|
|
Mothers should put their babies to breast at least eight to ten times
per 24 hours or every 2 to 3 hours.
When breastfeeding is well established,
almost 90% of the milk from a breast is taken in by the
infant in the first 5 to 10 minutes of nursing,
so babies should nurse on the first breast for at least 10 minutes
(
Lucas, 1979
,
Neifert, 1996
,
Howie, 1981
).
The baby can then be switched to the other breast and
nursed as long as desired.
Babies tend to suck more vigorously on the
first breast than on the second breast and alternating starting
breasts is recommended
(
Freed, 1991
,
Powers, 1997
).
When breastfeeding is just getting started let-down may be slower,
and the
baby should nurse on the first breast as long as there is rhythmic
sucking and swallowing.
In the first one to three days of life a breastfed infant may have
only one to three bowel movements each day. By four to five days of
life, when the mother's milk supply has increased, a baby should have
at least four to five wet diapers and at least three to four bowel
movements each day. If a baby has less than three bowel movements a
day after five days of age, this may be a sign of poor milk supply
(
Neifert, 1999
).
|
