Breastfeeding FAQ’s Part 1
When it comes to problems with breastfeeding, new mothers often need breastfeeding help and therefore have a range of questions and concerns. In this first of a four part series of articles, I outline answers to some of the most common breastfeeding questions:
How do I know if my baby is getting enough milk?
This is always a key question, as in this day and age we like to be able to analyse and quantify everything. In simple terms, you know your baby is getting enough milk if they’re settling after feeds, if their weight is within normal limits and if they have good amounts of urine and stool output. We would expect a baby’s output to be:
Day 1 – 1-2 urine and 1-2 black meconium stools
Day 2 – 2-3 urines and 2-3 green changing stools
Day 3 – 3-4 urines and 3-4 green/brown stools
Day 4-5 onwards >5 urines > 2 yellow watery stools
If you have any concerns that your baby is not following these key indicators that they are getting enough milk, seek support for a good quality breastfeeding assessment.
How frequently should I breastfeed my baby?
Babies should be fed responsively – this means based on their feeding cues, as and when they want feeding. In general this is 8-12 x in 24 hours. Responsive feeding means not scheduling feeds or making a baby wait for feeding. It means baby may do a number of cluster feeds and may then have some longer stretches in between feeds. It also means feeding a baby based on mothers needs to, such as if breasts feel full its fine to wake up a baby to feed them. If needing to increase supply you may wish to put your baby on the breast more. At a minimum a baby should be fed 8x in 24 hours.
If there are concerns regarding weight gain health care professionals may ask you to wake your baby up to ensure a minimum of 8 feeds in a 24 hour period.
On the first day of life a baby is recovering from birth, often they feed any where between 3-8 times and this is okay as long as there are no clinical concerns. The midwives would encourage the mother to stimulate milk supply by hand expressing if the baby was reluctant to feed.
How long should each breastfeeding session last?
Minutes are quite irrelevant when it comes to breastfeeding as what is more important is how effective the feed is. Learning and watching for babies swallows shows how much a baby is ‘actively’ feeding. Breastfeeds can last anywhere from 5-40 minutes. In general if a baby is on one breast for more than 40 minutes it is likely that milk transfer is suboptimal.
What are some common breastfeeding positions?
The four most common breastfeeding positions are cradle hold/cross cradle, under arm/rugby ball position, layed back/biological position and side laying feeding.
Remember, it's always a good idea to consult with a lactation consultant or specialist professional for personalised advice and support regarding breastfeeding