help. You can find a consultant near you on the International Lactation Consultant Association’s online directory. We recommend choosing one who is certified by the International Board of LactationConsultant Examiners® (IBLCE®).
Get Your Supplies Ready
There are several items that can make breastfeeding easier—for both you and your baby. Here are some common items that you may want to get before your baby arrives.
- Nursing bras: These bras have cups that open, making it easy to breastfeed or pump without needing to take off your bra.
- Nursing pillows: These pillows help support your baby in the right position while they are feeding and take some weight off you, so you can also be as comfortable as possible.
- Nipple cream and nursing pads: These can help relieve sore nipples and prevent cracking or bleeding.
- Nursing covers: If you feel uncomfortable breastfeeding in front of other people, a nursing cover can help provide you and your baby with privacy.
- Pumping supplies: If you plan to pump, you will need a breast pump, bottles or bags for storing milk, and cleaning supplies. Pumping, which involves attaching a machine to your nipple that creates a suckling motion to make milk come out, gives you flexibility. For example, you can pump when you return to work or when your breasts feel full and your baby is not hungry. Then you can feed your baby the milk you have stored later, or you can have your partner, or another family member or caregiver, feed them so you can have a break.
Doing these things before your baby arrives can help you feel prepared and have a good breastfeeding experience.
Does Everyone Have to Breastfeed?
Even though breastfeeding is recommended, it's not always possible or the best choice for everyone. Sometimes babies have trouble breastfeeding. They may have problems latching, or they may have health issues that make digesting breast milk difficult. Sometimes a new parent may want to breastfeed, but they have a problem that makes it difficult to breastfeed, or they have a health issue that makes other feeding options the better choice for the baby. For example, they may have problems making enough milk, or it may be really painful for them to breastfeed, or they may have a health issue like HIV or tuberculosis. Work, personal choices, and even what a person’s culture expects can also play a role in whether they decide to breastfeed.
If you want to breastfeed but are having problems, talk to your healthcare provider or a lactation consultant. If you cannot breastfeed or choose not to, formula feeding is a good option. The decision about how to feed your baby is personal. What is most important is that your baby gets the food they need to grow and be healthy, whether it's from breast milk or formula.
How Does BobiHealth Help New Parents with Breastfeeding?
BobiHealth is always trying to help its users more. We are now working on a new part of our app for new parents, for after the baby is born. This will include ways to track your baby's feedings, including when and how much they eat, and provide helpful information about feeding and nutrition. This feature will help both breastfeeding and formula-feeding parents. You will also be able to easily share this information with your partner, family, or healthcare provider, if you want to.
Learn More and Stay Updated
To learn about this and other new and upcoming features, visit our website, sign up for our newsletter, and follow us on social media. We also want your ideas about other tools that would be helpful for you and other new parents and parents-to-be. If you have an idea, we would love for you to send us a message!
If this blog was helpful for you, please share it with family and friends who might also learn something important. You can also visit our blog for more easy-to-understand information about breastfeeding and other important health and wellness topics.
Useful Terms
Here are definitions of a few terms we use in this blog. It may be helpful to read these definitions, so you know what they mean if your healthcare provider uses these terms with you.
Breastfeeding: Breastfeeding is when a parent feeds their baby milk from their breast. Breastfeeding is also called nursing, chest-feeding, and body-feeding.
Breast pump: A breast pump is a machine that attaches to the nipple and creates a suckling motion to make milk come out. At the same time, this machine attaches to bottles or bags where you can store breast milk to feed your baby later.
Complementary breastfeeding: Complementary breastfeeding means continuing to breastfeed while also giving the baby other food. Experts recommend complementary breastfeeding for babies from six months to two years of age.
Exclusive breastfeeding: Exclusive breastfeeding means feeding the baby only breast milk. Experts recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of the baby’s life.
Lactation: Lactation is the process in which your body produces and releases milk from your breast to feed your baby. Remember, the more you breastfeed or pump, the more milk your body will produce.
Latch: The term latch, when used for breastfeeding, is about how your baby’s mouth attaches to your nipple so it can feed. A good latch is important for preventing nipple pain and ensuring your baby gets enough milk.
Postpartum depression: Postpartum depression is a common health problem. A person with postpartum depression may feel sad, worried, or numb after having a baby and they may struggle to care for their baby or for themselves. This can be very scary, and it is important to talk to a healthcare provider who can provide medication and/or therapy to help.
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS): Sudden infant death syndrome is the sudden and unexplained death of a baby, typically during sleep, and it is the leading cause of death for babies ages one month to one year.
Uterus: The uterus, also known as the womb, is the organ in your belly where your baby grows during pregnancy.
