By the third trimester, the shape of the areolas changes completely, and already 3-4 weeks before giving birth, a woman can check whether her breasts are suitable for feeding. The easiest way to do this is to stand in front of a mirror, bare your breasts, place your index finger and thumb on the edges of the areola, and then gently squeeze them. This procedure must be repeated with the second one.

If, when squeezing the areola, you see that the nipple is pulled forward, then you do not need to worry - your breasts are already prepared for feeding, and the baby will be able to drink milk without difficulty. If the nipple shrinks and seems to be inward, problems will most likely arise. Correcting the situation is actually quite simple: just purchase special silicone pads at the pharmacy to prepare the nipples for feeding the baby. Use these caps for several weeks before giving birth, and the problem will be solved. If you have not managed to form the correct shape of your nipples by the time your baby is born, do not worry about this - it will be enough to wear the nipple shields for half an hour before each feeding.

Remember that nipples can be different: if one of them stretches out and the other “hides”, then the shape of the second nipple will have to be adjusted in order to avoid troubles in the future. You should not always feed your baby with only one breast, leaving the other one unattended. This is both difficult and not very pleasant for a young mother.

How to strengthen your nipples before breastfeeding

The lactation period can be associated with problems: nipples begin to crack, breasts begin to crack, and discomfort increasingly occurs even during periods when the child does not drink milk. Fortunately, there is a way to avoid all this. First of all, during pregnancy, get into the habit of hardening your nipples. To do this, it will be enough to massage them with an ice cube for several minutes 1-2 times a day.

It’s good if you prepare cubes of frozen chamomile decoction: they will not only harden the skin, but also soothe it and moisturize it. After the massage, rinse your breasts, pat dry with a towel and apply cream to the nipples. You can continue this procedure after childbirth, just remember that you need to use a special cream that prevents cracks in the nipples, and also wash the skin every time before feeding so that the product does not enter the baby’s body with milk.

How to feed your unborn baby, how to prepare your breasts for feeding is a question that interests many mothers, especially those for whom this is their first birth. To make the feeding process as comfortable as possible for you and your baby, there are several recommendations for preparing your breasts for feeding. You need to start preparing during pregnancy. Particular attention to preparatory procedures should be given to women with flat, inverted nipples and overly sensitive breasts.

Any manipulation of the breast requires prior consultation with a doctor. He will talk about ways to prepare for feeding that are right for you, and will also help you avoid the most common mistakes among new mothers.

What is your nipple shape?

Some mothers who have flat nipples or inverted nipples begin to panic that this will somehow interfere with feeding and that the baby will be uncomfortable. In fact, it won't hurt at all. You just need to prepare your nipples in advance.

The first thing you need to do is check the form. Perhaps your suspicions are unfounded and there is nothing wrong with the form. Take the nipple halo with two fingers (index and thumb) and press lightly - if the nipple is pulled inward, then the shape is not entirely correct; if the nipple sticks out forward, it is convenient for feeding the baby. Also, a normal nipple, when exposed to cold, is pulled forward and takes on a convex shape, a retracted nipple is pulled into the areola, a flat nipple does not change shape at all.

Flat or inverted nipples

• Massage. But you can change it slightly to make it more convenient to feed your baby. A fairly effective method is massage. The first and simplest is pulling and twisting the nipples. Using two fingers, gently pull out the nipple, twisting it slightly. There is probably no need to remind you that your hands should be washed clean, and your nails should be trimmed and filed? But do not overdo it - the skin on them is very delicate, you can damage it. Also, twisting the nipples too much can cause increased uterine tone.

There is also a Hoffman maneuver that can be used to pull out the nipple. Place two thumbs at the base of the nipple and begin gentle rubbing movements with one finger up, the other down, then to the sides. Thus, the adhesions at the base of the flat (or inverted) nipple are weakened, and it is brought out. It is recommended to do this exercise for a few minutes 2-5 times a day. This method is a little controversial, some experts consider it effective, others are extremely against it.

• Special bra with special inserts and nipple correctors. The bra gradually changes the shape of the nipples, making them more convex. You can also find special correctors in the pharmacy that operate on the principle of a pump. But you can’t wear them often - start putting on correctors a month before the baby is born for about 5 minutes a day, gradually increasing the time to 30 minutes, and before engaging in such procedures, consult a specialist. After your baby is born, continue to wear the correctors before feeding for 15 minutes. Correctors and covers apply pressure to the areola area and help the nipple to stretch out.

• The third method is a breast pump. Use it after you start feeding, but check in advance to see if you have any contraindications to pumping. This also helps draw out the nipples.

Under no circumstances should you listen to “advisers” who recommend switching to artificial feeding if your nipples are too flat (do not use a pacifier or a bottle with a pacifier for supplemental feeding. Remember that in the case of inverted nipples, after a bottle with a pacifier, you will definitely struggle with “ nipple confusion" in your baby;). Even if you didn’t have time to prepare your breasts for feeding before the baby was born, don’t worry, the baby will do everything on his own. As he feeds, he will gradually change the shape of his nipples using his lips. In this case, try to use bottles, pacifiers and pacifiers to a minimum.

What to do about nipple sensitivity

Hypersensitive nipples make every feeding torture. You are distracted by unpleasant sensations, and this interferes with comfortable feeding of the baby. Preliminary preparation of the nipples will help get rid of the problem. There are several ways to do this.

Note to moms!

Hello girls) I didn’t think that the problem of stretch marks would affect me too, and I’ll also write about it))) But there’s nowhere to go, so I’m writing here: How did I get rid of stretch marks after childbirth? I will be very glad if my method helps you too...

1. Bra made of rough fabric. The fabric should not be too stiff so as not to injure the skin, but at the same time rough enough to help the halo get rid of excess sensitivity.
2. Walk without a bra more often - give your breasts air baths for 10-15 minutes every day (walk bare-chested around the apartment). You can go to the nearest store without a bra - 10-15 minutes is just enough. In warm weather, you can bare your breasts outside in your summer cottage.
3. Another way is massage with imitation of feeding a baby. Take the nipple with two fingers, squeeze it lightly and begin to pull. But do not put too much pressure on the mammary glands - the body may think that feeding time has already begun.
4. Do not rub your nipples or use lotions containing alcohol! These manipulations violate the protective layer of the areola and injure the nipples.

