Transcription:
Breastfeeding Education and Breast Milk Benefits

Prakash Chandran: The decision to breastfeed is a personal one, but as a new parent, it's important to understand all the benefits of breastfeeding and breast milk for your baby. We're going to talk about it today with Patricia Soriano Guzman, a Lactation Consultant at Montefiore Nyack Hospital. This is Health Track the podcast from Montefiore Nyack Hospital. I'm Prakash Chandran. So first of all, Patty, great to have you here. Can you talk a little bit about why it's so important for parents to educate themselves on breastfeeding?

Patricia Soriano Guzman: Well, thank you and thank you for the introduction. And really, it just goes with the full picture of what is going to happen when a woman gives birth basically through pregnancy and even before, if someone is planning to have a baby, the parents should really give some thought about infant feeding. Informing themselves on what the options are, what to expect, how it looks, because really the moment mother gives birth the very next thing that happens is the baby's put on mom's breast for the most part, and left there to initiate breastfeeding, to initiate that bonding between mother and baby. And that happens right in the labor room at birth. It's could take a few minutes, so it may take an hour for that time, that golden hour, that first hour, as we refer to it. After that, mother goes into recovery mother, baby, and for the most part, especially at baby friendly and breastfeeding friendly hospitals, mom and baby are rooming in together. Baby's right there. So that whenever a baby stirs it's time to feed, or if baby's really sleepy just to do that skin to skin time to continue that bonding. And really the goal is to offer the breast. There are so many benefits from mother and baby, and like you said, it is a personal decision and everyone's different. The most important thing is to just be informed, know your options, have the support, and ask for it as well. And to just give it a try.

Host: Got it. So I'd like to dive into the health benefits of breastfeeding. I have heard that breastfeeding and breast milk is the best thing that you can give your baby. And so can you talk a little bit about the different types of benefits that they might receive?

Patricia Soriano Guzman: Well, we can start with the health benefits, right? So from mother and baby research shows that breastfeeding and producing breast milk reduces the risk and incidents of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, all of these kinds of diseases. There's also benefits for reducing the risk of cancer. The more a mother breastfeeds her child through life, many children and produces more breast milk. She's reducing her risk of developing breast cancer for life that is proven. So, yeah, and not all babies are at risk for cancer, but breast milk has the fences for childhood leukemia and things like that. More recent research shows that breast milk actually contains Lye stem cells. So this is the benefits are numerous and really monumental. Taking it a step further, just from a nutritional standpoint, it's about human milk for human babies and that the mother's milk is tailor made for her baby.

And even beyond that breast milk in general has so many more benefits. It's the perfect combination of all the basic nutrients, vitamins minerals. Plus it contains growth factors ant parasites, ant allergens, antivirals, which is so important this day and age with everything we're facing, and also antibodies and hormones, everything that keeps mom healthy is going to her baby through her breast milk. And that no formula can do that. So the formula was originally created as an emergency food. Not that long ago, like late 18 hundreds, it came became popular early 19 hundreds, the whole history of infant feeding the development of formula, how it was used and later became more of a commercial item is really interesting. But what's the most important for mothers to know today that from the beginning of time women have been giving birth, nurturing their babies, feeding their babies, and that when everything is, let's say all things are normal, healthy mom, healthy baby, natural process.

So we don't all automatically get it, you know, instantly, right. And it does take decision and practice and patience and support. So it's more about informing moms about how their body works, what changes are occurring, why they're occurring and all of the benefits that come with it. And even for the baby, that whole action of coming to the mother to nurse is developing the baby's facial structure, their muscles. It's going to their development later for eating solid foods and even speech development. And if there's any challenge with the breastfeeding, that's like an early indication of something that will eventually have to be addressed one way or the other.

Host: Okay. One of the things that I did want to ask about was just the feeling of breastfeeding. I remember that when my wife was expecting, she was actually quite nervous around how breastfeeding might feel. I think she was worried that the baby was going to bite. I think there were some horror stories that she had heard. So maybe talk a little bit about that and what new mothers can expect as they start breastfeeding and how that evolves.

