The Art of Breastfeeding

An all-new edition of the book breastfeeding mothers have relied on for generations is here! For many years, La Leche League has set the standard for supporting families in the art of breastfeeding. This new edition brings that support to today’s parents, with up-to-date information, new illustrations, and stories from mothers, fathers, and grandparents around the world about their experiences. What’s inside? • why breastfeeding matters • feeding cues and nursing positions for getting started • life with your breastfed baby • managing common challenges (with new research) • expressing and storing your milk, especially when going back to work • sleep and how to get more of it • starting family foods and weaning La Leche League is here to help you meet your breastfeeding goals, whether you’re planning to breastfeed for a few weeks or a few years. This book puts information at your fingertips, ready to help you at any point on your breastfeeding journey.

Auteur
La Leche League (LLL) is a pioneer in the field of peer-to-peer breastfeeding information and support. The primary focus in LLL is to share information and encouragement that will give a parent the confidence they need to breastfeed their baby: mother-to-mother, parent-to-parent, heart-to-heart. Volunteers across the world offer support and information in their own communities. LLL also strives to promote a better understanding of breastfeeding as an important element in the healthy development of the baby and mother. LLL works to ensure that those who, historically, have been marginalized are included. Nearly seventy years ago after its beginning, LLL finds itself leading the way amongst breastfeeding support organizations internationally.

Échantillon de lecture
Chapter One

Preparing

Hello, nice to meet you, welcome to our meeting!

Refreshments are on the table. You’re welcome to sit anywhere you’d like.

Oh, you’re expecting a baby? That’s wonderful! You probably have lots of questions—and we’re happy to help.

Whether you’re pregnant, adopting, or working with a surrogate, congratulations! Maybe you can’t wait to have your baby in your arms—but you still have lots of questions. Maybe you are feeling a mix of emotions: along with excitement, you’re wondering how a baby will affect your relationships or you’re concerned about how your career path will change.

Maybe an earlier pregnancy ended in a miscarriage or stillbirth, so you find it hard to even look ahead to holding a baby in your arms. Some of us have been there, too. We hope you have supportive friends, family, or counselors to help.

Perhaps you’ve breastfed before and nursing didn’t go well. That’s what happened to Kirsten:

I have breastfed twice, and each time was completely different. The first time, breastfeeding was tough, painful, and frustrating because I didn’t have enough milk. This time I prepared myself much better by reading a few books about breastfeeding and talking to other mothers who have successfully breastfed. This made a huge difference. This time I could really enjoy breastfeeding. —Kirsten, from the Netherlands, living in Austria

As you research baby names, parental leave, and other issues, you’re probably also thinking about how to feed your baby. Today, most expectant parents choose breastfeeding—for very good reasons. You might be wondering what you need to do to prepare. We have some ideas for that!

Preparing to Breastfeed

Here’s the good news: Your body has already done a lot of preparation. In fact, it started even before you were born.

As your body developed inside your mother’s womb, tiny ducts for carrying milk formed in your chest, under your nipples.

During puberty, as your breasts grew, these ducts developed branches.

Once you started menstruating, more branches grew during each cycle. Milk-making tissue started to grow as well, and you may have noticed some breast sensitivity before each period.

During the first three months of pregnancy, the ducts and milk-making cells grow more quickly. You may have noticed breast tenderness, a change in your bra size, and maybe blue veins or stretch marks on your breasts. Your areolae, the darker brown or pink circles around your nipples, may get darker and larger. Small bumps, Montgomery glands, may form on your areolae. They secrete tiny amounts of oil and milk to keep your nipples clean and moisturized. These are all good signs that your body is getting ready to nourish your baby!

The insides of your breasts are like maps of small towns connected by roads and highways. Your breasts grow tiny clusters of milk-making cells called alveoli. These alveoli are hollow, surrounded by thin muscle bands. Milk collects in the hollow centers, is squeezed out by those muscles, and follows the ducts to your nipple. Other ducts join along the way, so that milk flows out at the nipple through four to eighteen nipple holes (pores).

During the middle three months of pregnancy, breast growth continues. Between the twelfth and sixteenth weeks, your breasts start to produce colostrum, your baby’s first milk.

During the last three months of pregnancy, you might leak drops of colostrum. If you don’t leak at this point, no worries—your breasts are still getting ready to feed your baby.

If you’ve always felt that your breasts look different, or if you haven’t experienced any tenderness or changes at all, talk with your healthcare provider, and for tips to get breastfeeding off to the best possible start, see chapter 17.

Extra Breastfeeding Challenges

At the start, you might need extra help with breastfeeding if you have or have had

• diabetes of any kind

• scant breast tissue that hasn’t grown during pregnancy

• bariatric surgery

• a thyroid disorder

• polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

• breast surgery of any kind

• infertility issues

• other pregnancy or postpartum complications

If you are expecting multiples or if you know your baby is likely to need special care because he’ll be born early or with health issues, you also might need extra help with breastfeeding at the start. Check out chapters 17 and 18 and consider contacting a La Leche League (LLL) Leader, an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, or a healthcare provider with breastfeeding expertise.

Expressing Colostrum

The last few weeks of pregnancy may be a good time to learn how to express milk using your hands. Don’t expect more than drops at first, but it will add up!

Trevor collected an impressive amount of colostrum, a little at a time:

I began painstakingly collecting my precious liquid. By the end of the pregnancy, I had forty or fifty syringes . . . ​a total of 20 or 25 ml. —Trevor, Manitoba, Canada

You can freeze any colostrum you get. This first milk is packed with immune factors to protect your newborn—if your baby needs any extra milk after birth, it’s the best possible choice.

Don’t worry, for each drop you express, you’ll make more to replace it. So if you feel like expressing your colostrum and your healthcare provider agrees, go ahead! For how to do this, see chapter 15.

A Different Way

Are you adopting, or is your baby being carried by a surrogate? Is breastfeeding a possibility? How do you prepare?

Yes, breastfeeding may well be possible! Some mothers who are adopting take hormones to encourage breast growth. Some others simply put the baby to the breast often and use a breast pump as well. Aren’t breasts amazing? Re…