Lactation
Whether the baby is born naturally or not, it is not so easy to
breast feed for both mother and the baby.
Here are some things to know about nursing.
There are some factors that make breast feeding difficult.
Check out the following and see if anything you can do to make
it a little easier for nursing : )
After all, "patience and practice" are the keys....
1 Understanding the System
How is the milk produced and secreted?
two hormones for lactation
Prolactin – a hormone to produce milk
Oxytocin – a hormone to secrete milk
In order to produce and secrete milk so the baby can drink it, two
kinds of hormones are needed.
One is called prolactin.
It helps the blood go into the breast, where the blood turns into milk,
then the milk is stored there.
This hormone is stimulated to be secreted only when the baby
suckles on mother’s breast.
The more often mother let the baby suckle, the more prolactin is
secreted and the more milk is produced.
In other word, if the mother doesn’t have the baby suckle on her
breast, the milk won’t be produced.
The important thing is to have the baby suckle mother’s breast as
often as possible, whether he/she is actually drinking or not, to
stimulate the hormone, thus, produce milk.
Prolactin is also called “maternal hormone”.
The more it is secreted, the more protective the mother becomes of
the baby.
The other hormone is called oxytocin.
This hormone helps secrete the milk so the baby actually can drink it.
But when the mother is under stress, in pain or somewhat nervous,
the hormone is hard to be secreted, thus the milk does not reach to
the mouth of the baby.
It is , therefore, important for the mother to be in a peaceful
environment.
Oxytocin is also called “affection hormone”
The more it is secreted, the more affectionate the mother becomes
for the baby.
2 “Imprinting”
There is a big difference between drinking milk directly from mother’s
breast and from a formula bottle, when it comes to how the baby uses
tongue, mouth and muscles of the jaw, hence, the impact on the
development of the whole body system, including the brain.
A study shows that a baby has to use as much as 60 times more
energy to suckle on breast than on a bottle to drink milk.
Once the baby learns to suckle on a formula bottle, they get easily
used to it (because it's so easy!) and it is very hard to change its
course.(imprinting)
So it is important to have baby drink mother’s milk(suckle on the
breast) as the very first food.
3 C-section
If a baby was born with C section, they may not know, for a few days,
if they are still inside mother's wombs or outside, since he/she didn’t
experience the “pressure” and “stress” of coming out to the world.
So it is possible that they do not actively try to drink milk.
* also important is that the baby has experienced a sudden and
tremendous change of the environment.
he/she must be so confused, nervous, and even scared.
hold, caress, kiss the baby as much as possible to assure him/her,
"you are safe since mom is protecting you", with lots of affection : )
4 Reasons why the milk is not easily secreted
(mother’s conditions)
1 high calorie diet (animal food, dairy, sugar, refined/processed food)
2 lack of whole foods, especially whole grains (to make strong/healthy
blood)
3 taking medicines, drugs or other stimulants
4 under stress
5 low/high blood pressure
6 rheumatoid
7 tight shoulder, shoulder pain (computer, driving, etc)
8 hard exercises (athletes etc)
5 Quality of Milk
Since mother’s milk is made from the blood, what she eats has a
strong and direct impact on the quality of the milk.
And of course, the baby likes “tasty” milk rather than “bad milk”.
If the quality of milk is poor, the baby refuses to drink it.(of course!)
*check the symptoms above.
That’s why it is very important to watch what you eat while breast
feeding.
Also, the first three months of nursing, milk is mainly made of
subcutaneous fat stored during the pregnancy.
So if the mother’s diet mainly consisted of fatty, animal diet during
pregnancy, the quality of the milk becomes also too fatty for the baby
to drink and digest and it may be hard to nurse.
Good for milk
Food to produce good quality, strong blood.
Low fat, plant based diet.
Whole grains
Seasonal vegetables (greens, root, round)
Beans
Sea weed
Fermented food (miso, soy sauce, sauerkraut etc)
Bad for milk
Food to make the blood quality poor and too acidic.
High calorie/fat, animal based diet
dairy (milk, butter, cheese, yogurt)
meat, poultry, eggs, fatty fish
refined food, refined sugar
processed food
chemicals, additives, medicines, drugs,
stimulants(coffee, spice, alcohol)
* even a good quality of oil such as olive oil, excess consumption
makes the milk too fatty and oily.
* Also too much fruits, juice makes the milk too “thin(less nutritious)”
and sugary.
6 Symptoms of the baby when the quality of the milk is
poor
If the baby shows the following symptoms when the mother tries to
nurse, it could be that the quality of the milk is not good.
