8 Useful Tips Every Breastfeeding Mum Should Apply

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Breastfeeding is a natural process, however, it is an art to be learned to prevent or manage hiccups that may impede having a very pleasant experience with your baby. Find 8 useful tips every nursing mum should know and apply to aid breastfeeding success…

1. Pump breast milk on one side while baby feeds on the other. Try this out if your milk supply is low as it stimulates your breast glands to produce more milk, boosting your supply over time. You may save some of the extra milk in bottles, preserve and feed baby later. This especially works for working mums who have to be away from baby during the day.

Feeding baby frequently as well as a warm shower shortly before breastfeeding may also help stimulate milk flow.

2. Try a nursing stool to aid more comfort while breastfeeding. Doing this is quite helpful for short mums.

Use nursing pillows as well as they help with positioning and curbs the stress on your neck, back and shoulders.

3. Apply breast milk on your nipples after each feed to soothe them and prevent or treat sore and cracked nipples. Always allow to air-dry before covering up.

Wearing breast shells also helps.

You may also apply breast milk on your nipples before each feed – it’s a natural way to moisturize them. Some mums claim this even works better than some nipple creams.

4. Don’t give baby pacifiers until he’s over one month. Some experts say this may suppress baby’s hunger cues, preventing baby from wanting to breastfeed as much as required at a period crucial to boosting his immunity and growth.

5. Ensure baby’s whole mouth covers the dark part of your breast. This is a sign baby is properly latched on and can have access to suck as much milk as he wants without hurting you. See more tips on getting baby properly latched on here.

6. Relieve engorgement manually while in the shower by pressing down, towards your nipple. Subsequently, put a warm towel on your breasts for between 3-5 minutes to ease the pain and swelling before breastfeeding again. Massaging the breasts is also a good way to express excess milk. You may applying cold compresses to both breasts afterwards if still swollen.

7. Lie on your side to breastfeed if you had a C-section or are exhausted to enable you rest your shoulders and lower back if you tend to hunch over.

8. Touch baby with a wet wash cloth if your breasts are full and baby keeps drifting off to sleep while breastfeeding. A tickle on the bottom of his feet or gentle stroke under the chin also works. This allows you empty your breast to prevent engorgement.