Even if you don't have any problems with your nipples, there are a few tips to prepare them for feeding that you should follow:

• Try to avoid getting soap on your nipples so as not to dry out the skin - wiping the areola with a damp towel is quite enough;
• During pregnancy, breasts increase in size. To prevent your breasts from sagging, you need to wear a properly fitted bra. It should not compress the chest, preventing proper blood circulation. It is recommended to choose underwear with wide straps, made from breathable, hypoallergenic natural materials;
• Breast skin care. Preparing your breasts for breastfeeding includes taking proper care of your skin. In late pregnancy, it is recommended to avoid the use of aggressive cosmetics that lead to dryness of the epidermis;
• Compresses. You can make natural decoctions from oak bark or strong black tea, soak cotton wool in the solution and apply to the halo for a few minutes. This strengthens them and prevents their appearance. Repeat the procedure several times a day;
• Hardening. For a future mother, it is very important to harden her breasts, since during feeding she is under constant tension. The easiest way is air baths. You can also pour cold water over your chest. Gradually reduce the temperature - you cannot start pouring ice water over your nipples from the first procedures. Pouring the chest alternately with cool and warm water has a tonic effect. Another way is to wipe your chest with ice cubes. You can make a frozen decoction of chamomile, oak or string, which is good for the skin of the nipple halo. Ice should not be kept for a long time to prevent hypothermia;
• Special bra. Its shape is specially designed to prepare the female breast for feeding the baby. When wearing such a bra, avoid tight or overly tight clothing;
• Massage. Massage your breasts periodically, making circular movements around the breast. This increases blood flow and prevents pain during feeding ();
• Communication with the doctor and with other mothers. The period of waiting for a baby is very exciting. Many questions arise in your head, including how feeding will take place. You can talk to your doctor about this. Ask him about everything that interests you. Also try to talk about this topic with other mothers, ask about the problems they have encountered, and learn from their experiences. You can go to special classes for young mothers, where they will show you how to properly attach your baby to the breast, how to prepare her for feeding and how to care for her after that.

If during pregnancy you took a responsible approach to preparing your breasts for future feeding, after the birth of your baby the process will be comfortable and painless for you. As soon as the baby is born, he will feel the mother’s warmth, and your body will launch the processes responsible for milk production.

How to maintain breast shape

• It is recommended to wear a special bra, as during pregnancy. You can't let him squeeze your chest. Excessive compression of the mammary glands can lead to complete loss of milk. Don’t buy it “for growth” - it’s better to buy a new one every time your breasts get bigger or smaller. It is advisable to buy a bra with wide straps;
• Do special exercises. Do push-ups from the floor or wall, squeeze an object with your palms, placing them with the inner sides facing each other, as in prayer, cross your arms in front of you. But exclude jumping and running for a while;
• Do not sleep on your stomach when your breasts are full of milk;
• Do not try to dramatically lose weight in the first time after giving birth;
• Feed your baby in the correct position ();
• Do regular breast massage with natural oils.

What not to do

• Rub your breasts with a rough cloth, a terry towel, put rough cloth in your bra (to make your nipples less sensitive), as doctors advised several decades ago, it is forbidden. This causes the skin around the nipples to wear off and become cracked. Nature initially made the woman’s breasts ready for feeding a child; you only need to slightly adjust, if necessary, some points for personal comfort and convenience of feeding your baby;
• You cannot forcefully pull, massage the nipples, or subject them to too much manipulation in the later stages, otherwise you can cause increased uterine tone and provoke premature birth;
• You can't put cream on your nipples either. The breasts produce natural lubrication on their own – that’s enough. Don’t trust pretty jars in stores and pharmacies labeled “nipple softening cream” - this is a clever marketing ploy. An exception is that cream may be needed if cracks appear on the nipples, but subject to prior consultation with a doctor. Also, do not use alcohol lotions.

Video consultation

Do you need to prepare your breasts for feeding your baby? What myths surround preparing your breasts for breastfeeding? Do you need to rub tissue on your nipples during pregnancy to make them harden? What causes cracked nipples? What do you need to know and what to be prepared for before you start breastfeeding? Do I need to lubricate my breasts to prepare them for feeding? Why does breastfeeding hurt?

The editors of Daily Baby decided to take a short trip into the past and find out: what was a mother like in the Soviet Union? Was everything really as the posters of the USSR era depicted, or were they wishful thinking?

In the USSR, special attention was paid to the topics of motherhood and the place of women in society. This was not a personal matter for everyone, but a matter of national scale.

The ideas of socialism touched all spheres of life of Soviet people. Women's suffrage in 1917, Soviet propaganda, and the ideology of the Soviet Union in general played a role: everyone should work for the good of socialism. With no exceptions.

As in any state with a strong ideology, in the Soviet Union posters served an educational and propaganda function, along with radio, newspapers and later television.

In the USSR there was a cult of the heroic Soviet woman, especially in the post-war period, when the number of men in the Union sharply decreased, and Soviet posters fully reflected this. There were no gender differences: we all worked for the good of society.

So what kind of heroic Soviet woman is she? Ideally, this is a mother of several children who takes care of her family, from the age of two months she sends her child to a nursery, often at the factory where she works, in order to breastfeed him during lunch breaks. In the evening she returns home, picks up her other grown-up children from kindergarten on the way, after dinner checks the diaries of her older sons or daughters, cleans, cooks, and in the morning starts all over again.

Now, in the era of individualism, such a lifestyle seems like real madness, but then it was what many aspired to. Such mothers received certificates, medals, often more comfortable living conditions and, of course, universal approval.

They themselves worked for the good of the country and gave birth to a new workforce. What else could the Soviet state dream of?

“Consultations are full, children’s cemeteries are empty”

During the heyday of socialism in the country, medicine was just beginning to reach a new level. As throughout the world, in the 20-30s, in Russia there was a high infant mortality rate and mortality of women during childbirth. Which is not surprising: children were literally given birth in the field and immediately continued to work, there was complete unsanitary conditions, women were not educated on the topic of their health and the health of the child, and in general, medicine was often powerless.

