Something that is super important for women after having a baby, is keeping themselves healthy and also keeping their baby healthy. There are multiple ways in which you can keep yourself healthy after the miracle of giving birth and bringing a new baby into the world, and this article houses some tips for those new mums!
How to Breastfeed in the Best Way
One of the main parts of being a new mother is being able to breastfeed. Some women are unable, which is ok as there are many formula milks out there that can help you feed the baby without needing to breastfeed. However, it is always best to breastfeed if you can. But, there are certain tips and techniques that you can do to optimise your breastfeeding and also protect your body and your baby whilst doing so.
One tip is to pre-emptively know if your baby is hungry. Babies often have some characteristics and traits that they exhibit if they are hungry before they cry for their feed. If you see your baby raise their head up repeatedly or open and close their mouth this can tend to mean they are hungry. Also if they suck on anything like their fist, toys and more can be another sign that they are hungry. So, if you catch them in this time the process of breastfeeding will be much calmer and the experience you and the baby will be much nicer overall.
Another thing you need to consider is comfort. Sometimes a baby can feed for a while, so starting the process in an uncomfortable position and then changing it midway through the feed can interrupt the process and be upsetting for yourself and the baby. A position that has been considered the best when it comes to comfort for both the mother and baby, is by laying on your side and sitting in a reclined position with the baby laying on top of you. So, whenever you begin breastfeeding make sure you are comfortable as it makes the experience for you and the baby much nicer!
Benefits of Breastfeeding
When it comes to breastfeeding, there are many benefits that come with it, for both the baby and for you. With the baby, breastfeeding provides it with the natural nutrients and minerals that your body has to offer for the baby. It also helps prevent and protect your baby from infections, as it is rich with germ-killing antibodies that help fight stomach bugs, diarrhoea, colds and chest infections. Another benefit of breast-milk is that it reduces the risk of diseases such as childhood leukaemia, and also reduces the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), or something commonly referred to as cot death.
Breastfeeding also sets up the child to have generally better health in the future, with less likelihood of developing diabetes and becoming overweight. Any amount of breastfeeding is beneficial, however exclusive breastfeeding for six months offers much more protection over the above diseases and offers more of the health benefits that have also been mentioned above.
Breastfeeding is also beneficial for you as a mother! One of the benefits it has is the more you can breastfeed, the faster it helps your uterus to reduce back to the normal size it was pre-pregnancy. It gets smaller anyway naturally day by day, but this process is sped up drastically with the event of breastfeeding. It also offered precious bonding time with you and your baby. It can be such a soothing time to connect with the baby and provide that all-important skin to skin contact with their mother. Nothing is more beautiful and natural than being a mother, and nursing a child, so savour these tender moments with your children!
Along with all the amazing health benefits it has for baby, there are also amazing health benefits for mothers too. The more you breastfeed the less risk of you having breast cancer in the future, thus also reducing the risk of ovarian cancer too. Other health benefits also include reduction of the risk of developing osteoporosis (which is weak bones later in life), diabetes also, cardiovascular diseases. It also burns off a lot of calories which will be music to any mother’s ears! If you exclusively breastfeed, it can help burn 300 calories alone!
So, it can be seen that there are many benefits to breastfeeding, but as said before some women just can’t, and that is ok! There are amazing formula options out there that are very credible alternatives to breastmilk!
Formula or Breast?
There have been many breast milk benefits listed within this article, but there are a collection of benefits for using formula milk also. As said previously if you are personally unable to breastfeed, it is a credible and ok alternative to natural breast milk.
If you are out and about, it can be very flexible and easy to quickly make formula milk, with water and the powder, you can have a full bottle of milk very quickly. You can also get many different formulas, from anti-sickness and more there are many different variations and specially formulated kinds of milk out there that you can use for your baby. You also do not need to worry about what you eat when it comes to formula, as with breast milk because it is coming from your body you need to watch what you eat. Whereas when it comes to formula, it is not coming from your body, so what you eat and drink does not have any effect on the milk at all.
One thing that is big negative when it comes to formula milk, is its expense. Unlike breastmilk that is free, a tub of formula milk can be a huge expense and be very expensive for parents. There is luckily a range of different formulas you can choose from, however, it is still a huge expense to any parent out there. It is also very hard and near on impossible to reach the complexities of breast milk. Breast always offers the best and tailored milk for your baby, also formula does a great job at trying to match it, but it simply will never match pure breast milk when it comes to the complexities and the nutrients and the tailored touch it has.
Vitamins
Another and final way in you can keep the health of you and baby at tip-top condition is taking the right vitamins and minerals that you need. There are many on the market that are tailored to different women of different ages. If you are an ‘older’ mum, there are vitamins out there that better equip your body and sustain the chemicals it needs to work at its best. This is the same for all mothers out there. By taking supplements, you can make sure your body has the nutrients it has, whilst still eating what you normally would. Whilst it is always advised to eat a better and more balanced diet when looking after a baby, vitamins and more can help you keep up with the minerals you need to stay healthy.
This concludes this article. Becoming a new mum and new parent in general, for daddies as well, is something of a miracle. It can also be a daunting time, new challenges and a new baby to take care of, anyone will want the best for their baby and their partner, so hopefully, this article has given some great advice that you can take on into your day to day life.
*This is a collaborative post*
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