An Art of Parenting

Archive for the ‘Baby Sleep & Feeding Schedules’ Category

The practice of wrapping up the child was brought to us by the British. In the womb, the child remains in a curled up position and the pressure of the uterus is constantly exerted on the baby’s body. This pressure disappears once the child emerges from the womb. The new-found freedom allows the child to move its limbs about unobstructed. The post-natal environment is radically different from that in the womb.

The warm, comforting, pressure of the uterus is no longer there and the mild may not sleep peacefully. The idea behind wrapping the child up tightly is to make it feel snug and secure and induce it to sleep long. This practice prevails in hospitals and big cities. It is easier to carry a wrapped up baby. The mother to o need not fumble and flounder confusedly during breast feeding, for the bundled baby is easier to handle.

In some families, particularly those living in small towns or villages, the child is not tied up but is kept in a cradle and covered with a light quilt or sheet. After 1 ½ – 2 months the growing child breaks loose of its restrictions. The hands and legs fidget enough to free themselves of the constraining cloth whether it is tied or merely used as a cover.

In spite of all the difficulties mother faces, she should feed her child for as long as possible. Do not be in a hurry, to start top milk. It is the practice that most offices to grant 3 months maternity leave. A minimum of 40 days is always granted. This period allows the mother to breast feed her child. Even after resuming work the mother should feed her child whenever she is at home (early morning, late evening and at night. Instead of weaning the child from the breast, experimenting with spoon honeyed water or water boiled with sugar and capparis trifolia or even breast milk extracted should be given with a spoon. Following this, if the mother is going to be away at work for long periods of time, it becomes necessary to start on top milk (cow, buffalo or powdered milk). Even so, breast feeds should be continued every morning and every night.

It is not right to deny the child mother’s milk merely on the basis of imagined difficulties. The importance of mother’s milk lies not only in its nutritive goodness but also in its immunizing potential. It is well armed with white blood cells to keep away allergy and disease and consequently, dreaded diseases like diarrhea, fever, cold, polio. Even a few drops of breast milk are beneficial to the baby.

Let us look at the immense advantages of breast feeding. It is the most suitable and natural milk for the baby; nature has meant it to be given to the baby. It is ever warm, readily available, and almost bacteria-free and can simply be transported along with the mother. There is no bother about boiling bottles, tests, bowls and spoons, not to mention the cost of all this involves. Breast feeding brings the baby and the mother together. The baby loves to be held, cuddled and talked to. This mothering is good for his growth and, it is believed, even for the development of personality and behavior.

Infections in be baby, particularly diarrhea, are far less in a breast fed baby. Colostrum secreted by the mother for the first few days after birth in rich in antibodies and gives invaluable protection against infections. The commonly held belief that colostrums is harmful and should be expressed and throw away is wrong. Mature milk which follows colostrum also has several protective substances which prevent the growth germs that cause diarrhea. It contains live cells and lysosomes which protect against infections. It also contains antiviral substances called interferon. The composition of proteins, sugar and fats, is also ideal for the baby’s digestion and growth. The protein is mainly lactalbumin rather than casein and is much easier to digest. Cow’s milk has three times as much protein and more a rapidly growing calf and not a human baby. There is no problem of with breast milk as there is with cow’s mild because the proteins in the later are foreign and may cause allergy in some children, particularly, where there is a family history of allergy.

Human milk is ideally suited to the development needs of the human baby. The needs of the offspring of different types of animals are similarly met by their own mother’s milk. The formula of human milk is different from that of animal milk. All our village mothers’ breast feed for their babies and do not even consider an alternative, but somehow one finds that the educated urban mother often complains that she does not have enough milk and even though she says she wants to breast feed her baby, she soon resorts to a bottle because she believes her milk is not enough.

Why is this so? Why is it that the simple village woman who is probably less well nourished than the urban mother, is able to successfully breast feed her baby while the other thinks she cannot? The first one knows no alternative; breast feeding comes naturally to her. She feeds the baby wherever she is, whether at home or visiting friends, alone or in company. Even though breast milk secretion is governed by hormones, the hormones in turn are governed by the mother’s emotion, desire and the joy of being able to feed the baby. Her own desire and motivation seem to be the key.

Unfortunately, the casual attitude of doctors and nurses to breast feeding does not encourage the mother to breast feed her baby or give her sufficient confidence in her ability to breast feed. The minute the mother poses a problem, the alternative of bottle feeding is suggested. As soon as the baby cries, it is assumed that the mother’s milk is not enough and the bottle is offered immediately.