Time passed, over several decades science took confident steps forward, mortality began to fall, and it became obvious: the more often women are observed and give birth under the supervision of doctors, the more healthy children the Soviet Union receives, therefore, the more labor force there is in the country.

The authority of medical workers in Soviet times was unshakable. The doctor said, “Do not approach the child when he is screaming, he must calm down on his own,” and the woman did not approach. If the doctor said, “Breastfeed,” then you need to feed.

Now, by the way, many are surprised why many posters depicted women naked, but what about “There was no sex in the Soviet Union”? In most cases, these posters were hung in antenatal clinics, where men were not frequent guests.

“I wanted to have an abortion”

The RSFSR was the first country in the world to legalize abortion. For comparison: in Russia a decree was adopted in 1920, and in the USA and Europe only 50 years later, in the 70s.

And despite the fact that the ban was reintroduced from 1936 to 1955, this did not significantly reduce the number of abortions.

A sad fact: the USSR had world records for the number of terminated pregnancies. Sociologists are still arguing about the reasons. Some people think that propaganda is to blame: if there was no sex in the country, then there was no sex education either. At least in matters of contraception.

Another reason is the denial of God and the church. Abortion was not considered a sin or murder - so women had fewer deterrents.

A record number of abortions in the country was recorded in 1960: 5.6 million. By comparison, about 600,000 abortions were performed in 2017.

“We know how to do everything ourselves, we help our mother”

Many posters in the USSR were dedicated to raising children. Basically, they called for independence, independence, helping elders and impeccable school work.

If you think about it: many of them are not so obsessively idealistic. For example, what’s wrong with helping your mother with the housework?

Where are the dads?

Oddly enough, men are not so often featured on posters dedicated to family and motherhood. And if they do appear, it is in the role of alcoholic dads who are condemned by society, or on rather neutral posters about a happy Soviet family.

One gets the feeling that the head of the Soviet family is, after all, a mother-heroine, which is why both the words and the posters are about her.

Since I was 15 years old, I washed myself with a washcloth because my friend had terrible cracks, I’ve seen enough :)
In the end I didn’t have any cracks, I fed almost 3g and now it’s 1g2m
Read this for you
Introduction
First, let's figure out what determines the appearance of milk and its release from the mammary gland.

The “production” of milk in our country is carried out by the hormone prolactin, the formation of which depends on the sucking activity of the child. This hormone causes breast cells to produce milk. The baby begins to suckle, and after a few minutes the amount of prolactin begins to increase. (Everyone has the hormone prolactin, even men, but it’s just not enough). We women are designed in such a way that the most prolactin is formed from about 3 to 8 o'clock in the morning (when the baby sucks at the breast). Prolactin, which appears a few minutes after the start of sucking, “forms” milk only several hours after its immediate production. In other words, by feeding the baby now, we use up the milk formed from the previous production of prolactin and produce prolactin for subsequent feedings. Full stimulation of the breast for sufficient production of prolactin is possible only when the child holds the nipple correctly. It turns out that the amount of milk depends on three things: correct position at the breast, frequency of latching and night feedings.

Milk secretion depends on the action of another hormone - oxytocin. The effect of this hormone usually manifests itself a few seconds after the baby starts sucking and consists of contraction of smooth muscle cells around the lobules of the mammary gland, which leads to “squeezing out” the accumulated milk from them and moving it along the ducts. The flow of milk in response to the baby's sucking is called the oxytocin reflex and is often felt by a woman as engorgement of the breast; mothers call this a “rush” of milk. The action of this hormone is very dependent on the emotional state of the woman. The production of oxytocin is promoted not only by the baby's sucking of the breast, but also by the sight, smell, characteristic snoring, even thoughts of a hungry baby. It may begin to be produced immediately before feeding, and the nursing mother notices this by a feeling of fullness in the breast or milk leakage. Leakage of milk from the other breast when feeding the first is also a result of the action of oxytocin. In other words, oxytocin is produced before and during feeding and “works” right at the moment of production, immediately. If the mother is scared, very tired, and cannot relax during feeding, then oxytocin will not be formed in the required quantities and no one will be able to force the muscle cells around the gland lobes to contract and help milk flow into the duct. Neither the baby nor the breast pump will be able to remove it from there, and the mother will say that she has lost milk “from nerves”... Thus, a nursing mother needs: peace of mind, self-confidence, a calm atmosphere during feeding, the opportunity to switch gears and relax before how to attach a baby to the breast so that lactation is complete.

Lactation can be increased only by increasing the production of appropriate hormones. The production of prolactin will be influenced by correct nipple latching, frequency of attachments and the presence of night feedings. The production of oxytocin will be influenced by the emotional state of the woman.

Among nursing mothers, various recipes for lactogenic drinks are very popular; they really have some effect, especially if the mother, starting to drink them, slightly increases the number of feedings, for example, from 6 to 8, and is firmly convinced that this remedy should help her. In general, any mother who follows the basic rules of successful feeding is able to feed her child for as long as she likes, without ever drinking any special “milk” product or doing any special procedures for this. Most lactogenic preparations have not so much a therapeutic as a psychological effect (proven by WHO research). Moreover, some mothers are helped by the most delicious products (that is, those that cause them a surge of positive emotions, therefore increasing the production of oxytocin, that is, the outflow of milk itself, and not its quantity), for some, only those that require a fair amount of “sweat” to prepare ", for example, chop and grind nuts, pour boiling milk over it, leave for a long time, take warm, etc. (that is, she receives satisfaction from the labor-intensive work done - the same oxytocin stimulates), and, finally, there are mothers who are helped by extremely tasteless recipes (they say, this is how much I suffer in order to have milk, what a great job I am, self-esteem increases, great satisfaction , oxytocin is stimulated again!)

Of course, if a mother has a lot of free time, she does everything that is necessary for her child, any vitamin or lactogenic drink will not harm her - let her enjoy it! However, if the mother feeds the child 6 times a day, does not feed at night, the child sucks a pacifier and drinks tea, then neither Laktovit”, nor nettle decoction, nor “Apilak”, nor sour cream with cumin, nor anything else can cause stable lactation .

