Deodorants and breast cancer investigated
Breastfeeding advice
From You and Your New BabyBy Christine and Peter Hill
One breast or two?
Some midwives argue for the baby to be fed from only one breast per feed ‘so that he gets his pudding’ or hind-milk – the thicker milk from the back of the breast, which is especially rich in fat. They will also have been taught that it is important for each breast to be completely emptied at each feed, which is more likely to happen if the baby is offered only one at a time. Other midwives will suggest swigs from alternate breasts to ‘balance’ both breasts (which might be kinder to your appearance), and indeed this is what several millions of mothers and babies have been doing up to now. If pushed, we would argue for the latter approach, since it seems to be rooted in common sense, but the main point is that it doesn’t really matter; a recent study has shown that babies are adept at regulating their own fat intake. If you decide to opt for two breasts per feed, you should start with the breast you finished on at the previous feed. At the end of each feed, put a safety pin in the bra strap of the second breast to remind you to start with that one at the next feeding time.
How often?
How frequently you feed your baby is largely up to him – as a rough rule of thumb, when your milk comes through, most new babies will want to suckle about every three hours during the day. Small babies will demand relatively more frequent feeds than heavier babies. At night, a longer interval between feeds is perfectly all right, unless he is jaundiced, and four hours or a little longer is quite reasonable. In fact, if you are lucky enough to have a baby who sleeps for a long period during the night, there is no need to wake him for a feed before six hours. Most newborn babies will need between six and nine feeds during a 24-hour period (count from midnight to midnight), but don’t even think about routines at this stage.
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