Breast Feeding - English

You & Your Baby Getting Off to a Great Start

Congratulations on Your Pregnancy!

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to provide you with excellent care during your prenatal care and the birth of your infant. We would like to help you get off to a great start when feeding your infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend breastmilk as the optimum food for infants, with exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months, then with the addition of comple- mentary foods for the next two years. Breastmilk is easy for your new infant’s stomach to digest and you will produce the perfect amounts for his/her small stomach. It contains all the nutrition your infant needs as well as antibodies. Breastmilk has been shown to reduce your infant’s risk of many health problems including ear infection, asthma, diabetes and SIDS. Breastfeeding your infant can reduce your risk of having breast and ovarian cancer and helps you get back to your pre-pregnancy weight faster. Kern Medical has trained all of its Maternal/Child staff to assist mothers to get off to a great start. Our lactation staff, who are breastfeeding specialists, will visit you during your stay and are available to help you when needed.

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What about giving formula while breastfeeding?

The WHO, AAP and CDC recommend that all infants are breastfed exclusively unless there is a medical reason not to. • Breastmilk is designed perfectly for human infants, with everything they need to grow well. Formula is cow’s milk-based and much harder for the infant to digest. • Breastmilk reduces your infant’s risk of SIDS by up to 50%. There is no evidence that formula reduces the risk. • Breastmilk supports the infant’s immune system. Formula does not.

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Skin to Skin – The Golden Hour

When your infant is born we would like to place your infant skin to skin with you. This is a special time for bonding, allowing your infant to transition to life outside the womb gently. When your infant is born, he/she will be placed on your bare chest. You will both be covered by a blanket. A hat will be placed on your infant’s head. Your infant will be able to rest there, listening to your heartbeat, as he/ she did before birth. He/she will then be able to move to the breast in their own time and begin to feed.

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Skin to skin helps to regulate your infant’s heart rate, temperature and respirations. It helps to regulate blood glucose and makes your baby feel safe. You can continue to spend time skin to skin with your infant throughout your

hospital stay and at home. Dad can also spend time skin to skin with baby. During the first minutes after birth, your support person can help by checking that your infant’s nose and mouth are clear and that your baby has a nice pink color. Your support person can help you watch for feeding cues, which are signs that your infant is ready to eat, such as sucking on his hands. Staff can help you both to recognize these im- portant cues and assist you and

your baby to latch properly when your infant is ready. It is recommended that you keep your infant skin to skin at least until your infant completes the first breastfeed or for at least 1 hour. Skin to skin is helpful for calming your infant and encouraging him/her to eat. Skin to skin is important after the first hours too. It can help calm your infant and provide comfort. Your baby loves to hear your heartbeat! It’s a good idea to spend time skin to skin with your infant when you are able throughout the first few months of life.

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Breastfeeding Your breasts won’t feel any different in the first days after delivery. This is normal and it is because your infant’s stomach is very small, about the size of a cherry. Your breasts have the perfect amount of colostrum for your infant. After a few days you will be able to feel your breasts filling and hear more frequent swallowing when your baby feeds. Your breasts will feel full before a feed and should feel softer after. This lets you know that the milk has trans- ferred to your infant.

Your infant will feed frequently at first, at least 8-12 times in 24 hours is normal. This frequent removal of milk sends a message to your body to make more milk and to increase your supply. Any time your infant is awake, offer him/ her the breast. The length of time your infant takes to eat will vary depending on how hungry he/she is. Your infant will feed more fre- quently at night in the beginning, especially the second night whenhe/she ismuchmoreawake. Sleeping when your baby sleeps will give you the rest you need to cope with the night feeds.

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Our staff will help you to learn how to position and latch your baby correctly. This allows your baby to get more milk and it makes breastfeeding more comfortable for you. Our lactation staff is available to assist you 24 hours per day. They will visit you during your stay to ensure breast- feeding is going well and to assist if you have any diffi- culty or questions. Try to avoid using pacifiers, which are harder than your nipple and can change the way your infant sucks. It may also reduce your milk supply because when the baby uses a pacifier, your breasts are not stimulated to make more milk.

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Position and Latch Optimal position and latch are very important. When these are correct your infant can feed effectively and efficiently. Your nurse and lactation staff can help ensure you are able to achieve this.

