Breastfeeding in the right position can help you feed your baby more and better. Learning how to hold and support your baby in a comfortable position for you calls for coordination — and patience.
If you are a mother to your first baby, the several experiences that spurt post-pregnancy might overwhelm you. Of all the things, the most important thing that your baby needs is a healthy diet. While you stress on the needs of your infant, you must not overlook the necessity of being comfortable while breastfeeding. During breastfeeding, the two very important things that you should highlight in your mind are to be comfortable and get the baby to your breast without much trouble.
Think and try a position that you are comfortable with while breastfeeding. Furthermore, make sure the baby’s head tips back slightly while he feeds.
While breastfeeding, you could:
- Lie down parallel facing each other.
- Hold the baby across your lap and use the opposite arm to hold the breast the baby is feeding from.
- Hold the baby across the lap and support the infant with the same arm as the breast he is feeding from.
- Hold the baby underarm.
- If you have twins and want to feed them together, you could hold the babies against each breast.
Initially, you may find it easier to use the same hand as the side of the breast to breastfeed easier than holding the baby with the hand opposite to the side of the breast the baby is feeding on. For instance, holding the baby with the right hand while he or she is feeding on the right breast is easier than holding the baby with the left hand when he or she is feeding on the right breast. Once you have found the apt position that you think is not only comfortable for you but also for the baby, you should stick to it and occasionally change it as you learn with experience.
If you have blocked ducts or mastitis, your midwife or breastfeeding counsellor would give you suggestions on how you can breastfeed better. A greater part of breastfeeding depends on where you are and what you are doing.
Images: Getty
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