Breastfeeding Your Baby Is Best: Breastfeeding builds a wonderful bond between mother and child. A breastfed baby is usually a happier, more contented baby than a bottle-fed baby. Breastfeeding builds a strong immune system in your baby, which is another very good reason to breast-feed: A strong immune system will help to protect your baby against infectious diseases later on, and will help reduce the severity of an illness should your child get sick.
Breast-fed Babies Do Not Get Fat: There is no danger of over-feeding a breast-fed baby. Demand-feeding, which is basically giving your babe a drink every time he or she needs some sustenance, does not make your baby put on weight. Sometimes, your baby might want to be cuddled and fed, because they are uncomfortable with teething. They do not necessarily need the milk. Your body will recognize this and adjust the milk flow. So you can safely comfort or feed your baby as often as is needed.
No Need To Worry About Germs With Breastfeeding: With bottle-feeding, there is always a risk of infection from re-using bottles and teats: These have to be sterilized all the time, which is a big bother. No need to worry about any of this with breast-feeding.
Breastfeeding will make your child’s immune system strong so that they are better equipped to fight infections without vaccinations: Some people will still choose to give their children vaccinations, but vaccinations are weakening to the immune system: So check out the alternatives to vaccinations, such as homeopathy, before you decide to vaccinate. You will need to have an alternative plan of action for when your child does succumb to the childhood illnesses if you do not vaccinate: Homeopathy, I think, is the best option.
Breast milk supplies just the right nutrients to your baby, provided the mum’s diet is a fairly healthy, balanced and simple diet.
Breastfeeding helps the hormonal functions to normalize in the mother, and also helps her to get back to her normal weight.
How To Help Lactation with Massage: Sometimes there are difiiculties which occur with breast-feeding. These are usually only temporary conditions. Massage of the Upper Chest Area can help to correct lactation problems. Michael Reed Gach, author of ‘Acupressure’s Potent Points’ recommends massaging the points directly in line with the nipples on the breastbone, located between the third and fourth ribs. These points, he suggests, are to be gently pressed three times a day for about two minutes.
Drinking Fennel Tea To Help Lactation: Fennel has powerful components which encourage milk flow. Make fennel herbal tea, using two teaspoons of fresh chopped herb to a cup of boiling water. Let sit for five minutes, then drink. Repeat two or three times a day until lactation has resumed. I have used this fennel tea herbal remedy myself, and found it to be very effective. Massaging the breasts with a teaspoon of olive oil which has just one drop of fennel oil in it can help to soothe the breasts and restore lactation.
Sunflower Seeds and Sesame Seeds Help Lactation: This is a very old remedy. Simply eat a handful of seeds three or four times a day until the milk flow has resumed. Sunflower seeds and sesame seeds are very nourishing, and are rich in the essential fatty acids, so they give health to both you and your baby.
Massage With Warm Sunflower Oil: This is another old remedy for improving the milk flow. Simply warm up half a cup of sunflower oil (or olive oil), and gently massage it into the breasts. Concentrate on the chest area just above the breasts, gently pressing into those indents between the ribs. Use little circular movements on each spot. Work right across the chest, centre to outside and upwards. Slowly work right up to the shoulders. Do the hollow beside the arm, just below the collar bone. Work along the collar bone, pressing in below it. Finish with a gentle circular movement with both hands, taking in the whole of the chest, rib, and breast area. Unless you are in the tropics, put on something to keep the chest warm, such as a light woolen singlet or spencer, and a jersey or cotton shirt.
Ayurvedic Nutritive Treatment To Help Lactation: Dr Vasant Lad, an ayurvedic practitioner, recommends using 10 shelled almonds which have been soaked overnight in a little water. These are peeled and put into the blender with either a cup of hot milk or water. A pinch of ground ginger root, a pinch of cardamom powder, and a pinch of saffron are added. I would add half a banana for sweetening if you have it, or four chopped dates. All ingredients are blended up into a palatable, highly nutritious, spicy almond milk, which is to be drunk morning and night.
Chinese Red Dates are given as a remedy for inadequate lactation in the ‘Chinese Barefoot Doctor’s Manual’.
Homeopathic Treatment To Help Lactation:
Ignatia 6X can be taken three times a day until lactation normalizes. Ignatia is a good remedy for shock and stress, as well as grief, and is especially suited to sensitive people who cry easily. It can also be used to treat insomnia in adults, and croup, which is a barking cough, in your young child. Ignatia patients have an aversion to cold air, tobacco smoke, coffee, alcohol, and strong odours.
Calcarea Phosphorica is also helpful in promoting milk flow. Headache may go with this remedy, with heartburn or rheumatic pain, cold hands and feet. This is another good remedy to use after childbirth, to help alleviate shock symptoms. Cold, damp weather and rain can make the calcarea phos patient feel worse.
Pulsatilla can be used to increase scanty milk flow. The patient can be sometimes tearful and sensitive to extremes in the weather with this remedy. Sometimes has shifting pains, and cystitis may be present.
One of the following remedies may also be useful for the purpose of increasing lactation: Asafoetida; Calcarea carb; and Silica.
For Sore Breasts with Mastitis:
Bryonia 30C will help reduce sore inflamed breasts with mastitis. Bryonia helps to dry up fluids, so if you have engorged breasts, Bryonia will help to reduce them. Bryonia can be used to help to dry up the milk when the baby is ready to be weaned. I found this remedy to be very effective. It is a good remedy to use if the inflammation is especially hard.
Phytolacca is another good remedy for treating mastitis: this remedy is for less hard obstructions than Bryonia. A close friend used Phytolacca 30C, twice or thrice a day for several days until the inflammation went down.
When the mother has had a history of poor milk flow with previous babies, Dr John H Clarke, M.D. recommends the use of Calc. phos 3x, gr. x., h.s.s., taken for two or three months before the end of the pregnancy.