Basic Steps

Make sure you are well supported using pillows. You may need a stool or thick book to support your feet. Bring baby close to you, with hips flexed, so that your infant does not need to turn his/her head to reach your breast. His/her mouth and nose should be facing your nipple. Support your breast so that it does not press on your infants chin. Baby’s chin should drive into the breast. Latch your infant. Encourage baby to open the mouth wide and bring your infant to the breast. Baby should have much of the areola in his/her mouth and his/her nose should be touching the breast, lips curled out. If you are feeling pain, gently unlatch and try again.

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Rooming In Kern Medical promotes rooming in as the best method of care for mothers and their infants. This allows new families the time and space to bond. Your infant will remain in your room with you at all times, only leaving your room for essential care that cannot be completed at the bedside. This gives you the opportunity to learn to care for your infant. You will learn your baby’s feed- ing cues and be able to feed as often as your baby wishes. This will increase the amount of milk your infant takes in and also the amount of milk you make. Both baby and mommy will sleep better, knowing that they are near to each other. Infants cry less when they remain close to their mother.

Kern Medical looks forward to providing you with the help and support your new family needs to get off to a great start!

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Comfort Measures During Labor and Delivery – Non Medication Methods There are some things you can do to help deal with the discomfort of labor without medication. Support Person This is the person you have chosen to go through labor with you. They can help with the methods of pain relief discussed below. This person can remind you to breathe, provide touch, distraction and help you change position. Patterned Breathing This can help provide comfort and focus during labor. It also helps with oxygen flow to your baby. You may use different breathing patterns throughout your labor. In early labor, slow steady breathing, in through the nose and out through the mouth can help. As contractions increase in strength and frequency, you might find small quick breaths are better with a slow cleansing breath at the end of the contraction. There is no right or wrong way to breathe. Use

the method which helps you. Focus and Distraction

In this method you will focus all your attention on one thing during a contraction. It might be an object or photograph of something you love, closing your eyes and thinking of a special place, smell or person. Meditation is another way to focus.

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Massage and Touch Touch or massage can help reduce pain. Many women find relief from back pain when their support person uses touch or applies pressure to the painful area. You will be able to guide your support person on how much pressure feels best. It may be light strokes, circular movements or more pressure. Position Changes Moving around in labor can help reduce tension and pain. Walking, rocking, standing, swaying, and using a birthing ball can all help. If you are in bed, changing position from side, to back to side or using the hands and knees position can be helpful. These methods of pain control are discussed in greater detail during our Prenatal Classes. Prenatal Classes These classes are offered by Kern Medical every month. There are three parts to these classes, covering pregnancy, labor and delivery, care of the mother and infant after delivery, as well as breastfeeding. You will also be given a tour of our remodeled birthing unit. You and your support person should plan to attend the classes between 24 and 36 weeks of pregnancy. You will be given a leaflet with the dates and contact information during your clinic visits. These classes are free and are available in English and Spanish.

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Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding This facility upholds the World Health Organization/UNISEF Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, published in a joint statement entitled, Protecting, Promoting and Supporting Breastfeeding: The Special Role of Maternity Services.

The Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding from the basis of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, a worldwide breastfeeding quality improvement project created by the World Heath Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNISEF). Baby-Friendly hospitals and birth centers also uphold the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk. Substitutes by offering parents support, education, and educational materials that promote the use of human milk rather than other infant food or drinks, and by refusing to accept or distribute free or subsidized supplies of breast milk substitutes, nipples,and other feeding devices.

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Every facility providing maternity services and care for newborns should: Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health care staff. Train all health care staff in the skills necessary to implement this policy. Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding. Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth. Show mothers how to breastfeed and how to maintain lactation even if they are separated from their infants. 1 2 3 4 5 Give infants no food or drink other than breast-milk, unless medically indicated. Practice rooming-in – allow mothers and infants to remain together 24 hours a day. Encourage breastfeeding on demand. Give no pacifiers or artificial nipples to breastfeeding infants. Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge from the hospital to birth center. 10 6 7 8 9

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1700 Mount Vernon Avenue Bakersfield, CA 93306 661.326.2760 | KernMedical.com