Breastfeeding Education for Moms

Education

A Surprisingly Complex Reality

So you’re a new mother, and you’re eager to do the best you can. But as you cradle your newborn, there seem to be issues with breastfeeding. What’s the issue? Well, it could be a number of things. Perhaps you’re one of those rare mothers who give birth to a child who has a tooth, or even several, and this makes nursing incredibly painful.

Maybe your child is perfectly normal, but the act of nursing leaves your paps so raw, it’s hard for you to nurse regularly, and you need to use breast pumps to express milk which you store in a refrigerator for later feedings. While your nipples will “toughen up” eventually, this process can take time, and it’s certainly uncomfortable.

Sometimes these aren’t the issues you’re dealing with, but you’ve got problems expressing milk. Your baby is hungry, but your breasts are “dry”. What do you do then? Or maybe expression isn’t an issue, but your milk ducts get clogged for whatever reason. Then there’s inflammation which develops into mastitis.

These are all common issues most mothers contend with at one time or another as they nourish their newborns. Plenty of solutions exist, we’ll cover a few things you might want to consider here.

Seek Consultation

Here’s a link to a few best practices as regards what helps with milk production. Some solutions are physical, others are nutritional. Maybe you’re dealing with mastitis and clogged milk ducts owing too poor form in terms of the newborn’s latch. In that scenario, consultants can help you latch better.

Find Proper Nutrition

In other situations, the problem you’re dealing with is improper nutrition. You’re not eating right, and as a result your breasts aren’t producing milk in the amounts they should. That’s a real issue, and it’s one you have some level of control over. Fenugreek, varying grains, fish, and proteins can all help your breasts produce more.

Emotional Issues

There is an emotional component to breastfeeding. The smell of your baby’s clothes or the sound of his cries can prompt your body to express breastmilk. If you’re having trouble nursing because of associated discomfort, you can use sounds and smells to help your body produce milk, then pump that milk for use later.

It’ll keep a week in the fridge and six months to a year in the freezer; but you’ll likely want to warm it up so the baby likes it, and that can involve using a microwave, which isn’t healthy. If you’re forced into this situation, use a bottle heated in warm water, then test the heat on your wrist before feeding the child. This is superior to microwaved breast milk.

Twin Issues

With one child, if you’re having discomfort, or you’re dealing with uneven milk production, you can simply switch the child to the other breast. With twins, you’ve got two infant-shaped footballs under each arm that are exceptionally hungry. If you get sore paps then, or latching issues on one side or the other, things get complicated. Nursing consultants are integral.

Being the Best Mom You Can Be

Motherhood is always going to be difficult, and the first array of challenges you experience (after the trial of giving birth) will involve nursing. If you’re going to nourish your newborn, you want to find proper nutrition, emotionally center yourself, seek consultation, and consider what solutions exist for unexpected situations like the logistics of feeding twins.

These things are all real issues, and there are real solutions, so whatever you do, don’t give up. You can do this.

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How Mothers Can Help to Stop Obesity

Health & Fitness

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The role of a mother in the life of their children is tremendous. They also, therefore, play a role in both causing and preventing childhood obesity. If you are a mum, you may feel that preventing obesity in your children is a daunting task, particularly if you are overweight or obese yourself. However, help is out there for you, including through clinics like http://bariatric.stopobesityforlife.com, who can help you transform your own life and that of your children.

A Mother’s Role

There have now been numerous studies that have demonstrated that the habits of a mother rub off tremendously on their children. They, more than anyone else in the family therefore, must set a good example. If they do this as soon as possible, the impact on the overall health and wellbeing of their children can be tremendous. This is particularly important in terms of diet and exercise. Think about how you, as a mother, can help to stop the deadly obesity pandemic in its tracks.

What Mothers Can Do

As a mum, it is your responsibility to:
• Be understanding and patient. Children will resist you when you tell them about the foods that are good for them. Be patient, allow them to speak, and counter their arguments reasonably.
• Become a better observer and listener. Look at what your kids do, and whether they do anything your own mother would have been very upset with. Unless you come from a household where both parents are obese yourself, you can guarantee that your own mother was setting a very good example. If your parents were both obese, try to identify which behaviors you are duplicating and reverse those.
• Allow your children to say what they think and feel, and how they experience the food they eat. Listen to what they are saying so that you can try to figure out where they get their bad habits from. This may be from you, but it may also be from their peers, for instance.
• Provide lots of variety in your cupboards, fridge, and daily meals. Turn this into a game, asking children if they know what the nutritional value of different foods is, for instance. You can also have taste journeys, eating things from different countries every day or week.
• Set an example, even if they don’t follow you straight away. Give them the option to join you, but don’t falter from your own healthy eating efforts just because they don’t want to.
• Make it more difficult for them to access unhealthy snacks, foods, and drinks by simply not buying them anymore. This will also make a tremendous difference in your own health.

You are a mother and you are one of the most important people in your child’s life, not just emotionally but in terms of their overall health and happiness as well. The majority of people who are now obese and require surgical interventions started to become overweight as children, and this could have been stopped before it go to this point.

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