There are many myths about breastfeeding. Some argue that breastfeeding is very difficult and not every woman can cope with this task, others - on the contrary, that it is very convenient, useful and generally brings sheer pleasure. Only the truth, as you know, is always somewhere in between.
The fact is that the life of a young mother is never easy and carefree, and regardless of whether she is breastfeeding her baby or not. Nevertheless, the correct organization of breastfeeding greatly facilitates some tasks and saves a lot of time for the mother (and this has an extremely positive effect on the health of the child). So what is the difference between reality and everything that is written on the Internet?
Feeding causes pain and discomfort
Everyone who has read Anna Karenina knows this. Only in reality can the classics and even mothers, grandmothers, midwives make mistakes. Breastfeeding should not cause discomfort: many mothers complain about this, but the reasons for the pain are improper attachment, a shortened frenulum, infections, or all together. When a woman learns to properly apply the baby to her breast or heals, these symptoms will pass.
Milk often runs out by 3 months
One of the main problems of nursing mothers is not enough milk. This would not have been so much talked about if doctors had not recommended hourly feeding. After several weeks in this mode, milk is really not enough.
Only where does it come from, if its quantity is directly affected by how often the baby sucks? There is a direct relationship here, similar to the principle of supply and demand. To put it simply, the more milk you leave, the more it comes.
Of course, it also happens differently: very often mothers have problems with hormones, so no amount of effort helps to increase the production of breast milk. Even in such a difficult situation, you can continue lactation, even if you need supplementation.
The baby will constantly "hang" on the chest
Breastfeeding mothers often lead the same life as everyone else: many work and even travel on business trips, receive education and write dissertations. To breastfeed, it is not necessary to sit in an embrace with a toddler around the clock. The only thing is that until about 6 months of age the crumbs will really be difficult to move somewhere more than a couple of hours.
If you breastfeed, it will sag
Not true. Whether the breast will lose its shape or not depends more on other factors: skin elasticity, the presence of bad habits (especially smoking), age, the number of kilograms gained during pregnancy, and the rate of weight loss. So that the bust may lose firmness due to pregnancy, but not due to breastfeeding.
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Breastfeeding your baby will keep parents awake at night.
Babies can wake up constantly. Only this parameter is purely individual and hardly depends on the nutritional characteristics. However, breast milk is really digested faster than formula, and even a crumb may ask for a supplement. It is also important to remember that nocturnal breastfeeding is necessary for both the child and his mother: at night, the maximum amount of the hormone prolactin is formed, which, together with oxytocin, supports the production of breast milk.
In other words, night feeds will help to avoid the very lack of milk that everyone is so worried about. However, in this case, the question arises: how do you get enough sleep? A counter question immediately arises: where does the opinion come from that nursing mothers do not sleep all night long? Scientists have studied sleep rhythms in women who have recently given birth and have come to the opposite results. It turned out that nursing mothers sleep more, although they often have to wake up to go to the little one. They also have better quality of sleep, namely, the duration of the deep phase is longer than that of mothers feeding babies with formulas: 182 minutes versus 62 (in the control group - 86).
It's amazing how nursing mothers do it. The secret is that they often choose to sleep together - not in the same bed with the toddler, but, for example, using an attached crib (the baby is always there - cribs for newborns). So women can give their breasts half asleep, without even getting up, and then immediately fall asleep (the prolactin produced also provides a sound, healthy sleep). In the meantime, mothers who feed their babies with formula are forced to get up, warm up, feed. Only after all these manipulations can you try to fall asleep.
A nursing mother must follow a strict diet.
Another myth that does not stand up to criticism. A mother who is breastfeeding can eat everything (only vegetables and fruits are better to choose seasonal). It is worth excluding sausages, canned food, cola and other frankly harmful products that are not recommended to everyone else from the diet. Plus, the first 2 months after giving birth, it is better not to consume anything dairy.
The need for restrictions appears only when the baby shows signs of allergy. Even in this case, mom does not need to immediately switch to buckwheat with turkey and clean water. First, you should give up the most common allergens: milk, chicken, nuts, honey. An important nuance: the root of the problem is not always the mother's menu - often even a strict diet does not help, because allergic reactions cause various reasons. It can be concluded that a varied diet of a mother during breastfeeding prevents the development of allergies in a child.
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