A new mom who hasn't breastfed before has all sorts of hesitations, fears and even confusion about breastfeeding an infant who may not follow what she learned from books and information read while pregnant. Breastfeeding mothers must also contend with conflicting information from family and friends. As confusing as everything may be at first, breastfeeding doesn't have to be frustrating.
Time to Heal
Once you bring baby home, friends and family visit, hoping to spend time with you and the new baby. Having a baby is exhausting, especially if you had your baby by cesarean or otherwise had a difficult delivery. And you now have total care of a helpless newborn.
Have someone run interference for you with visitors. If you get ill, breastfeeding becomes a problem. Don't apologize for taking the time needed to recover. Limit time with visitors, even if that means leaving the room or, if alone, ushering visitors out the door.
Don't let anxiety over separation from your infant keep you from allowing trusted family or friends watch your baby while you rest. Make clear the baby is to be brought to you when hungry. Don't allow well-meaning friends to feed your baby or decide that you need rest more than the baby needs to nurse. Allow the baby to nurse on demand, and resist the temptation to offer artificial nipples or supplemental feedings. An often-unintended consequence of supplement feedings is to decrease the amount of milk you have available.
Know Your Mind
Don't let others talk you out of nursing. Breastfed babies have fewer allergies and generally cry less. Breastfeeding is the safest, cheapest and easiest way to feed a baby. Breastfeeding is healthy for mother as well. Don't let others' opinions or breastfeeding challenges stop you from doing what you know to be healthy for your baby and for yourself.
Stress
JoAnn Wagner, mother of four in "Help! I'm A New Mother" said, "Babies understand feelings. When you're upset, they sense it. Try to relax when you're feeding your baby. You'll be rewarded with a calmer baby."
Those first few weeks and months, focus on being a breastfeeding mother, not on an otherwise busy schedule. Stress may lead to breastfeeding problems for you and/or your baby. If stress keeps you tense, your baby may not feed well. Not totally expressing you milk may lead to loss of milk or infection.
Soreness
Regular nursing helps keep the milk ducts from clogging up. Clogged ducts may cause the breast to become sore. With rest, application of heat and frequent nursing, this may resolve itself naturally. Red streaks and pain indicate a breast infection and require a doctor visit and antibiotics. You may also need to express and throw away milk from that breast until the mastitis clears. Regular nursing and not using soap or other drying products helps alleviate sore nipples. Applying lanolin to the nipples can also help relieve soreness.
Support
La Leche League, an organization for nursing mothers, has support groups in many areas. It can also be accessed online. Joining this or other support groups may prove vital to helping you feel comfortable with your decision to breastfeed. A support group helps you learn breastfeeding techniques, understand what is normal and what is not and recognize when you need medical intervention.
Ask for Help
It is not unusual to have problems with breastfeeding. Don't be afraid to ask for assistance from nurses or from others who've breastfed. Don't allow embarrassment to keep you from eliciting help. Breastfeeding may take both commitment and stamina until you break through to the sweet bonding experience you've read and others talk about.
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