Patricia Soriano Guzman: Okay. So really the goal and what we really try to hone in on with mom when we do breastfeeding basics is really focusing on the positioning of the baby, getting comfortable. And that takes time, especially for a first time mom how to hold your baby, how to put your baby to breast and how to achieve, and teach your baby how to get a nice deep latch. And that deep latch, deep asymmetrical latch is really protective from mom because of the anatomy of the baby's mouth. And also it helps the baby get more milk, more reward for their efforts. When you have a shallow latch, that's what brings discomfort, sometimes pain and other complications. So it's not desirable and also does not allow the baby to get enough milk when they are breastfeeding. So we really want to look to that initially when establishing breastfeeding and I'm speaking much more in the traditional sense. And again, if that is not going well for any reason there are tools that we can use in the interim to help mom and baby, as they're learning to breastfeed.

Host: Yes, it is a learning experience for both mom and baby. One of the things that I wanted to ask about is for, for busy moms that might potentially be on the go and don't get a chance to breastfeed as much as they would like. Are there any breastfeeding benefits that are lost from a baby who has, for example, bottle fed more than being breastfed?

Patricia Soriano Guzman: Well, really to be respectful of people's circumstances and choices and how things are going, everyone's a little different, right? So it may be a matter of choice where the mother is now says, okay, breastfeeding is going well, but I have to go back to work or I have to go back to school or I'd like some options. So from there, we recommend that mom try to use a breastfeeding compatible bottle, which there are many different kinds on the market. Typically a short wide based bottle with a nice wide, long nimble, even with a narrow bottle we can achieve and emulate some of the feeding that goes on with breastfeeding. So for those mothers that either choose or need to supplement or use bottles, I teach paced bottle feeding. And it's just a different way of holding your baby, holding your baby up to breastfeed instead of laying down, no propping of the bottles in the, you know, carriers and the such.

Really trying to have the baby positioned in such a way and encouraging baby to open wide, to accept the bottle nipple, similar to the way mother would with the breasts, and making that eye contact. There's always opportunity for skin to skin. Breastfeeding of course gives more opportunity for skin to skin, but any mother who wants to see or caretaker even who wants to feed their baby can do so much of the bonding just by having eye contact, a little skin to skin, letting the baby pace their feeding is also huge. Having a slow flow nipple so that we don't have these nipples that have a fast flow and baby just sucks a little bit on the tip and they were getting a whole load of milk coming in and before they know it they're full, and they're unable to pace themselves. So those are some of the concerns, but you know, at this stage, we've pretty much learned how to go about things so that mom can have some flexibility or meet the needs and the choices she makes.

Host: Yeah, that's really great advice. I'd like to transition to feeding frequency, how often should a parent be feeding their baby? You know, I've always been curious as a baby, just naturally ask when they need it, or is there a certain number of feedings that a parent needs to get in during a certain day? So maybe talk a little bit about that and how it evolves over time.

Patricia Soriano Guzman: Absolutely. So the current teaching based on research again, is to feed your baby on demand, with no restriction on frequency or length of feeding. And babies are different. So really the way I explain it to mothers is, you know, in the womb, your baby has developed in the womb where they have everything they need 24 seven, and all of a sudden they're born and they have to sort of regulate themselves. And they will do so slowly but surely, but we need to meet their needs. What a baby once is, what a baby needs and vice versa. So on demand is basically whenever your baby gives early feeding cues, what are early feeding cues, rooting, tongue sucking, finger sucking starting to become a little fussy. They're really hungry now. Crying is the last hunger cue. And we shouldn't really wait for the baby to be crying. Sometimes it's inevitable, some babies are different, they just sleep and wake up crying, get to know your baby. That's part of the reason we encourage rooming in from the hospital and even those early postpartum weeks, having your baby nearby, where you can see.

