Lactation

What Does a Lactation Consultant Do?

Lactation consultants are relatively new members of the healthcare field. They are professionals that are trained to help and support mothers & babies with latching difficulties, painful nursing, low milk production and inadequate weight gain.

They are familiar with breastfeeding equipment and supplies, as well as pain relief for nipple cracks breastfeeding mothers experience. Hence, lactation consultants help breastfeeding mothers meet their goals upon returning to work and adjusting in becoming a new mother.

Breastfeeding Basics

1. Getting Started
   Get ready basic items that can make breastfeeding more comfortable & convenient:
   1. Nursing bras
   2. Nursing tops/camisoles
   3. Breast Pump- to store breast milk also can help relieve engorgement
   4. Breast Pads- in case your breasts leaks while nursing or another baby cry, this helps keep your shirt nice & dry.
   5. Lanolin oinlment such as  nipple soothing cream, helps relieve sore cracked nipples
2. How to breast feed
   The time to get started on breastfeeding is also the time when you first hold your newborn baby in the delivery room. At the beginning, your body will produce small amounts of colostrum, which helps protect your baby from infections. Turn your baby’s whole body towards you, chest-to-chest, and enable your baby’s upper lip to touch your nipple, making the baby open his/her mouth wide. Make sure the baby’s mouth should cover not just nipple but as much of the areola (The darker part surrounding it) as possible.
3. Position and Latch
   What makes up a good position for Breastfeeding?
   • You are supported in a comfortable way and can hold the position for some time without feeling cramped or stiff.
   • You are supported in a comfortable way and can hold the position for some time without feeling cramped or stiff.
   • You are not hunched over, NOT trying to bring the breast to your baby; instead you bring your baby to the breast
   • Your baby’s body and face are facing your body; neither his/her head nor his/her body is turned sideways
   • Your baby’s mouth is directly facing the nipple. She is close enough to take much or all of the areola (the darker part surrounding it) into her mouth while nursing
   • Your nipples do not hurt. If feeding hurts, something is wrong!
4. Position

1. 1. Lying down – lie on your side with one pillow behind your back for support and one under your head
   2. Sitting up – sit up in a bed or in a comfortable chair, with your back and head supported by a pillow
   3. The Cradle hold – nursing in a sitting position is most comfortable when the mother’s arm is supported by an armrest, her foot is supported by a stool or the footrest, and the baby’s tummy faces the mother’s body
   4. The Clutch hold – tuck your baby under your arm, his/her head should rest on a firm pillow on your lap. This way is especially good for nursing twins, babies born by cesarean delivery and babies who need special help with suckling technique
   5. The Transition position – the baby lays on his/her side on the pillow on your lap, his/her abdomen is under the breast you are not feeding from, facing you. When nursing from your right breast, use your left hand to support the base of your baby’s head and his/her shoulders and neck, and vice versa
   6. When your baby uses a bottle, he/she must use their cheeks to create a suction to remove the milk.
   7. When a baby breastfeeds, his/her cheeks should be relaxed while his/her mouth is wide open, while his/her tongue and lower jaw massages the milk from the breast. This rhythmical rolling action enables the milk to be squeezed into tiny pools beneath the areola into the nipple.
   8. Poor Latch——–lips are <90 degree angle, lower lip is just below nippleGood Latch——-lips are >120 degree angle, lower lip covers more areola
   9. If the baby sucks on the nipple only, it will cause the mother to suffer from sore nipple.