In case you havent noticed I’m pretty passionate and proud of breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is a beautiful way to bond with Bub. I love learning about human milk and breastfeeding, it’s very interesting. I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve learnt so far. I’ve written this over a few days and this could be a long post but hopefully interesting too!
Breastmilk is uniquely adapted to the metabolic, digestive, developmental and pathogen defence requirments of the infant/toddler. It contains hundreds to thousands of ingredients such as; electrolytes, minerals, enzymes, anti-fungal properties, anti-bacterial properties etc.
Colostrum, transitional milk and mature milk.
The first milk produced by the mother during the end of her pregnancy is called Colostrum. This is the milk that baby will receive in his or her early days. Colostrum is very important as a newborns first food and helps to strengthen Bubs immune system. It is distinct in appearance (often yellowish), amount and composition. Colostrum contains immunologic components, leukocytes (white blood cells), lactoferrin (about 7 times the amount in milk produced later on) and developmental factors.
Transitional milk can come in roughly anywhere between 2-5 days after birth until 10-14days after birth. The amount is much more than colostrum. During this time many women may feel like they are constantly breastfeeding and start to wonder whether they have “enough” breastmilk for the baby. This is often called Cluster feeding. Personally, I found this the hardest part of breastfeeding because at the time I didn’t understand what was happening. Emotionally I felt like I was failing my baby. I’m very glad that I found support and they educated me about this because I would have thrown in the towel if I didn’t learn about it.
Cluster feeding is when Bub frequently or continuously feeds over a period of a few hours. It isn’t an indication that milk supply is low. Cluster feeding in the early days is totally normal and important for your milk supply and signalling to your body when/how much milk is needed. Bub also most likely also wants to be close to mum for comfort and to help calm him or herself as their nervous system is still very immature. By offering formula “top ups” during this time it can affect the supply as the body doesn’t get the signals that more breastmilk is needed.
Usually after two weeks, Mature milk appears. Again the amount is more than transitional milk and thinner. It may seem watery at first until the fat is released then it can be creamier.
Breastfeeding toddlers
UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO) strongly encourage mothers to breastfeed until two years or beyond.
The benefits of breastmilk don’t just disappear when the infant turns a certain age, breastmilk is still just as beneficial through out toddler hood. It continues to change as your toddlers needs change too.
Breastfeeding your toddler can provide:
29% of his daily energy needs
43% of protein requirements
75% of Vitamin A requirements
60% of Vitamin C requirements.
Source: Dewey KG 2001, Nutrition, growth and complementary feeding of the breastfed infant.
Supplemental Nursing System
An SNS, is a device that basically consists of a container filled with milk and its wrapped around the mothers neck with a cord.
The milk is carried from the container in fine tubing into the infants mouth at the breast.
A supplementer can be highly useful for many medical reasons. For example: Some mums may find it hard to feed their newborns because of the shape of their nipple or preemie baby’s may find it difficult to get a good latch. Mothers with very low supply may also find an SNS useful.
Donor milk
In our breastfeeding support group, I’ve sometimes seen other mums offering to donate or requesting donor milk. I’m not entirely familiar with how it all works as I’ve never needed donor milk but I think it’s awesome to see other mums willing to help each other out when in need.
Wet nursing
Until a couple of months ago I had never heard of wet nursing before. A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeds a child who is not her own.
You may have heard of it before. Recently in Sierra Leone, during a goodwill trip Salma Hayek, breastfed a hungry 1 week old baby as the mothers milk hadn’t come in yet.
The first time I had directly heard of wet nursing in our support group, one lady and her sister took care of each other’s babies when they went to work. She told us how they were both happy to wet nurse whenever needed including if it was to help put the babies to sleep. I thought it was lovely that the sisters had such a close bond that they felt comfortable to wet nurse each other’s babies.
Before infant formula, wet nursing was the most safest and common alternative to the natural mothers breastmilk. Wet nursing has been documented from as early as 2000BC.
In those days it had become a profession. Contracts and laws were designed to regulate wet nursing.
According to Wickes, in Israel children were a blessing and breastfeeding was considered a religious obligation. However, breastfeeding wasn’t always possible due to the mother dying in childbirth or a failure to lactate. So wet nurse would be used.
“In Greece circa 950 BC, women of higher social status frequently demanded wet nurses. Eventually, wet nurses acquired a position of great accountability and had authority over slaves (Wickes, 1953a).
The Bible also notes several examples of wet nurses, perhaps the most famous being the woman hired by Pharaoh’s daughter to nurse Moses, whom she found in the bulrushes (Osborn, 1979a).” From: A history of Infant Feeding
Wet nursing took place all over the world: France, England, Germany, the U.S, Greece, Egypt..
Breastfeeding was often considered inconvenient, unfashionable and women worried that it would ruin their figures. It also prevented them from playing cards or going to the theatre. The wives of lawyers, merchants and doctors employed wet nurses because it was less expensive to hire a wet nurse than to hire someone else to run her husbands business or take care of the household.
In an article written by the Guardian, centuries ago royal babies were handed to a wet nurse right away. Often there were a team of lactating women available so that the baby could be fed on demand.
“Queen Victoria found the idea of breastfeeding repellent, considering it the “ruin” of intellectual and refined young ladies. Her own daughters concealed from her their choice to suckle their babies themselves, leading her to brand them “cows” on discovering the secret.” The Guardian
Reading how breastfeeding was viewed as more of an inconvience makes me sad. However I’m interested to know that wet nursing was very available in those days.
