Birth Planning – Where Does Breastfeeding Fit In?

Giving birth to a beautiful-looking newborn is a dream of every mother. But it is as exciting and challenging as you need to consider multiple things after giving birth to a child. One such crucial consideration is how to feed your baby.

So, when you prepare a birth plan guide, you should think about breastfeeding your child. It is the most natural and recommended option when it comes to feeding your newborn.

In this method, babies attach their mouth to their mom’s breast and, through a sucking movement, they drink milk. You might not believe that babies begin to breastfeed within the first few hours of birth. Human milk is composed of colostrum. It is a thick liquid and full of protein that assists newborns to stay hydrated.

Not only this, the milk is rich in antibodies, and as a result, it protects them from different types of viruses and infections. But after a few days of giving birth to your child, the colostrum will transform into mature milk.

So, you can see that while preparing a birth plan guide for your newborn, you should give importance to breastfeeding. It has multiple benefits that not only help you to keep your child safe but can also offer them healthy growth and development. So, you might be wondering what the benefits of breastfeeding your child are. Well, to know this, go through the below segment. Here you will get a comprehensive list of all the advantages determining the importance of breastfeeding your child.

● Breast milk is the richest source of nutrition. It has all the essential nutrients. As a result, as the baby develops and grows, breast milk meets the baby’s nutritional needs. Therefore, it is a significant benefit of breastfeeding your child.

● As discussed before, breast milk is rich in antibodies. As a result, breastfeeding can assist you to safeguard your child against many diseases. It also diminishes the risk of obesity, sudden infant death syndrome or SIDS, asthma, and type 1 diabetes. In addition to this, based on modern research, when you breastfeed your child, you can lower the chance of ear infections and stomach bugs. These antibodies allow babies to develop an adequate immune system as well.

● Breastfeeding keeps your newborn safe, and you can also benefit from it. It can reduce the risk of ovarian and breast cancer, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes.

Can moms use birth control while breastfeeding?

When breastfeeding your child, you might not have a period for a while. But many moms often make the mistake of taking such situations casually. You have to understand because you have missed your monthly period, it does not indicate that you cannot get pregnant. While breastfeeding, you can get pregnant too. Therefore, it is wise to use various kinds of birth control during this time to eliminate the chance of pregnancy. You can use the below options for birth control.

● Birth Control pills

● Diaphragms

● Intrauterine devices

However, consider the aspect of taking birth control to prevent pregnancy.

How long should you breastfeed your newborn?

Many moms often get confused regarding the duration of breastfeeding their newborn. According to healthcare experts, it is compulsory to breastfeed babies for the first six months of their birth. But if you want, you can feed the milk throughout the first year. You should avoid breastfeeding your newborn after that as the benefits are less.

What should you expect when you begin breastfeeding?

As each child is unique, they do not have any fixed time to eat. Due to this, you need to look for their cues of hunger to determine when to breastfeed your baby. Some cues are as follows-

● Acting alert

● Sucking on their hands

● Moving towards your breast