Tips for successful breastfeeding

By Liezel Barnard, Naturopath Weleda Australia

Breastfeeding is more than just nutrition to support your baby’s growth and development. Babies receive comfort, reassurance and bond with their mothers during a feed. All that beautiful skin to skin contact releases oxytocin – the hormone of love.

However, breastfeeding doesn’t always come easy. One common reason for weaning is low milk supply, which may happen in the first weeks of building your supply and can have many different reasons.

Here are some tips to make breastfeeding a successful and enjoyable experience for you and your baby:

• Remember, babies all have their own unique needs and rhythms for feeding. Equally as important is the acknowledgement within ourselves as women, our breasts are unique and the storage capacity of milk differ.
• Developmental changes such as growth spurts, both physical and psychological, and teething can change baby’s feeding patterns. Even hot weather contributes to an increase in feeds. This is the time to get comfortable, relax, feed to baby’s demand, making sure of good attachment to help increase lactation supply.
• Nothing beats nature when it comes to restorative medicines. Weleda Nursing Tea contains a blend of organic herbs to support lactation and soothe digestion for both mother and child.
• Exhaustion rates most highly of all of the symptoms experienced by new mothers and can take away from the joy of bonding with baby. Make sure you do things that help to recharge and revitalise like staying on top of your nutrition, taking time out for a relaxing bath. Have some nurturing products on hand like our Weleda Lavender Relaxing Bath Milk this is a must for sleep deprived parents.
• Finally take care of yourself. Get enough rest. You may not be able to manage a daytime sleep, but try putting on some restful music, sit or lie comfortably with your eyes closed, and breathe slowly as you relax for ten minutes.

For more information visit weleda.com.au