There are stronger herbal preparations that affect the hormonal system and they can cause a slight increase in the amount of milk, but they must be drunk constantly and addiction to them develops over time. Some doctors prescribe medications to breastfeeding mothers to increase milk supply, one of which has side effects is an increase in the amount of prolactin. Excess prolactin is a serious hormonal disorder. Even if the mother agrees to this, this cannot be done for long. Stable lactation still does not work out.
What should be done if the amount of milk still decreases?
First of all, try to determine whether this is so and whether it is worth “fencing the garden.” According to experts (figures taken from the statistical report of the Moscow Breastfeeding Support Group), only 3% of women who suspected they had problems with lactation have a real lack of milk, which should be addressed to a competent lactation specialist. In 55% of cases, this is a temporary lack of milk due to improperly organized breastfeeding and any lactation consultant can help cope with it *. And in 42% of cases, a false lack of milk is stated, that is, there is actually enough milk, it’s just that the mother, due to lack of experience, “invented” a problem for herself, which she heroically “copes with.”

Let's list in what order and what errors need to be eliminated in order to increase the amount of milk if you have any doubts.
1.Is your baby latching correctly? One of the most common reasons for a lack of milk is a painless variant of improper attachment, when a mother who does not give her baby pacifiers and nipples, and feeds on demand, is sure that the baby is holding the breast correctly, because. does not cause any inconvenience to the mother, and in fact, the nipple latching does not properly and does not provide good stimulation to the breast. Despite frequent feedings and night feedings, there is not enough milk.
2.Does your baby suck a pacifier? If you suck, then you may have so-called “bottle” breast sucking. The baby does not latch onto the breast quite correctly and does not stimulate it enough. In addition, if the baby sucks on a pacifier, he is less likely to latch on to the breast.
3. Do you give your child water or tea “from gas”? If so, then your baby is not getting enough milk at least as much as other liquids your baby drinks. If your baby receives, for example, 150 ml of tea, he does not receive 150 ml of milk.
4. Do you give your baby any medications (mixtures) in quantities of more than 10 ml per day? Some mothers, on the advice of doctors, give a “medicinal” mixture 1-2 times a day for dysbacteriosis or lactase deficiency. Usually it is necessary to give it for at least 10 days in an amount of 50 ml to 100 ml. This also reduces the amount of milk the baby sucks out.
Before deciding whether lactation is sufficient, understand these problems. Maybe your child is missing exactly those 50-100 ml per day, which will be perfectly produced on their own if you stop giving your child nutritional supplements. This is possible without any special changes in modes, etc.

If a child is used to calming down with a pacifier or a bottle of tea, he needs time to forget about this habit. The mother's confidence in the correctness of her actions is very important here. If the mother has firmly decided that the child will not suck anything else, the baby quickly agrees with her. While the baby forgets about the pacifier and periodically makes trouble, you must adhere to the following behavioral tactics: if at the moment when you offer the baby the breast, he makes a couple of sucking movements, then spits out the nipple and starts screaming, you should not try to plug his mouth with the breast (the first time the baby is waiting for the usual bottle of “tea from gas”). The breast should be hidden, the baby should be reassured, and the breast should be offered after a while when the baby is in a calm state.
To find out how correctly the baby grasps and sucks the breast, you need to consult a specialist - a breastfeeding consultant. In the absence of one, it is necessary to find a mother who is breastfeeding, who has never had problems with nipples, who monitors the quality of latching, who does not have problems with the amount of milk, preferably, who is not breastfeeding her first child, and consult with her.
Have you already dealt with the problem, but still have doubts about the amount of milk?
Then, count how many times the child pees per day. Take off his diaper and start counting his urinations. The result will be reliable if the child does not receive any other liquid other than milk. If he is given water or tea or a mixture, such an experiment does not make sense. A healthy baby over 7 days old who is exclusively breastfed should pee more than 6-8 times a day, usually he pees 12 or more times a day. The minimum number of urinations that can occur is 6-8 times a day. If the baby pees 6 or less times a day for several days, he needs additional feeding, and the mother needs urgent measures to increase her milk supply - contact your nearest lactation specialist. If the baby pees 6-8 times a day, then he does not need additional feeding, but perhaps there is not enough milk and the mother’s lactation needs to be stimulated.

There are more than 8 urinations, but you still have doubts?
Then, try to estimate how much your child gains per week (divide his gain per month by the number of weeks). The minimum weight gain, starting from the second week of life, should be 125g per week, better if 200 - 300.

If a baby gains 500g or less per month, feeding on demand and receiving nothing but milk, consultation with a lactation specialist and a newborn care instructor is necessary, because Most likely, there are some errors in organizing breastfeeding and caring for the baby that are not noticeable to a mother who has no experience (improper attachment, etc.) or there are problems in the digestibility of milk.

If more, you DO NOT have a MILK LACK.

If your baby is restless more often than you would like or your breasts have become soft, but your baby pees often and is gaining weight well, you can safely do nothing to increase your milk supply, you have enough.

If you went to the children's clinic and carried out control feeding, during which your baby sucked a little milk, and you were prescribed supplemental feeding (even though you feed him on demand, he does not suck on anything except the breast, has gained a lot of weight and pees often) - this does not mean that you have a lack of milk. This only means that your pediatrician is incompetent in matters related to breastfeeding. Ask if he himself fed anyone and for how long.

If you went to the clinic and discovered that the child had not gained much weight, for example, in his first month, and, after reading the above, you discovered that your breastfeeding was not organized correctly, wait to give supplementary feeding. Try to change your breastfeeding style. Very often this is enough to increase milk supply.
Restoration of lactation
Before you begin measures aimed at increasing your milk supply, note for yourself what other mistakes you are making:

How many times do you put your baby to your breast during the day? If 5-8 times, then your breasts do not have sufficient stimulation to produce the required amounts of milk and maintain stable lactation.

Do you feed your baby in the early morning hours (from about 3 to 8 am)? If you don't feed, or the baby stops waking up, you may actually have a lack of milk due to the lack of sufficient stimulation of the hormone prolactin. (One feeding at 6 am is usually not enough).