1 refuses to drink
2 pretends to be asleep
3 bites the nipples
4 falls asleep as soon as he/she suckles on the breast
5 cries as soon as he/she is put on the bed
6 skin problems
7 eye mucus, runny nose
8 standing hair
9 bowel problems
10 burps
11 sleeps “too well” and long at night (taking too much time to digest
the milk)
if any of the above present, the mother may want to check her own
diet.
7 Nursing Every 3 Hours
It takes a baby about 3 hours to digest mother’s milk.
If the quality of the milk is good, the baby naturally wakes up after
about 3 hours and asks for another milk.
If not, that can mean the milk is too hard to digest (taking too much
time for digestion).
It is important to nurse every 3 hours, even if the baby does not ask,
especially the first 3 months.
If the mother does not secrete the milk every 3 hours, the “old milk” is
stored in the breast, and rotten inside, then the breast would be
swollen and painful.
Hence, it gets harder and harder to nurse!
Also, if there is no stimulation to secrete prolactin (by baby’s suckling
on breast) more than 3 hours, this could stimulates ovulation, and the
production of milk could stop.
Home remedy
Gobo(burdock root) dish
gobo has been eaten for centuries in Asia for good mother's milk
because this root veggie strengthen and purify the blood.(helps liver
function)
check out a recipe (click)
Mugwart tea
also helps cleanses blood, dissolves excess fat.
this tea has been traditionally consumed in Japan for a long time.
Warm Ginger-soaked towel compress
To stimulate the circulation inside the breast
Boil water, cool it down a little, add grated ginger.
Soak towel, squeeze, and add to the breast.
Massaging with it also helps.
Support for the Mother
Last but not least, the support for the mother from partner, family and
friends --both on physical and emotional level-- is the most important
factor for nursing.
Create a supportive environment where the mother can nurse the
new born baby peacefully.
*** more to come on breast feeding!
Whether the baby is born naturally or not, it is not so easy to
breast feed for both mother and the baby.
Here are some things to know about nursing.
There are some factors that make breast feeding difficult.
Check out the following and see if anything you can do to make
it a little easier for nursing : )
After all, "patience and practice" are the keys....
1 Understanding the System
How is the milk produced and secreted?
two hormones for lactation
Prolactin – a hormone to produce milk
Oxytocin – a hormone to secrete milk
In order to produce and secrete milk so the baby can drink it, two
kinds of hormones are needed.
One is called prolactin.
It helps the blood go into the breast, where the blood turns into milk,
then the milk is stored there.
This hormone is stimulated to be secreted only when the baby
suckles on mother’s breast.
The more often mother let the baby suckle, the more prolactin is
secreted and the more milk is produced.
In other word, if the mother doesn’t have the baby suckle on her
breast, the milk won’t be produced.
The important thing is to have the baby suckle mother’s breast as
often as possible, whether he/she is actually drinking or not, to
stimulate the hormone, thus, produce milk.
Prolactin is also called “maternal hormone”.
The more it is secreted, the more protective the mother becomes of
the baby.
The other hormone is called oxytocin.
This hormone helps secrete the milk so the baby actually can drink it.
But when the mother is under stress, in pain or somewhat nervous,
the hormone is hard to be secreted, thus the milk does not reach to
the mouth of the baby.
It is , therefore, important for the mother to be in a peaceful
environment.
Oxytocin is also called “affection hormone”
The more it is secreted, the more affectionate the mother becomes
for the baby.
2 “Imprinting”
There is a big difference between drinking milk directly from mother’s
breast and from a formula bottle, when it comes to how the baby uses
tongue, mouth and muscles of the jaw, hence, the impact on the
development of the whole body system, including the brain.
A study shows that a baby has to use as much as 60 times more
energy to suckle on breast than on a bottle to drink milk.
Once the baby learns to suckle on a formula bottle, they get easily
used to it (because it's so easy!) and it is very hard to change its
course.(imprinting)
So it is important to have baby drink mother’s milk(suckle on the
breast) as the very first food.
3 C-section
If a baby was born with C section, they may not know, for a few days,
if they are still inside mother's wombs or outside, since he/she didn’t
experience the “pressure” and “stress” of coming out to the world.
So it is possible that they do not actively try to drink milk.
* also important is that the baby has experienced a sudden and
tremendous change of the environment.
he/she must be so confused, nervous, and even scared.
hold, caress, kiss the baby as much as possible to assure him/her,
"you are safe since mom is protecting you", with lots of affection : )
4 Reasons why the milk is not easily secreted
(mother’s conditions)
1 high calorie diet (animal food, dairy, sugar, refined/processed food)
2 lack of whole foods, especially whole grains (to make strong/healthy
blood)
3 taking medicines, drugs or other stimulants
4 under stress
5 low/high blood pressure
6 rheumatoid
7 tight shoulder, shoulder pain (computer, driving, etc)
8 hard exercises (athletes etc)
5 Quality of Milk
Since mother’s milk is made from the blood, what she eats has a
strong and direct impact on the quality of the milk.