Personally, I teach moms as soon as your baby wakes, they start waking because they're hungry. It's time to eat, especially during the newborn period, the first four weeks. So the guideline we give to new moms and first time moms, first and foremost, watch your baby. But in general, all babies need to eat every one to three hours or eight to 12 times a day. And a day is 24 hours. Day and night. So really a breastfed baby will feed more frequently because the breast milk is more easily digestible. The nutrients are more bioavailable, and we want to see that, all newborns really do is sleep, eat, and dirty diapers in the first early weeks. And that's the indication that all is going well in addition to their growth, right? So it is normal for babies, a human baby to want to eat frequently, 10 to 12 times a day, or an average, every two hours. All babies at a minimum should be eating eight times a day or every three hours. So this is even a formula fed baby. They need to be feeding so that they grow well. And we know everything is going well. If you've got a sleepy baby, you can wake the baby.

Host: Okay. That sounds good. You know, for the parents that are listening, they may have heard of terms like engorgement, mastitis, clogged, ducts. These are all things that we've heard about that when breastfeeding is either not done properly or potentially not done enough, these things can occur. So can you talk a little bit about these terms and how a parent might best avoid them?

Patricia Soriano Guzman: Okay. So engorgement and plugged ducks really doesn't have to do with doing it properly. It's just really depending on the person's body and how their milk production is, ideally, all a mother really wants or needs is enough to feed her baby. And your baby is the best indication. So not all women will experience engorgement or plugged ducts, some do. And just like everything in life with these challenges are commonly talks about. It's not that they're so common. It's just that they're typical. With engorgement, it just means that the breast needs to be drained more frequently. And it's usually the first sign. Not all women get mastitis. Mastitis can happen if the breasts are not being drained properly or enough by the baby and or pumping. If a woman has over-supply, more than her baby needs at the moment, then we manage that with some pumping and she can store the milk if she wishes. And that can help prevent mastitis. Mastitis will come maybe a little later first, a mom might experience just chills, not feeling well, achy, maybe a little bit, something like a fever.

She may actually get a fever. At that point, the body's reacting to not releasing the milk. And so at that point, she would speak to her obstetrician receive a prescription for an antibiotic if necessary. There are also other alternative options that mom can consider, but at the end of the day, she still needs to be breastfeeding and or pumping through the milk and engorgement. A plugged duct is a little different. Some women have more propensity to develop the plugged duct. It's just like one area that gets very firm and uncomfortable and can be very painful. So we have different ways of managing that. But again, the trick is, and the only really solution is to drain the milk until the body stabilizes, right? So eventually your infant grows. So what a mom needs to know is that even if these challenges occur early on, they will resolve with time as your baby grows and becomes more agile and capable and stronger and is able to be more efficient at the breast. Or we can manage it with pumping in between and eventually by about six to eight weeks postpartum, the body does start calming down, the milk production starts to calm down.

Host: Got it. So, you know, just as we wrap up here, I always like to ask, for the new parents that might be listening to this, what's the one piece of advice that you would like them to leave this conversation with?

Patricia Soriano Guzman: For all expectant parents is really just having an open mind being positive, expecting the best. And sometimes it's really difficult to sort of just drown out the noise. There's a lot of noise about different concerns or things that can happen, but that doesn't mean that that will be your experience. The way to make your experience the best possible experience is to prepare yourself. The best way to learn about breastfeeding is to see other breastfeeding families and be around them. And we don't get enough of that these days with modern living and the society as it is. So we really have to make a concerted effort to seek it out. In lieu of being able to see family and friends breastfeeding, we have breastfeeding classes and breastfeeding education, and just so many resources. And I will caution really, maybe the internet is not the best place to go, just because you can get all kinds of information that may or may not be evidence-based or research based. So go to your trusted professionals, talk to your providers, your healthcare professionals, lactation consultants, and really just inform yourself to the extent possible, be prepared, know your options. And then when the time comes, it'll just be easier. It'll just go more smoothly. And hopefully just always ends in success.

Host: Well, Patty, I think that's a perfect place to end. I really appreciate your time today. That's Patricia Soriano Guzman, a lactation consultant at Montefiore Nyack Hospital. Thanks for checking out this episode of Health Track, head to Montefiorenyack.org, to get connected with a provider. If you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and be sure to check out the entire podcast library for topics of interest to you. Thanks. So we'll talk next time.