If you feed your baby on demand, the baby latches correctly, pees often, but does not gain weight well, you do not have a lack of milk, or a deficiency in the absorption of this product. The reason for the lack of weight is something else, it could be, for example, dissatisfaction in contact with the mother or the baby’s illness - in both cases, consultation with a specialist is necessary.

If you have already started supplementing with formula, then to switch to exclusive breastfeeding you will need the help of a specialist at your place of residence. There are a large number of organizations involved in supporting breastfeeding and there are specialists with the necessary qualifications. This phrase has nothing to do with Russia; there are specialists, but there are very few of them.

If you still don’t have enough milk, but you haven’t started supplementing with formula yet, proceed as follows:
1. In any case, you need competent support, at least by phone. Unfortunately, in modern civilized society, nursing mothers cannot find the necessary support from their relatives or friends, because... both of them most often do not have experience of successful breastfeeding. Try to find a lactation consultant* near you and discuss this problem with them. If such a specialist is not located anywhere, then:
2. Try to organize maximum physical contact with the child. Don't try to immediately put him down as soon as he falls asleep. Use a patchwork sling. If possible, wear shorts and a shirt on two shelves, then the baby will rest against your bare legs and stomach while feeding. Arrange to sleep together at night. If it is not possible to sleep with your child all night, move his crib close to yours, stick your hand through the bars, the child should feel your constant presence. But at about 4 am, take him to your place.
3.Learn how to apply correctly. Babies who have experience sucking bottles and pacifiers very often hold their breasts incorrectly and do not take the areola deep enough into the mouth. Mom may not be in pain, because... There is no extreme variant of incorrect attachment (when the child closes his jaws on the nipple), but the breast is poorly stimulated, because the nipple and a small part of the areola lie on the tongue, and the child “expresses” them... It is difficult for a mother who has never observed breastfeeding to determine how correctly her child is sucking. The best option is to see a lactation consultant. If there is no such thing in your area, you need to find a mother who is breastfeeding a child, preferably not the first, and the child must be really breastfeeding, without experience of sucking foreign objects (pacifier, pacifier), and the mother should not have problems with the nipples - abrasions, cracks, neither now nor previously. It is impossible to learn how to apply from books and brochures! There is little hope for photographs in parenting magazines, because very often in parenting magazines you can find photographs of children holding their breasts incorrectly. This is the most important point in restoring normal lactation. If the mother cannot correct the attachment, or considers the painless option of incorrect attachment to be good, neither frequent attachments nor night feedings will bring the desired result.
4. Attach your baby to your breast every hour at your request, excluding the night break (from 12 midnight to 4 am). Feeding at the mother's request means that the baby is latched regardless of his condition, when the mother needs it. If a child puts forward his own demands, then, of course, he does his best at these moments. At night, from 12 to 4, the child applies food only if he asks for it.
5. Organize mandatory feedings in the early morning hours. If the baby still wakes up on his own at 3-4 in the morning, no longer try to “pump him up”, but put him to your breast. You need 2-3 applications between 3 and 8 am (the time of formation of maximum prolactin concentrations). If your baby stops waking up, you should set an alarm for 4 am and offer your baby the breast at 4, 6 and 8 am. The child quickly remembers his innate habit of sucking in the morning. If a child sleeps with his mother, he never forgets to kiss a couple of times early in the morning. For a mother and baby who sleep together from birth, their sleep rhythms synchronize after about a week. The mother adapts to the child and begins to sleep more superficially. When the baby starts fussing at night, the mother opens one eye, gives the baby the breast and continues to sleep. The baby sleeps while sucking. Mom is usually half asleep or has shallow sleep (this is only possible if mom knows how to feed while lying down in a comfortable position in which she can relax). Having sucked, the baby releases the breast and falls into a deep sleep, and the mother falls asleep. Then again the child begins to sleep quickly, he may start to “fidget” and again put himself to sleep. There are several such episodes during the night. Their number changes with the age of the child, and their duration changes. But these morning feedings do not completely disappear even in big children. A child aged 1.5-2 years, for example, sucks very actively somewhere from 5.30 - 6.00 to 8.00-9.00 in the morning.
6. Forget about scales and weighing for a while. Leave the scale alone, or better yet, give it to someone for a week.
7.If you haven’t stopped doing this yet, stop giving your child water or tea or juice. Any liquid that a child receives gives him a false feeling of satiety and reduces the need to suckle at the breast. If your baby drank 100 ml of water during the day, this means that he did not receive 100 ml of milk.
8.If you haven't stopped doing this yet, stop using a pacifier. The baby must forget that he can suck on anything other than his mother’s breast. (You can also suck your fist or fingers, but if you see that the baby is sucking very intensely for more than 5 minutes, offer him the breast).
9.You will need the help of loved ones, because... For 1-2 weeks, it is better for you not to be distracted by anything from your child. This method of restoring lactation is called the “nest method.” The child should be minimally dressed in order to stimulate the mother's lactation with his skin. You stimulate each other - the baby's mother to suck more often, the baby's mother to produce more milk. You simply don’t have time to do anything else.
10. Be prepared for the fact that the baby, finally having the opportunity to suckle as much as he wants and have unlimited physical contact with his mother, may “hang” on the breast for several hours, sucking continuously. The more pronounced this behavior is, the more stress the child has experienced, and there is no need to stop him from compensating for this stress.
11.Do not try to maintain your previous daily routine (walks, etc....). Relax and just focus on feeding.
12. Don’t be upset that your breasts have become completely soft due to frequent breastfeeding. This is completely normal. With stable lactation, the breast is soft all the time and produces milk only when the baby is sucking. Recount the number of urinations, there should be more of them.
13.A week after the start of this work, you can carry out the first weighing of the child. In another week you will have a second weigh-in - this way you will begin to control your weekly gain. If it grows every week, everything works out for you.
14. After establishing 11-12 urinations per day, continue to apply the child every hour for another 5-7 days, then for one day give him freedom and apply only at his request. If the baby again asks for the breast once every 3-4 hours, therefore he has not yet regained the need to suck the breast, continue to apply every hour for another 1 week, then try to observe again, etc.
15. Most children develop a new daily routine for themselves after about 2-3 weeks, when they begin to develop a more or less constant rhythm of daytime dreams. Now your baby should latch on to the breast to fall asleep and latch on when he wakes up. It often happens that a child, after sleeping for an hour, begins to worry, the mother cuddles him, and the baby falls asleep again.
16. This is what an approximate regimen looks like for a baby who has restored the innate need for frequent attachments. If, for example, your baby is 2 months old and sleeps four times during the day, you get approximately the following number of attachments: around “four sleeps, two attachments each - it turns out 8 (the baby always falls asleep at the breast, sleeps for a while while sucking and releases the breast, then attaches after waking up), plus feeding in the evening to fall asleep and in the morning, when he wakes up, it’s already 10, plus latching on in the morning 3-4 times - that’s already 14, plus such young children have a need to latch on to their mother while awake (usually that’s when he a pacifier or a bottle with tea is given, because the mother believes that since the baby suckled half an hour ago, now he has nothing to do at the breast - and the baby wanted physical contact with the mother, he wanted to feel her closeness and tenderness again, he wanted to suck a little more for a reason not related to satiation - for example, they wanted to pee. There are children who, in order to do their business, need to latch on to the breast, and there are children who need to latch on immediately after... Various options are possible, but the baby has already been given a pacifier or distracted with a rattle...). There could be, for example, 5 such short-term applications. In total, there were 19 applications per day.
17.Another way to count free attachments looks like this: the child should be attached to the breast “around” dreams (falls asleep at the breast and attached when he wakes up) and approximately once every 2 hours while awake. If a child does not attach for 3 hours in a row and he does not sleep, it means that you are missing some of his requests, or he has already decided that asking is useless... There are different children with different needs, but the daily number of attachments is almost never less than 12. If If you get less, it means you will need more time to restore his trust.
18. If you are able to urinate 12 times a day, at least 12 breastfeedings without looking at the clock, and the child begins to gain 200 g or more per week - you have solved your problem.
19. Do not rush to give up your efforts. Stable lactation occurs approximately 1-2 months after the start of a new life. The more time has passed since birth, the longer the recovery takes. Often the mother feels that there is more milk already on the second or third day, but a stable result is obtained no earlier than after a week, and at least another week is needed for the child to form a stable habit of such a life. Therefore, the minimum period that needs to be devoted to restoring lactation is 2 weeks.
In many cases, what prevents a woman from establishing full lactation is not the lack of 10 hours of sleep at night or the lack of time for walks and money for vitamin complexes for nursing mothers and fresh fruit in the middle of winter. Mothers are hampered by two ideas that are firmly rooted in the consciousness of modern society: 1. A child cannot be taught to hold hands and grab at every squeak - he will be spoiled. 2. You can’t sleep in the same bed with your child – it’s unhygienic and harmful, and you won’t be able to wean it off later. Try to forget about these two nonsenses, and it will become much easier for you.