And of course, the baby likes “tasty” milk rather than “bad milk”.
If the quality of milk is poor, the baby refuses to drink it.(of course!)
*check the symptoms above.
That’s why it is very important to watch what you eat while breast
feeding.
Also, the first three months of nursing, milk is mainly made of
subcutaneous fat stored during the pregnancy.
So if the mother’s diet mainly consisted of fatty, animal diet during
pregnancy, the quality of the milk becomes also too fatty for the baby
to drink and digest and it may be hard to nurse.
Good for milk
Food to produce good quality, strong blood.
Low fat, plant based diet.
Whole grains
Seasonal vegetables (greens, root, round)
Beans
Sea weed
Fermented food (miso, soy sauce, sauerkraut etc)
Bad for milk
Food to make the blood quality poor and too acidic.
High calorie/fat, animal based diet
dairy (milk, butter, cheese, yogurt)
meat, poultry, eggs, fatty fish
refined food, refined sugar
processed food
chemicals, additives, medicines, drugs,
stimulants(coffee, spice, alcohol)
* even a good quality of oil such as olive oil, excess consumption
makes the milk too fatty and oily.
* Also too much fruits, juice makes the milk too “thin(less nutritious)”
and sugary.
6 Symptoms of the baby when the quality of the milk is
poor
If the baby shows the following symptoms when the mother tries to
nurse, it could be that the quality of the milk is not good.
1 refuses to drink
2 pretends to be asleep
3 bites the nipples
4 falls asleep as soon as he/she suckles on the breast
5 cries as soon as he/she is put on the bed
6 skin problems
7 eye mucus, runny nose
8 standing hair
9 bowel problems
10 burps
11 sleeps “too well” and long at night (taking too much time to digest
the milk)
if any of the above present, the mother may want to check her own
diet.
7 Nursing Every 3 Hours
It takes a baby about 3 hours to digest mother’s milk.
If the quality of the milk is good, the baby naturally wakes up after
about 3 hours and asks for another milk.
If not, that can mean the milk is too hard to digest (taking too much
time for digestion).
It is important to nurse every 3 hours, even if the baby does not ask,
especially the first 3 months.
If the mother does not secrete the milk every 3 hours, the “old milk” is
stored in the breast, and rotten inside, then the breast would be
swollen and painful.
Hence, it gets harder and harder to nurse!
Also, if there is no stimulation to secrete prolactin (by baby’s suckling
on breast) more than 3 hours, this could stimulates ovulation, and the
production of milk could stop.
Home remedy
Gobo(burdock root) dish
gobo has been eaten for centuries in Asia for good mother's milk
because this root veggie strengthen and purify the blood.(helps liver
function)
check out a recipe (click)
Mugwart tea
also helps cleanses blood, dissolves excess fat.
this tea has been traditionally consumed in Japan for a long time.
Warm Ginger-soaked towel compress
To stimulate the circulation inside the breast
Boil water, cool it down a little, add grated ginger.
Soak towel, squeeze, and add to the breast.
Massaging with it also helps.
Support for the Mother
Last but not least, the support for the mother from partner, family and
friends --both on physical and emotional level-- is the most important
factor for nursing.
Create a supportive environment where the mother can nurse the
new born baby peacefully.
*** more to come on breast feeding!
Mother's Milk vs Cow"s
At birth, the human brain is about
23% developed, while calf’s almost
100%.First 6 weeks, calf could
gain about 75 pounds, while
human only about 5 pounds.
Naturally, nutritional needs
between human baby and calves
are different.
Calves need more proteins for
bone/muscle building, while
human need carbohydrates to
nourish and develop
brain/nervous system.
Cow’s milk are too rich in proteins,
while mother’s milk contains about
twice as much carbs as cow’s milk.
For this reason, too, breast-
feeding (high in carbs) is very
important for infants.
Cow’s milk (formula milk) over-
nourishes the body, while under-
nourishes brain and nervous
system.
Yes, the nature knows what’s best
: )
At birth, the human brain is about
23% developed, while calf’s almost
100%.First 6 weeks, calf could
gain about 75 pounds, while
human only about 5 pounds.
Naturally, nutritional needs
between human baby and calves
are different.
Calves need more proteins for
bone/muscle building, while
human need carbohydrates to
nourish and develop
brain/nervous system.
Cow’s milk are too rich in proteins,
while mother’s milk contains about
twice as much carbs as cow’s milk.
For this reason, too, breast-
feeding (high in carbs) is very
important for infants.
Cow’s milk (formula milk) over-
nourishes the body, while under-
nourishes brain and nervous
system.
Yes, the nature knows what’s best
: )
Whole Life with Jin