Breastfeeding in Mongolia
Last year, a fellow mum from our breastfeeding support group shared a post that another mother had written about her experience breastfeeding while living in Mongolia. It made me realise how different the attitude toward breastfeeding is in Mongolia compared to Australia.
“In Mongolia, there’s an oft-quoted saying that the best wrestlers are breastfed for at least six years – a serious endorsement in a country where wrestling is the national sport” Ruth Kamnitzer writes in the opening of her post
Ruth moved from Canada to Mongolia where her husband was conducting a wildlife study. She breastfed her son for 4 years and says that in Mongolia it is normal to breastfeed for a long time. And they breastfeed with great enthusiasm (go Mongolia!). Ruth tells us how “In Mongolia, breastmilk is not just for babies, it’s not only about nutrition, and it’s definitely not something you need to be discreet about. It’s the stuff Genghis Khan was made of“.
For atleast the first three months of their lives, babies are swaddled in thick blankets and everytime they cry they are breastfed.
Breastfeeding is welcomed in Mongolia anywhere and at anytime. It makes Mongolians happy to see a mother breastfeeding and even giving the thumbs up. Remember breastmilk is the amazing stuff Genghis Kahn was made of!
Breastfeeding in Africa
Why African babies don’t cry: An African perspective is another article that I came across in my support group. Claire Niala, a mother who was born and grew up in Kenya (she moved to the UK at 15 but back to Kenya to have her baby), writes about her experience breastfeeding in Kenya along with lots of gentle wisdom from her Kenyan grandmother.
Before having her baby Claire read lots of books (to which her grandmother would tell her “babies don’t read books – really you don’t need to read them “read” your baby”) and they all said that African babies cry less than European babies. She wanted to know why.
In Claire’s experience, when she went back to Kenya she noticed that it was actually quite difficult to see a Kenyan baby around because they are usually wrapped up and carried on mum or dads back.
“You would be lucky to catch a limb, never mind an eye or nose. It is almost a womb-like replication in the wrapping. The babies are literally cocooned from the stresses of the outside world into which they are entering” Claire writes in her post.
She then noticed that in Kenya if a baby is crying – something is wrong and something needs to be done immediately to rectify it. When Claire’s baby girl arrived she did cry a lot and Claire’s grandmother had simple advice “nyonyo” (breastfeed her).
Claire learned the secret to why African babies are so quiet, in her words “It was a simple needs-met symbiosis that required a total suspension of ideas of “what should be happening” and an embracing of what was actually going on in that moment”.
Claire’s grandmother suggests..
In 2006, Dana Smith Ouagadougou and her husband had moved to Burkina Faso in West Africa. At the time she was a nursing mother and she very quickly noticed all the nursing mothers around her in Burkina Faso.
Again in Burkina Faso most babies are tied onto their mothers back with cotton cloth (Gotta love baby wearing! Woo go mummy’s!). When the mother has to be outside in the sun she ties a lightweight piece of cotton on her should to go over the babies head. When the baby needs to be nurses mum just swings baby onto her hip and he or she will just latch on. Mum will continue about her business. Dana mentions that she never did see a mother in Burkina Faso feel embarrassed to breastfeed.
I feel so inspired and fascinated reading about these mothers in different countries and their journeys breastfeeding.
My partner has family from Kenya too and they don’t even bat an eyelid when I breastfeed in front of them. They even talk to my little one about how much she must love her nyonyo while she is feeding. Aside from my partner and 11yr old brother, I had never felt so comfortable in front of others before.
Islamic and Cultural practices in Breastfeeding
Shaheda Yashmin, has wrote article about a Muslim view on breastfeeding (for some reason I can’t put a hyperlink in so I’ll add it in to the link section below).
“Most Muslims see breastfeeding as the God (Allah) given right of the child according to the rules of Shariah (Islamic Law). The religious laws regarding breastfeeding are all from the Quran and give parents a degree of flexibility and choice.”-Shaheda
Following the Quran, Muslim mothers usually aim to breastfeed until 2 years. Although it is not mandatory.
The maximum age for breastfeeding can be between 2 and 7 years depending on which school of Islamic jurisprudence the family chooses to follow. Which is awesome because that means that mothers who wish to feed until natural term can have the flexibility to do so.
Tahneek is the practice of rubbing a softened date onto the palate of a newborn for a sweet start to life.
Fathers also play an important role too. In Shahedahs article, she says some of the key roles include:
-The father provides moral support and encouragement.
-The father must provide the means to feed and clothe the nursing mother.
-The father must find an alternative milk source and pay the compensation in kindness if the baby’s mother does not breastfeed.
-If the father dies during the nursing period, the maintenance cost of the baby should be borne by his heirs (usually the baby’s paternal grandfather).
-Discussing and deciding weaning together with the mother is not a sin.
Its a fascinating read and I’d totally recommend reading for yourself.
I hope my post has been an interesting read. I had fun posting about it.
High fives to all the mums and dads out there being awesome everyday!
If you are currently an Australianbreastfeeding mother with any concerns or questions, I would reccomend contact the ABA on 1800 mum2mum. They are very helpful!
If you would like the full list of links I’ve used in this post just let me know I’m always happy to share.
By Brighton Beach 