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Aroundtheworldwomenaregivingtheirbabiesthe best
startin life.They'rebreastfeeding.
0:00:24.1Breastfeedingisoneofthebestexperiencesin lifewhenit goeswell.
I amsohappyto thinkthatI am givingmybabythe best startin life.
0:00:36.8Whateverybodyisdoingisnatural.It’seasyonceyou knowhowanditfeelsgood.
0:00:45.1I lovebreastfeedingbecauseitmakesmefeelverycloseto mybaby.
0:00:52.0I seehimgrow.AndI thinktomyselfmywifeismakinghim grow.It’samazing.
0:01:04.3Howdoesthatfeel?
ThisisClarissaGeorgestone.Sheisaninternational breastfeedinglactationconsultant.
Sheenjoyshelpingwomentobreastfeedtheirbabies.
0:01:14.6I havebeenamidwifeforthepasttwenty-fiveyearsandI
becamealactationconsultantin2007.Soit’slikeI'vebeen breastfeedingforalongtime.
0:01:26.2Therearelotsofreasonswhywomenbreast-feed.Let’s findoutwhybreastmilkgivesbabiesthebeststartin life.
0:01:34.8Isthemilkcomingdown?
One– breastmilkcontainsall the goodnessthatthebaby needsforthefirstsixmonths.It’sgotwater.It’sgotfat. It’s gotsugar.It’sgot salt.It’sgoteverythinginthe right proportions.
0:01:51.2Two– breastmilk’ssafeanditactuallyprotectsyourchild fromcommonillnessessuchasdiarrhoeaandchest infections.
0:02:01.2Wealwayssayto mothersthateverytimeyoufeedyour babyit’slikegivingthemanimmunisationbecauseallof theimmunityfromthemothercomesthroughto thebaby. Soit’sgoteverything.
0:02:16.6Three-If a breast-fedinfantdoesgetilltheyrecovermore quicklybecauseit containsantibodies,specialsubstances passedonfromthemother,thatprotectyourbabyfrom infection.
0:02:33.5Nowweknowwhybreastfeedingisgoodforthe baby.But therearelotsofreasonswhyit’s goodforthemothertoo. Herearejustthreeofthem.
0:02:41.0 One-it’seasy,it’ssafe,it’squick.Wealwayssaybreast milkisontap.Thebabygetsit wheneverandwhereverit wantsit.
Two– breastfeedingisalsogoodforthemotherbecauseit minimisesthe riskofsomecancers,brittlebonedisease andalsobleeding,especiallyafterdelivery.
0:03:03.6Three–breastfeedingcanbe reallygood withbonding.
0:08:27.6“Youcansee:youarefeedingthebabyand the babyis lookingatyou.Eventhatsmilewasreassuringjustnow.”
0:03:15.6“He’s makingeyecontactwithmenow.”
0:09:14.0“Eyecontactwithyouthroughoutthefeed.Andyouknowit isreassuringforhimknowingmy mumishere.Andit’sa goodfeelingforyouaswell.”
0:03:26.8Breastfeedingnotonlybenefitsmothersandbabies–it’s actuallygoodforeveryone.
0:03:32.1Breastfeedingbenefitsthewholefamilybecauseit’sfree.
Breastfedbabiesarebetterableto contributetofamilylife astheygrowupsmarterandstronger.
0:03:44.3Let’slookat whybreastmilkissomuchbetterthanartificial milk,otherwiseknownasinfantformula.
0:03:51.1One–youcannotmatchbreastmilkandartificialmilk.
Breastmilkdoesprotectababyfromdiseases.Artificial milkdoesn’t.
0:04:00.4Two-bottles,teatsandthewaterforthemilkallneedto be boiledforalongtimeto clearharmfulgerms.Iftheyaren't yourbabycouldgetdiarrhoea,whichcan causedeath.
0:04:15.0Three–tomakeinfantformulalastlongersomeparentsuselesspowderorusedriedordinarymilkpowderasit’s cheaper.Bothoptionsare dangerousbecausebabiesdon’t growproperlyandcandie.
0:04:31.9Four–buyinginfantformulaisexpensive.Theutensilsand thefuelare anothercost.Imaginehowyourfamilycould spendthatmoneyinstead.
0:04:45.7Ofcoursethereareexceptionalcaseswherethechild needstobefedwithformulawhenthemotherisseriously sick,oncertainmedicationsor thechildisanorphan. Alwaysaskformedicaladvicetohelpto reducethe risksin theserarecases.
0:05:01.9Whenyourbabyhasjustbeenbornyouwillproducea
yellowishmilk.Thisiscalledcolostrumandit’srichin
nutrients.