Instead of an introduction, I would like to say that modern women’s ideas about breastfeeding are a collection of prejudices. They are so common that in many books for expectant mothers and in parenting magazines, it is actions based on prejudice that are described as correct and necessary. So.
... Prejudice No. 1.
“Breastfeeding is something incredibly difficult, almost no one is able to feed for a long time, everyone always has a lot of problems and nothing but inconvenience.”
There is nothing easier, more convenient, more enjoyable for mother and child, and, by the way, cheaper than properly organized breastfeeding. But for this to be exactly the case, breastfeeding needs to be learned. The best teacher in this matter may not be a book or a parenting magazine, but a woman who breastfed her child for a long time, more than a year, and received positive emotions from it. There are women who fed for a long time and perceived it as punishment. For example, one mother fed her child for 1.5 years and during these 1.5 years she pumped after each feeding, and when she decided that she had had enough and decided to wean the child, due to improper actions she developed mastitis. Now she tells everyone that breastfeeding is hell. She had not fed her child properly for a single day.
...
Prejudice #6
“You can’t hold a newborn to your chest for more than 5 minutes, otherwise there will be cracks.”
The baby should be kept at the breast as long as he needs. Feeding ends when the baby releases the breast on his own.
If we talk about cracks, there are only two groups of reasons leading to their formation:
1. Mom washes her breasts before each feeding. If she does this (and even with soap, and even anoints her with brilliant green after feeding - a favorite pastime in Russian maternity hospitals, for example) - she constantly washes off the protective layer from the areola, which is produced by special glands located around the nipple, and dries the skin. This protective lubricant exists precisely to prevent the loss of moisture from the delicate skin of the nipple, it has bactericidal properties and inhibits the growth of pathogenic microorganisms and, which is especially important for the child, it smells about the same as amniotic fluid.
2. Reasons associated with incorrect position and behavior of the baby at the breast:
The baby is not attached correctly and is sucking in the wrong position. And if this is really the case, then 5 minutes after 3 hours is enough for the formation of abrasions, and then cracks.
The baby can latch onto the breast correctly, but during the sucking process he can perform various actions that can lead to the formation of cracks if the mother does not know that these actions need to be corrected and not allow the child to behave this way.
We must remember that the child has never sucked breasts before and does not know how to do it (he only knows the general principle of sucking). Unfortunately, most mothers also do not know how a child should behave at the breast; they have never, or almost never seen this.
What should you not allow your child to do? “Slide down” to the tip of the nipple. This happens especially often if the baby does not stick his nose into his mother’s breast while sucking. If the mother feels that the latch is changing, she should try to press the baby's nose to the chest. Very often this is enough for the child to “put on” correctly. If this does not help, then you need to pick up the nipple and reinsert it correctly. The baby should not suckle at the breast in the wrong position for a single minute. He doesn’t care how to suck, he doesn’t know that he is making mom painful or unpleasant, he doesn’t know that the wrong position does not allow him to suck out enough milk, he doesn’t know that with the wrong position there is no sufficient stimulation of the mother’s breasts and there will not be sufficient production milk.
You should not allow your child to play with the nipple. A child who has learned to move to the tip of the nipple sometimes begins to pass the nipple through the slightly open jaws back and forth. Of course, it’s painful or unpleasant for mom, but in most cases moms allow her to do this “Just to suck…” they say… Why?!!
It often happens that children who do not feel the boob with their nose, or do not feel it very well, begin to make searching movements with the nipple in their mouth. Here you need to squeeze the baby so that he understands that he is already in place and there is no need to look for anything else.
Sometimes, especially if the mother has long and large nipples, the baby latch onto the breast in several stages, “climbing” up in several movements. This also happens in cases where the child has already sucked the pacifier and does not open his mouth well. The nipple gets injured very quickly. To avoid this, you need to correctly insert the nipple into a WIDE-open mouth, carrying the nipple itself past the jaws, as deep as possible.
Mothers do not know how to take the breast correctly. A typical picture for maternity hospitals with separate stays is this: they brought the baby to the mother for 30 minutes, the baby held everything correctly and sucked well for these 30 minutes, he would have sucked some more, but they came to pick him up and the mother pulls (slowly or quickly) the nipple out of his mouth. Six such pulls per day are enough for the development of an abrasion. You can take the nipple only by first opening the jaw with your little finger (the tip of the finger is quickly inserted into the corner of the mouth and turned - it doesn’t hurt at all and no one suffers).
...
Prejudice #9
“I feed my baby on demand! - He demands from me in 3.5 hours! “
Feeding on demand means putting the baby to the breast at every squeak or searching movement. The baby needs to be latched to the breast around every sleep, he falls asleep at the breast and when he wakes up, the breast is given to him. A newborn baby in the first week of his life can indeed be applied relatively rarely - 7-8 times a day, but in the second week of life the intervals between applications are always reduced. While awake, the baby can ask for the breast up to 4 times per hour, i.e. every 15 minutes! 10-14 days of life - there may be a peak of sucking, up to 60 applications per day. This happens rarely, but it is a variant of the norm.
In the vast majority of cases, at the moment when the child begins to ask for the breast more often, the mother decides that the child is starving and introduces supplementary feeding. And the child asks for the breast not at all because he is hungry. He constantly needs the feeling of confirmation of physical contact with his mother. During his life in his mother’s belly, he became very accustomed to the following: warmth, closeness, I hear the heart beating, the lungs breathe, the intestines growl, I smell and taste amniotic fluid (filling the baby’s nose and mouth), I suck the fist or loops almost all the time umbilical cord (learning to suck). Only in these conditions does the baby feel comfortable and safe. After giving birth, he can find himself in such conditions only if his mother takes him in her arms, puts him to the breast, and then he again becomes cramped, warm, hears familiar rhythms, starts sucking and feels a familiar smell and taste (the smell and taste of milk are similar to the taste and odor of amniotic fluid). And a newborn baby wants to be in such conditions as often as possible. And the modern mother can’t wait for the intervals between feedings to increase, when the baby will start eating in 3.5 - 4 hours, when will he stop waking up at night??? Hurry!!! And, usually, the child responds to timid attempts to ask for the breast with a pacifier, a rattle, gives water, talks, and entertains. The baby is most often put to the breast only when he wakes up. And he quickly agrees with this situation... The child always takes the mother’s position... But here a “pitfall” awaits the mother and baby - insufficient stimulation of the breast and, as a result, a decrease in the amount of milk.
...
Prejudice #10
“Feeding on demand is a nightmare! It’s impossible to sit and feed a child for days!”
That's what mothers who don't know how to feed say. With properly organized feeding, mom rests! She lies, relaxed, hugs the baby, the baby sucks. What could be better? Most women cannot find a comfortable position, they sit, hold the child awkwardly, their back or arm becomes numb, if they feed lying down, they usually “hang” over the child on the elbow, the elbow and back become numb. Moreover, if the baby does not latch on well, it hurts the mother... About what

