The first milk that is produced by a woman’s breasts during pregnancy and for the first few days after birth is called colostrum. Colostrum is perfectly suited to meet the needs of newborn babies. It comes only in small quantities because a newborn’s stomach is only the size of a chickpea! Colostrum is high in protein and helps baby resist infections.
Within a few days of the baby’s birth the breast milk increases in quantity, and women often say, “My milk has come in.” This breast milk is thinner and sometimes bluish in color. Breast milk is a constantly changing food, and mothers make breast milk that is suited to their baby’s needs.
How to Make a Good Supply of Breast milk
A woman’s breasts respond to her baby feeding. As her baby feeds, her brain gets the message that her breasts need to make more milk, to replace what her baby is taking. The more milk a baby takes from the breast, the more milk the mother’s breasts will produce. In this way, there is always enough – and often more than the baby requires. If her baby does not feed well, she will not produce as much milk. This is the principle of supply and demand.
When you understand supply and demand, it's easy to see how giving a breastfeeding baby formula in the first 4-6 weeks can reduce a mother's milk supply. Because a mother's breasts produce enough breast milk to replace what her baby takes from her breasts, her body would slow milk production if nursing sessions were being replaced with formula feeds.
How to Tell if a Baby is Breastfeeding Well
The list below can be used to determine if the baby is getting enough breastmilk - if the mother can not agree with all of the points below she should see a breastfeeding expert for help.
- Baby feeds 8-12 times every 24 hours
- Baby has enough wet and dirty diapers
- Baby's mouth is wet and pink
- Baby's eyes look bright and awake
- Baby is active and has a loud cry
- Baby is relaxed and sleepy after feeding
- Baby returns to birth weight by 2-3 weeks
- The mother's breasts feel softer after breastfeeding and there is no nipple or breast pain
Remember, with help and support more than 99% of women can make enough breast milk for their babies.
What is the Recommended Duration for Breastfeeding?
It is recommended that healthy babies be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life. Exclusive breastfeeding means that the baby receives only breast milk: no water, teas, formula, or solid foods. Most babies are showing signs of readiness and have reached important developmental milestones needed for eating solids around the age of six months.
Babies have a store of iron in their bodies at birth. By six months of age their iron stores are getting low, so they need sources of iron in their diet (e.g. infant cereal).
It is also recommended that breastfeeding continue for up to 2 years or beyond since breast milk continues to have nutritional value, immunological value and other benefits, for as long as breastfeeding continues.
God bless you, all Breastfeeding Mothers
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