It’simportantthatyourbabyreceivesthisforthefirstfew days.
Let’sexplainwhy.
0:05:17.1It is veryimportantthatyoufeedyourbabywiththis colostrum,ideallywithinthefirsthourofbirthorasearlyas possible.
0:05:25.1 I breastfedmysonwithinthefirsthourofhimbeingborn becauseIknewit wasthebestthingforhimand thebest thingto getmilkflowgoing.
WhenIfirsthadhimIwassotiredI reallydidn’tfeellike breastfeeding.Butthemidwifesaidhowgoodthe
colostrumwasforhim.SoI didandI'm reallygladthatIdid now.
0:05:49.2In certainculturesthecolostrumisthrownawayandbabies are givenherbalteasforthefirstfewdays.Thisisnot recommended.
0:05:57.1Someculturesandmothersareconcernedabout colostrum. Somepeopleadvisegivingteasbutdon’t becauseitdamagesthebaby’sgutandmakesthemprone to infection.
0:06:11.0So howdoyouknowif yourbabyisfeedingeffectively?
Lookatthisimage.Whichbabydoyou thinkisfeeding well?
Thisbabyisfeedingsuccessfullywhiletheotherbabyis not.
Let’sfindoutwhyaswehearsometipsonthebestwayto breast-feed.
0:06:30.5 Findingthe rightpositioncanreallyhelpyourbabysuckon thebreastandswalloweffectively.Youwillbecomfortable and yourbabytoo.
0:06:38.9StepOne:yourbaby’sbodyneedsto be inastraightline.
StepTwo:makesureyourbabyisnotreachingoutfortheir feed.
Bringyourbabycloseto youwiththeirnoselevel with your nipple.
Thinknoseto nipple.
0:06:55.8StepThree:waitforyourbabytoopentheirmouthreally wide.
Step Four:yourbabyshouldtakealargemouthfulofthe breastandthechinshouldbetouchingyourbreastwiththe nippledeepinsidetheirmouth.
Whenlatchedonyourbaby’smouthwillcoveryournipple andmostofthe darkareaaroundyournipplewillbe coveredtoo.
0:07:21.2“Nowwhatyoudois youbringthe babyaround,noseto nipplehereandbabylyingacrossthere.Youcanjust supportthe baby’sneckheresotheycanbeabletomove theirheadshere.Andwhatyoudois youjustpushdown likethatanddolikeanipplesandwich.Oncethenipple touchestheirnosesandtheysometimesopentheirmouth oncetheyhaveabiggapethenyoucanbringthebaby nippleto nose,bringthebabytowardsyousupporting there.Oncethe baby’sreallylatchedonproperlyyou
shouldnotbefeelinganypain.Somepeoplefeelthat initial discomfortwhenthebabylatcheson.”
0:08:00.9“That’sgood.You'rereallydoingwelland youcanseethat actuallyyourbabyisreallyrelaxedyouknowandit’snice to see yourelaxas wellyouknow,shouldersdown youknow you'redoingreallywell.Motherhappy–babyhappy.”
0:08:12.0It’sreallyimportanttomakesureyoufind therightposition.
Alotofmumscanexperiencepainanddiscomfortinitially andit’sreallyimportanttopersevere.
Mynipplesbled whenIbegantobreastfeedbut thenI got helpandeverything’ssorted.
0:08:31.6ThefirsttwotothreeweeksaredifficultbutIpersevered andnowit’sreallyrewardingandI'mreallyenjoyingit and soisSophie.
It wasquitehard in thebeginningandnowshe’samazing
yeah.Can'timaginedoinganythingelse.
0:08:49.3Youmayfindthatfriendsandfamilygive youdifferent adviceonwhethertofeedfromonebreastorbothbreasts ateveryfeed.It canbeconfusing.Sowhat’sbesttodo?
0:09:00.4Afterafewminutesoffeedingyourbreastmilkbecomes richerinfatandthisiswhatreallyhelpsyourbabygrow.So it’simportantnotto switchbreastsbeforeyourbabyhas finishedgettingmilkfromthefirstbreast.
0:09:15.5“Shallwetryonyourotherbooby?”
0:09:18.1 Whenyourbabyhasfinishedonebreastofferthemthe secondbreast.Theymightnotwantit butlet yourbaby decide.
“Thereyougo.”
“Youdon’twantit–no?” “Notinterested.”
0:09:31.1Andstarteachsessionoffeedingondifferentbreaststo keepbothbreastsproducinglotsofmilk.
0:09:39.3Oneofthemostcommonreasonsthatmothersgiveup breastfeedingistheyworrythatthey'renotproducing enoughmilk.Whatshouldyoudoifyou'reworriedabout
ourmilksupply?
