Breastfeeding or breastfeeding? What is your choice? You probably read and heard a lot about the benefits of breast milk during pregnancy and decided not to deprive your baby of it. For various reasons, some mothers express their milk and give it to their baby with a bottle. In this article, we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each of these methods, and at the end, we will review the methods of expressing breast milk by hand and breast pump. Stay with us.
Direct breastfeeding to the baby
Advantages
Feeding the baby from the mother’s breast is the best method of breastfeeding, which has many advantages, including:
- Less work: After each baby is fed, the parts of the breast pump, bottle, and other equipment need not be washed.
- Improved value of milk: Breast milk’s nutrients are well-matched to the baby’s needs, especially when the baby is fed directly from the mother’s breast. The mother’s breast reacts to the saliva in the baby’s mouth and produces antibodies to fight the viruses or bacteria the baby has been exposed to.
- Better emotional connection: Mothers who directly breastfeed their babies spend more time cuddling and nursing. This closeness has very beneficial emotional effects on the baby and the mother.
- Always available: Direct breastfeeding does not require any special equipment and is always available.
- Being free: Direct breastfeeding to the baby is free, and you don’t need to pay for a breast pump or the necessary equipment to store milk.
Disadvantages
Despite the many benefits of breastfeeding the baby directly from the mother’s breast, some mothers do not like it for some reasons, including:
- Limited schedule: Direct breastfeeding means that you cannot be away from your baby for several hours for any reason.
- Concerns about milk intake: In this type of breastfeeding, you cannot know how much milk your baby has taken in a day, but learning the amount of milk consumed by the baby is essential for many mothers.
- Breast pain: breastfeeding, especially in the first weeks, causes a lot of pain in the nipple and the breast itself. Although this pain will heal quickly, it may cause problems that discourage the mother from this method of breastfeeding.
- Food and drug restrictions: Foods and some drugs are transferred to the baby through breast milk; for this reason, mothers who give their milk directly to their children should always be aware of avoiding drugs and prohibited foods during breastfeeding. It is hard for some mothers to accept these food and drug restrictions.
- Lack of sleep: The baby needs frequent breastfeeding, especially in the first weeks of life. Being awake and breastfeeding every 2 hours may be challenging for the mother mentally and physically after giving birth. Of course, this does not mean a bottle-fed baby needs less milk, but this method has more flexibility.
Breastfeeding for the baby
Advantages
Many mothers breastfeed and give it to the baby with a bottle. The advantages of this method of feeding the baby are:
- More accessible time: One of the most important benefits of breastfeeding is the freedom it gives you, meaning you can do it any time of the day you are ready.
- Ensuring the amount of milk consumption: feeding the baby with a bottle lets you know exactly how much milk your baby drinks in a day.
- Backup Milk: By expressing more milk throughout the day, you can store extra milk for when you decide to ditch the fast and eat as you please for a day.
- Avoiding pain: by milking someone else’s milk, there is no news of biting the baby.
Some examples of situations where pumping is helpful include:
- Premature infants ;
- Baby with cleft palate;
- A baby who cannot take the breast well;
- when breastfeeding is very painful;
- When you and the baby have to be apart for a long time during the day due to work or illness.
Disadvantages
Despite the incredible freedom breastfeeding brings the mother, this method has few supporters. This method of breastfeeding a baby has disadvantages that are sometimes very troublesome. These disadvantages include:
- More work: After each milking, you have to wash and disinfect a lot of equipment, which takes time.
- Less milk secretion: the suction of the breast pump does not affect the production of breast milk as much as the suction of the baby’s mouth. Sucking the baby’s mouth increases breast milk, but this is not the case when using a breast pump, and milk production may decrease day by day.
- Expenditure: Buying a breast pump and milk storage equipment is expensive.
- Difficulty: Imagine the baby crying, and you must prepare the bottle while soothing him. This method is much more complex compared to direct breastfeeding.
How do we know which method of breastfeeding is best for us?
Fortunately, you can use a combination of these two methods. What does this mean? When you can breastfeed your baby directly, and when you are at work or for any reason you cannot, express your milk and give it to the baby with a bottle. When to use each method depends on your situation.
If the conditions are favorable, it is better to start with direct breastfeeding first, and when you get used to this method, gradually use the bottle and bottle when the baby is about one month old.
Of course, the most critical factor determining the breastfeeding method is the mother’s condition. Sometimes, some cases make you start breastfeeding earlier than one month old, such as when the baby’s weight is not appropriate, and you need to monitor the amount of breastfeeding and give him more milk. It is beneficial to consult a specialist to find the proper breastfeeding method.
How to breastfeed
1. Milking by hand
Breastfeeding by hand is a skill that may take some time and practice to learn correctly. To milk by hand, you can follow these steps:
- Prepare a bottle, cup, or bowl to hold under the breast and pour the milk into.
- Wash your hands with soap and water.
- Get in a comfortable position and try to relax.
- Place a warm towel on your breasts or gently massage your breasts for a few minutes before you start pumping.
- Play soothing music and look at your baby or a picture of him while you nurse.
- Place your thumb above the chest and the other four fingers below the chest so your hand is shaped like the letter C.
- Place the thumb and forefinger on both sides of the breast, on the edges of the colored halo around the nipple.
- Press your fingers towards the chest and then slowly bring them together.
- Start from the top and bottom and then rotate left and right.
- Hold a clean cup or milk storage bottle under your breast with your other hand so the nipple is directly above it.
- The gentle movement of your hands will make the milk flow. As the breast tissue is sensitive, apply firm but gentle pressure.
- Lean forward a little to pour the milk into the container.
- Repeat this pumping at a steady pace until no more milk comes out. When the flow of milk stops, repeat the same steps with the other breast.
- You can immediately give an expression to the baby or put an ocular container in the refrigerator.
2. Breast milking with a manual breast pump
- Disinfect the milking parts and your hands.
- Massage the breast a little or put a warm towel on it to let the milk flow.
- Place the breast pump’s flange (breast protector) on the breast so the nipple is in the center.
- Press the breast pump regularly, and the milk removed from the breast will be poured into the chamber connected to the breast protector.
- Continue pressing the manual breast pump for 10 to 20 minutes Until your hand gets tired or the milk stops flowing.
- After a short rest, repeat these steps to the other breast.
3. Breast milking with an electric breast pump
- If you are using a double electric breast pump, adjust the breast pump so that the nipples of both breasts are precisely in the center of the breast protectors.
- Lean forward a little and turn on the pump.
- Set the breast pump to a low suction speed. Slow suction speed simulates how a baby sucks. Expressing milk at a faster rate may be painful.
- Continue milking with the electric breast pump for 7 minutes. Although nothing may come out of the breast initially, the milk will flow after a few minutes of pumping.
- Stop pumping for 1 minute and massage well around the breast, from the armpit to the tip.
- After massaging both breasts, reconnect the pump to the breasts and turn it on for another 7 minutes.
- Finally, save the milk.
- If your electric breast pump has a rechargeable battery, charge it between milking sessions so it’s always ready.
last word
The way you choose to feed your baby depends on your circumstances. Find the method that is the best option for you according to the conditions and situation.
Which breastfeeding style do you favor? Please share your valuable comments and experiences with us and our dear users.
Warning! This article is only for educational purposes. Before using it, consult a doctor or specialist.