The importance of breastfeeding is invaluable to any baby. Mother's milk is a natural food that contains all the necessary vitamins, microelements, nutrients, and moisture vital for the baby up to the age of six months.

Now let's look at this in more detail.

In order for the newborn to begin to receive the optimal balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates from food, it is not enough for a young mother to simply eat right.

There are certain rules that help prepare the mammary glands for feeding. Only then will the milk arrive on time and be produced fully, in the required quantities.

How to prepare your breasts for feeding

The mammary glands are designed by nature to enable a woman to feed her offspring. No special manipulations are required when preparing the breast. However, medical recommendations apply to the following range of actions:

• preparing the breasts for lactation while expecting a baby;
• preparatory activities after childbirth;
• hygiene procedures;
• massage;
• exercises.

Breast work during pregnancy

There is a widely justified opinion among obstetricians that during pregnancy it is impossible to prepare the mammary glands for lactation. If a woman is in a state of readiness for childbirth, any manipulation of the nipples can provoke the premature birth of a child.

During pregnancy, it is impossible to prepare the mammary glands for lactation.

This is due to the production of a hormone, which is released in response to stimulation of the nipples. In the absence of readiness for childbirth and a mature cervix, this is not a problem, however, the uterus may become toned, which is also dangerous if there is a risk of miscarriage.

Preparing nipples for feeding is recommended only for women who have an irregularly shaped nipple. Flat or elongated nipples can cause problems in full lactation.

If the extreme shape of an elongated nipple is formed by very short connective fibers that lie at its base, massage and exercises are pointless, but this feature is rare.

A more common problem is the paradoxical reaction of the nipple in response to irritation. If it retracts when exposed, you can perform special exercises that will remove such manifestations. In other cases, during pregnancy you will only need good underwear and recommended care for the mammary glands.

Exercises for flat nipples

1. Light stretches. The nipple is grabbed between the fingers and gently pulled out.
2. Rolling between your fingers. The nipples roll lightly between the fingers without effort or compression
3. Pinch massage. With simple pinching movements, all mammary glands are massaged, with the exception of the areola and nipple, to prevent stimulation of the cervix.

All manipulations should not last more than a minute. You should not perform exercises if you are ready for childbirth and there is a threat of miscarriage.

Psychologist's advice - be confident in yourself!
Preparing the breasts for feeding is not difficult; breastfeeding experts believe that it is not the breasts that need to be prepared, but the head. Because the breast is ready from the very beginning - it is created for breastfeeding, and all problems arise due to fear, reluctance to feed, or simply lack of confidence in one’s abilities.