0:09:48.2It’squitenaturalforpeopleto thinkthattheydon’thave enoughmilk.Imeanthat’soneofthe reasonswhypeople giveup.Butto reassureyouI'd like to tellyouthatmost motherscanbreast-feedsuccessfullyandthebabieswill haveenoughmilk.You’vegotenoughmilktofeedtwins.
0:10:02.9SometimesIdoworrywhetherornotI'mproducingenough milkbutmymidwifehasassuredmethatyouknowI am producingmorethanenoughmilk.Andif I'meverworried or concernedjustto continuallybreastfeedbecausethe moreyoufeedthemoremilkyouwillactuallyproduce.
0:10:18.7If you’restill worriedthatyourbabyisn'tgettingenoughmilk tryto gethelpfromfamily,friendsorahealthprofessional.
Mostmothers,especiallynewmothers,willworryatsome pointabouthowoftentheirbabyneedstobefed.
0:10:34.0There’snohardandfastruleon howoftenyoufeedyour baby.Feedyourbabywhenthebabywantsto befed and thenforthefirstfewmonthsoflifethe baby’s– the best placeforthe babyisonthebreast.
“Inthebeginningsometimesit’sdifficultto knowhowoften
tofeedthebabybutwithtimetheykindof developa pattern soyouknowyouknowwhetherornot they'rehungryorif
theyneedacuddle.And yeahitjustgetseasierasyou
knowyourbaby.”
“ItfeelslikeI'mfeedinghimallthetimeatthemomentbutI
knowashe getsolderhewon'tneedfeedingasmuch.”
0:11:09.7If yourbabyispoorlyorthey'regrowingtheyneedtofeeda bitmoresodon’tworryaboutit if youthinkthey'refeeding frequentlythat’sfine.
0:11:19Theremaybetimeswhenyoufinditdifficultto breastfeed likewhenyou'resick.Butdotryto continuebreastfeeding otherwiseyourmilkflowmaystopand youmightfindit difficultto breast-feedagainwhenyou'rebetter.
0:11:29.8If youfallillit’sreallyadvisableforyoutogethelp.Youcan haveyourfriends,relativesoranybodyto helpyouwiththe choreswhilstyouconcentrateonfeedingyourbabyand gettingbetter.
0:11:45.5 Theremaybetimeswhenyourfriendsandfamilysuggest thatyougive yourbabysomethingotherthanbreastmilk. Thisisnotadvisable.Let’sfindoutwhy.
0:11:54.7 It’sunderstandablethatin hotweatheryoufeelthatyou needtogivethebabyextra waterbut youdon’tneedto giveextrawater.Allyouneedtodoisfeed,feed,feed.
0:12:07.1AtfourmonthsmybabyseemedsohungryI wastempted
to givesomebabyfoodbutI justbreast-fedhimandhe continuedtobefinebecauseI knewbreastfeedingwas
better.
I wastemptedto givemybabyformulamilkbecausehe seemedhungrybutnowI knowmybodywillmakethe right amountofmilkformybaby.
0:12:27.9 Remembergive vitamindropsandmedicineonlyifyou’ve beenadvisedto dosobyyourhealthprofessional.
0:12:42.2“Thereyougodarling.”
Cryingin thenightdoesnotmeanthatyourbabyneeds porridgeorextrafood.Justget to knowyourbaby.If they'rewindyyou windthem.Iftheywanttobefedyou feedthem,breastmilk.
Nowremember–nowater,no herbalteas,porridge,sugar orothermilkforthefirstsixmonths-solelybreastfeeding.
0:12:42.2 So nowyouknowhowto breast-feedandwhyit’sso good foryouand yourbaby.It’snowonderthat womenaround theworldarebreastfeeding.Don’tbeleftbehind.Beone of them.
0:13:18.0 I willtellwomenwhoareexpectingababytobreastfeed if theycanbecauseit’sthemostwonderfulthingyoucando foryourchild.
I’msohappyto thinkthatI'm givingmybabythebeststart
in life.
I amveryhappy–so happyyouknow.I seehimgrowand
I thinktomyselfmywifeismakinghimgrow.
I can'timaginewhywomenwouldn’tbreastfeed iftheycan becauseit’sgoodforyouandit’sgoodforthebaby.
0:14:00.1I'msohappyto thinkthatI'm givingmybabythebeststart in life.
Itfeelsreallygoodbecauseit’s justkindof meand Sophie kindofbondingso-It’skindofusspendingqualitytime togetherandyouknowjustmeknowingthatshe’sgetting allthenutrientsand stuff thatsheneedssoIdo enjoyit actually.