If You Have Just Become a Mother and Have Questions About Breastfeeding, This Article Is for You

Motherhood, especially in the beginning, can be overwhelming. Particularly today, when information abounds and it's just a matter of opening your phone to find a myriad of influencers and social media accounts explaining the "dos and don'ts" of parenting, which can often feel like pressure. In this post, in the context of World Breastfeeding Week, we summarize some keys about breastfeeding so you can get all the information you need and decide how to approach it.

What are the benefits of breast milk and does it really make a difference?

As Mariana Galarza explains in a recent post:

Breastmilk is a living substance. Its nutritional composition changes when a baby is hungry, it thins out when they get thirsty, and it boosts their defenses when they're feeling sick. Unique in its ability to adapt to babies' needs as they grow, breastmilk has bioactive components that protect them in ways that formula cannot. Breastfeeding benefits both mother and baby and forms a strong emotional bond between them.

From the first moments of life, a baby begins its learning process through skin-to-skin contact with its mother. This contact triggers a hormonal exchange that reduces the baby's stress and promotes bonding with its mother, which helps start breastmilk production. This initial stage, called "the golden hour," is crucial for a newborn's survival and first learning experiences.

Because of its nutritional components, breast milk improves children's chances of survival and is crucial for their growth and development. Studies have shown that children who were exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months and continued to be breastfed until at least 12 months showed better results in intelligence tests, as well as a lower risk of obesity and other chronic and immunological diseases.

And mothers benefit too! Those who breastfeed for more than 12 months are less likely to get breast or ovarian cancer. In addition, breastfeeding is a unique and irreplaceable moment in the mother-baby relationship and stimulates the production of oxytocin, which has a positive influence on the mother's health.

Why is it sometimes difficult to sustain breastfeeding and what can we do to change this?

Despite the evidence in favor of breastfeeding, today less than half of the world's infants and toddlers between 0 and 36 months are breastfed. Why is this?

In part, breastfeeding can be difficult, especially at the beginning. That is why it is important to have support: breastfeeding counseling - e.g. by childcare workers - can be essential to overcome false beliefs, fears and physical difficulties.

But there are also other factors, such as the return to work and the lack of effective legislation protecting the right of mothers and families to create adequate spaces for breastfeeding; the increasing substitution of breast milk by commercial milk formula; the lack of recognition as a care task; the limited public resources to promote breastfeeding; and the lack of incentives and commitments of the health system to prioritize breastfeeding and provide strategies for its support.

In short, beyond the fact that it is an activity between the mother and her baby, it requires an effective chain of support to be able to put it into practice.

How long does breast milk last in good condition? How should it be stored? How to express milk?

These and other questions are answered by Betzabé Tello, who emphasizes the importance of making work and study spaces "breastfeeding friendly" to facilitate the return of mothers to their workplaces.

For extraction, the author recommends:

• Identify their "breastfeeding friendly space" -areas that provide the right conditions for them to safely breastfeed or express and store breast milk.
• Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water for 40 to 60 seconds.
• To get the milk flowing, use techniques such as thinking about your baby, holding an object close to your baby, looking at your baby's picture or listening to an audio or video.

Breast milk can be expressed manually, with a manual or mechanical breast pump. The image below, taken from this practical guide, provides further references.

For storage, she recommends.

• Use clean glass bottles or BPA-free plastic bottles to avoid chemical contamination and bacterial growth.
• Label the bottles with the date and time of extraction to use the oldest milks first.
• Milk may change color or fat may be seen rising to the surface, and these changes are normal.
• Milk can be kept at room temperature or stored in a refrigerator or freezer.
• Once milk has been thawed, it can be kept refrigerated for 24 hours, but should never be refrozen.

The breastfeeding journey can have its challenges, but with the right information and support, it is possible to overcome the difficulties. We hope you can take advantage of these resources and tips to give your baby the best start in life, while strengthening that special bond. We invite you to share your experience in the comments!

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