Breastfeeding for Beginners

Why don't more mothers do it?

Why is it so hard to breastfeed in Scotland? Breastfeeding is natural but not instinctive – it needs to be learnt. Nature intended we would learn breastfeeding by it simply being a part of everyday life; children would see aunties and sisters feeding, so when they had their own babies they would just be doing what they had already seen, with a bit of help from an experienced relative if need be. When a culture sees breastfeeding as something slightly distasteful and banishes it from sight, when the experience has disappeared from our everyday life, then breastfeeding becomes problematic – and this is exactly what has happened here. 

Breastfeeding rates have been low in Scotland for a long time. Throughout the 20th century, Celtic women (those of Irish or Scottish descent) were the least likely to breastfeed, and in the 1970s, an astonishing 99% of Glasgow mothers bottle-fed from birth. Despite breastfeeding coming back into fashion, in 1990 only 35% of Scottish babies were breastfed at seven days old. The Scottish Executive were rightly concerned about this, and in 1994 they set a national target; 50% of babies should still be breastfeeding at six weeks of age by the year 2005. Since then rates have been steadily improving, and in 2005, 45% of babies were exclusively breastfed at seven days of age (if you include those who are also having some formula, the figure is 53.5%). 

However at least 95% of women are capable of breastfeeding, and our rates are still lower than in England and Wales, indeed in Europe.  

Breastfeeding is giving your baby a good start to life; in Scotland that nutritional edge is important when children are often exposed to unhealthy eating habits as they grow up. Breastfeeding protects against gastro-enteritis and children who are breastfed are less likely to grow up obese. Breastfeeding babies means they are exposed to a variety of tastes through your breastmilk, making it less likely that they will be fussy eaters later on. Breastfeeding is the beginning of a healthy diet. 

So what do you need to know? Firstly that babies are actually pretty good at breastfeeding – if you give them the chance. Babies who are born without analgesia and who are placed on their mum’s tummy without being taken away to be washed or poked around, have an instinct to latch themselves on unaided. So to get off to a good start, make it clear in your birth plan that you want your baby to be delivered onto your tummy and to have skin to skin contact straight after birth. Your baby may not latch on straight away – don’t worry, just continue to give your baby skin to skin contact as often as possible. While it is best to follow your baby’s lead in feeding as far as possible, it is also important that you are comfortable too, and pain is a sign that breastfeeding is not going well, so get help immediately. 

Breastmilk takes six weeks to get established, and in this time, anything else your baby consumes will lessen his appetite and so your body gets the message that less milk is needed. It’s best to avoid top ups or trying to space feeds into a schedule too soon. Six weeks is a good time to start negotiating a routine, or getting your baby used to a bottle if you need to.  

Help is at hand 

Many hospitals in Scotland have become much more “baby friendly”. This means that staff are trained by UNICEF to support breastfeeding mothers, and hospitals are regularly inspected to ensure that their practices support breastfeeding. Now 58.17% of Scottish babies are born in a baby-friendly hospital. So ask if your hospital is Baby Friendly, or check it out online at www.babyfriendly.org.uk/htables.  

There are lots of sources of help out there – and it is always better to seek help before problems get entrenched. Pick and choose too – if the advice you are getting from one person is not working, then try someone else. Midwives and health visitors are your first port of call, but there’s also a lot of community help; look out for a breastfeeding café or breastfeeding drop in, or contact one of the many voluntary organisations, all with trained helpers who would be pleased to hear from you: 

NCT breastfeeding line 8am-10pm 0870 444 8708 www.nct.org.uk  

BfN breastfeeding line 9.30am-9.30pm 0870 900 8787, www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk  

Association of Breastfeeding mothers 9.30am-10.30pm 0870 401 7711 www.abm.me.uk  

La Leche League 0845 120 2918 www.laleche.org.uk 

TOP TIPS FOR CORRECT POSITIONING 

Sit or lie down in a position that is comfortable for both you and your baby. In particular:  

spine in line

Support your baby spine in line. Hold him so his back and shoulders are straight and avoid holding the back of his head, which would push his chin towards his chest, making it difficult for him to open his mouth wide. Also, most babies don’t like having their heads held. 

tummy to mummy

Hold your baby so he is tummy to mummy. He will not be able to feed well if he has to turn his head sideways. When he latches on to the breast there should be an imaginary straight line through the crown of his head, his mouth and your nipple.

nose to nipple

Align baby’s head before he latches on so he’s nose to nipple.Don’t hold him mouth to nipple, as would seem logical, because once he is on your breast, his chin would be pushed towards his chest, his throat would close, making swallowing difficult and slow. Your nipple needs to be far enough back to avoid contact with his hard palate – that bony ridge at the front of his mouth, which would rub against and hurt your nipple.

Wait for the gape

When his mouth begins to open wide like he is about to bite on an apple, draw him swiftly onto your breast.

Chin in

Bring him to the breast so that his chin will contact your breast first, digging well in, and leaving his nose clear. © Caroline Deacon