When and How to Use a Nipple Shield for Breastfeeding
Difficulty latching, pain, prematurity, and physical anomalies, such a severely inverted nipples or flat nipples are common reasons for utilizing a nipple shield for temporary relief and assistance.
If you’re worried about having a low breast milk supply, you are not alone. It’s one of the most common concerns for new and veteran parents alike, but you should know this: the number one reason women struggle with breastfeeding is a lack of proper support, not a personal failure.
Before you start to doubt your body, let’s explore proven ways to increase your breast milk supply and get you back on track.
Finding the right fit is always important – whether it’s for clothing, shoes, but especially when it comes to your breast pump flange size if you're a breast pumping mom. Soreness, pinching, irritation, and clogged milk ducts don’t sound fun but are all things that can occur if you don’t have the correct flange size. A breast pump flange (breast shield) size that is too small or too big could seriously hinder your pumping experience and overall breast pumping journey. So, be sure to choose the correct size to properly express milk for your infant.
While it's true that milk transitioning may be delayed and that it can be uncomfortable to nurse after having the surgery, there are ways to encourage timely transitioning of mature milk and improved comfort in positioning.
Postpartum depression (PPD) is a serious problem experienced by as many as 4 in 5 mothers within a few days after giving birth, and in some, continues past the first weeks or months postpartum.
Just like with breastfeeding, pumping your breasts should most certainly not be painful or uncomfortable. While some discomfort and pain may happen, the occurrence of either could be an indicator that something needs to be adjusted or addressed.
Every expectant parent wants the very best for their baby, and sometimes the very best way for a baby to be born is by cesarean section. When your baby’s birth is a cesarean delivery, the postpartum period and healing process can be even more challenging. Learn about healing from a C-Section in this blog.
Breastfeeding Your Premature Baby in the NICU - Tips for Success
Breastfeeding a preemie is possible, but a very different situation. Feeding a preterm baby comes with its own set of complexities. Health status and gestational age will play a big role in determining the amounts given, how often, and even the method in which they are fed.
Supplementing Your Breast Milk Supply: How and When
For some new moms, supplementation is a temporary chapter to fill in a gap in caloric needs, while others may need to supplement their breast milk supply the duration of their time lactating. And that is ok!
Once you’re pregnant or in pre-pregnancy planning, you start learning about all sorts of things that you’d never thought about before, like diastasis recti, which sometimes it needs special attention. But many expectant and new moms wonder how do you know the difference, how it affects your health, and is there anything you can do to prevent it or treat it?
