Almost every mother wants to breastfeed her baby. However, it turns out that there are various dynamics which dictate various aspects of breastfeeding, including how you position a nipple inside the baby’s mouth.
Breastfeeding does not come naturally or instinctively for every mother (especially a new mother). When you start experiencing breastfeeding challenges, it’s high time a lactation consultant is brought into the picture.
Who is a lactation consultant? What does a lactation consultant do?
In this article, we will discuss lactation consultancy as a solution for most breastfeeding problems.
What is Lactation Consultancy?
Most pediatricians worldwide recommend that a newborn child be exclusively fed with breast milk for the first six months. Breast milk contains the appropriate nutrients and supplements that a baby needs for the proper development of brain cells, muscles, and strong bones.
Nevertheless, some mothers have a hard time breastfeeding their babies due to various reasons, such as insufficient nursing experience. As such, the mothers need nursing assistant from a specialized pediatrician in Bloomfield called a lactation nurse.
Lactation certified nurses that have accumulated years working with mothers with breastfeeding problems.
Lactation specialists educate mothers on different breastfeeding tactics, the right food to take for adequate milk production, and hygiene practices to observe when handling new born babies.
How Does Lactation Consultancy Help Improve Breastfeeding?
Many new mothers have insufficient nursing experience and several anatomical challenges (such as flat nipples), which may hinder a baby’s proper breastfeeding.
Inherently, there are several challenges that call for a nursing consultant, including:
- Inadequate Milk Production
A large number of new mothers who seek lactation consultancy are faced with the challenge of inadequate milk production. There are a number of reasons why a mother may have problems producing enough milk.
One major reason for inadequate milk production is low calorie intake; the quality and quantity is directly proportional to the amount and type of food a mother consumes.
As such, a new mother with an eating problem will require a lactation nurse to guide her on a dietary plan.
- Baby Breastfeeding Poorly
The mother may produce sufficient milk but the baby still experiences difficulties in breastfeeding. Intrinsically, the child may develop medical problems (especially if the baby does not consume colostrum) due to nutrient and antibody deficiency.
A lactation nurse will recommend different breastfeeding strategies such as squeezing the breast milk out once the nipple is properly positioned in the baby’s mouth.
Furthermore, the mother may be required to use alternative feeding methods like feeding pipes where the breast milk is stored in a clean container and fed to the baby directly using a feeding pipe.
- Postpartum Depression
Gestation and childbirth are the most stressful periods a mother can go through. Indeed, a mother is at risk of developing postpartum depression especially if there were complications during childbirth.
Additionally, the mother may be develop postpartum depression if the baby cries a lot. As such, the mother may resent and decline to breastfed the baby.
A lactation consultant may recommend different methods of dealing with postpartum stress and resentment towards the child, including psychotherapy session.
- Pain when Breastfeeding
Most new mothers experience pain when breastfeeding their babies because of sore nipples. Inherently, the mother may become reluctant to breastfeed her baby as she is afraid of the pain.
Although breastfeeding is the primary method of feeding a baby, a mother can opt for other secondary feeding methods, such as using feeding bottles.
The lactation consultant will direct the mother on how to extract milk from her breast without contamination.
Furthermore, the lactation nurse will teach the mother how to prepare the milk before feeding the baby.
- Breastfeeding Angle
The angle with which the mother is breastfeeding her baby is crucial for proper lactation.
Nevertheless, some medical conditions such as Caesarian Section wounds may restrict some breastfeeding positions.
Thus, it would help if the mother consults a lactation nurse to get recommendations on alternative breastfeeding positions that will work for her baby.
Conclusion
Once you notice your baby is not feeding properly, it is time to contact a lactation consultant. When working with a nursing consultant, ensure you disclose every detail of your breastfeeding difficulties.
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