1. In the second trimester, it is recommended to perform a contrast shower, massaging the breast with a terry towel, without touching the nipple for 2-3 minutes. All movements are extremely light, stroking, in the direction from the areola to the base of the gland. After this, you can do circular movements.
2. When manipulations with the towel are completed, you can press your chest against the chest wall with moderate force pressure 2-3 times.

This breast massage for a nursing mother will help stabilize blood circulation and improve the outflow of tissue fluid and lymph. Skillful manipulations create favorable conditions for milk production and the breastfeeding stage itself. It also lays the foundation for maintaining a beautiful shape after breastfeeding.

Massage will keep your breasts beautifully shaped!

To make the nipple more resistant to mechanical damage from the baby’s mouth, you can put rough canvas inserts into the bra, but this remains at the discretion of the woman. Doctors recommend short ultraviolet irradiation to increase the breast's resistance to possible infection and pustular lesions, however, under strict medical supervision.

Hygiene rules

Hygiene rules for pregnant and lactating women must be strictly followed:

1. Daily hygienic shower.
2. Gently rubbing the chest with a towel.
3. Treatment of the nipple and areola with moisturizing and nourishing creams if they are excessively dry.

Video “Proper breast care”

Watch the video for tips from breastfeeding experts on how to properly care for and prepare your breasts for feeding during pregnancy:

Hygiene for a nursing mother in questions and answers

Is it necessary to wash your breasts every time before feeding?

Neonatologists and obstetricians-gynecologists urge not to wash the mammary glands with detergent before each feeding of the child.

To ensure complete safety, it is enough to take a daily hygienic shower using a ph-neutral detergent. This will prevent the formation of crusts.

After the procedure, just dip your breasts with a clean, soft cloth. Do not use a terry towel. This can injure your nipples.

If mommy washes her mammary glands before any feeding, she will cause excessive dryness of the skin, which will lead to the formation of cracks. It is much healthier to simply wash your hands.

Is breast treatment necessary with special compounds?

Additional treatment is not advisable if the nipples are healthy and there are no cracks or abrasions. Disinfection solutions also lead to dryness, change the natural smell of the breast and the taste of the first drops of milk, which is very important for the baby’s comfort.

Do your breasts require washing after feeding?

Milk always remains on the nipples; there is no need to wash it off.

It is quickly absorbed and creates additional protection for the skin from possible cracks.

Take a look. Make it safe and painless.

Read what is the dosage for breastfeeding. Instructions for using the drug for hepatitis B.

What exercises and massage can you do?

Breast massage for nursing mothers

A gentle manual massage perfectly prepares the breasts for feeding the baby and performs a number of other useful functions:

1. Prevention of lactostasis. Even if there are areas with stagnant milk in the mammary glands, they are activated.
2. Improves blood circulation, which strengthens the breasts and increases lactation.
3. Oils that are recommended for massage during feeding tone the skin and help get rid of stretch marks.

Technique of massage manipulations

• palms are lubricated with natural oil;
• the left hand is placed under the mammary gland, the right hand above it;
• The breasts are massaged in a circular motion;
• then the massage turns into stroking movements towards the nipple, gradually covering the entire surface of the mammary gland.

The nature of the touch is delicate and light, without causing discomfort. The oil should not touch the nipple and areola. This care is recommended after each feeding for 3-4 minutes.

Exercises for nursing

Exercises for pregnant women were listed above, now you can turn to those that are intended for nursing mothers.

Exercise will help improve the quality of feeding, since movement increases blood flow, which contributes to better milk production.

It is necessary to exercise in doses so that lactic acid is not produced in the muscles, which will make the baby’s food taste bitter.

Exercise No. 1

• palms folded in front of you, elbows placed at chest level;
• pressure is created between the palms for 10 seconds;
• repeat – 5 times.

Exercise No. 2

• straight arms rotate around the shoulder joint in a circular motion;
• manipulations are performed first with one hand, then with the other.

Excessive exercise can spoil your milk!

Exercise No. 3

• The hands imitate movements as in breaststroke swimming.

Exercise No. 4

• palms are placed in the armpits;
• Elbows make circular movements forward/backward.

Exercise No. 5

• in a tilt parallel to the floor, swing your arms to the sides.

Nursing bra
A special bra is an integral part of preparing the mammary glands for feeding. Under no circumstances should it squeeze the chest, but at the same time, you should not take a size “for growth.” The straps of the product should be wide and well adjustable and secure the mammary glands.
It is advisable to choose a model made from natural fabrics that will provide access to oxygen. A properly selected bra is also necessary to maintain the shape and firmness of the bust.

Additional physiotherapeutic procedures to improve lactation

• breast baths with warm water;
• shared bath with only warm water for relaxation;
• warming hands and feet in hot water before feeding;
• acupuncture or special applicators on the back;
• massage of the collar area, the area of ​​the back between the shoulder blades.

How to restore breasts after feeding

The right diet

For more productive restoration of the mammary glands after lactation, the following products will help to enrich your diet:

• any lean meat;
• milk, at least two glasses a day;

Physical exercise

Exercises to restore breast elasticity and height are as follows:

1. Push-ups with arms wide apart - 10 times, 3-4 sets.
2. The starting position is lying on your back with your knees bent. Hands with dumbbells are spread to the sides and lowered to the body. The exercises are repeated alternately 10-15 times.

People's advice - black tea.
Place napkins soaked in tea leaves on your nipples several times a day. It's even better if you have oak bark.
Brew it as directed on the package, let it cool, and bathe your papillae or make compresses in the same way as tea compresses.

Massage

Massage helps restore skin tone and elasticity. The technique consists of the following manipulations:

• stroking circular movements on the mammary glands;
• intense chest kneading;
• massage with fingertips;
• patting the chest with the ribs of the palms.

Cold and hot shower

Procedures with alternating hot and cold effects strengthen the walls of blood vessels, increase tissue elasticity, and improve blood circulation. It is enough to apply a shower jet to your chest alternately with hot and cold water for 10 seconds.

The success of lactation largely depends on how well a woman prepares her mammary glands for future feeding. We should not treat this issue with disdain, despite the fact that nature has thought through a lot for us. Simple manipulations will help maintain not only the health, but also the beauty of your breasts.