【102 Health】Breastfeeding has many benefits

Jiyuan News Comprehensive Broadcast "Enjoy Health" program, today invited expert Zhang Lifeng, to talk to you about "breastfeeding benefits"...

Interviewee: Zhang Lifeng

Zhang Lifeng, breastfeeding instructor of the Department of Neonatology of Jiyuan Tongqing Hospital, has been engaged in maternal and infant nursing work in Shanghai for more than 7 years, has rich experience, and obtained the maternal and infant care qualification certificate of Shanghai Labor Bureau, Montessori early education certificate, postpartum rehabilitation certificate, prolactin certificate, nutritionist certificate, pediatric massage certificate, nursery teacher certificate. He has trained in maternal and child care and parenting knowledge in Zhengzhou Yuehao Home Economics Company. He specializes in breast assessment and care during pregnancy and childbirth, postpartum breastfeeding guidance, nutritional guidance during pregnancy and childbirth, daily care and observation of abnormal conditions of newborns, and early neonatal education.

How many newborns do not start breastfeeding within the first hour of life?

Most newborns around the world wait too long for their first breastfeeding. In 2017 alone, an estimated 78 million newborns waited more than an hour before being placed on their breasts.

That is, only about 2 out of every 5 children (42%) can be placed on the mother's breast within 1 hour of birth, and most are concentrated in low- and middle-income countries. Although this figure is a slight increase from 37 per cent in 2005, progress has been slow.

In 2021, the journal BMC Public Health published a study titled "Breastfeeding Practices in China from 2013 to 2018: A Study from National Dynamic Tracking and Monitoring."

Among them, researchers from our country analyzed and observed data from 2013 to 2018 on "breastfeeding within 1 hour of birth" in China. It was found that the proportion of "starting breastfeeding within 1 hour of birth" in our country in 2018 was 55.84%, an increase from 44.57% in 2013.

Although almost half of newborns still fail to start breastfeeding within 1 hour of birth, the change in data from 2013 to 2018 shows that China is increasingly valuing breastfeeding.

Why is it so important to start breastfeeding as early as possible?

The earlier a newborn begins their first breastfeeding, the lower the risk of death. For breastfeeding, time is everything. Newborns placed on the mother's breast within 1 hour of birth are more likely to survive, while newborns who wait longer may experience life-threatening consequences. In our country alone, breastfeeding begins within an hour of childbirth and could avert 30,000 newborn deaths each year.

The earlier a newborn begins breastfeeding, the lower the risk of developing a common infection. Children who fail to start breastfeeding within 1 hour of birth are also at higher risk of developing common infections.

Babies are naturally prepared for breastfeeding. Newborns have a sucking reflex and are able to suck, swallow, and eat as soon as they are born. Placing a newborn on the mother's breast promotes skin-to-skin contact, and this postpartum intimacy is not only short-term, but also long-term.

Skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth regulates the body temperature of newborns while colonizing beneficial bacteria on the mother's skin. These "beneficial" bacteria can help prevent infectious diseases in infants and help build up the baby's immune system.

Sucking on the breast triggers the mother's body to release oxytocin. This is a very important hormone that stimulates milk production, thus ensuring that babies have a constant supply of food. The milk that newborns eat in the first few days of life is colostrum, which is rich in nutrients and antibodies, and is the first "vaccine" for newborns, which can protect against disease and death.

Studies have shown that extending skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth to the end of the first breastfeeding can prolong the duration of breastfeeding, increase the likelihood that babies will breastfeed in the first month of life, and also increase the chances of pure breastfeeding. Starting breastfeeding within 1 hour of birth is not easy to do, and the mother cannot do it herself. Mothers need appropriate support and guidance when adjusting their posture and feeding their children. Postpartum mother and baby are properly cared for, which not only ensures a good start to breastfeeding, but also ensures that breastfeeding is successful and sustained.

While a small percentage of mothers are unable to breastfeed for medical reasons, for most mothers, they only need the right support at the right time to ensure that breastfeeding starts as early as possible.

Breast Milk Trivia:

Colostrum, transitional milk, mature milk, pre-milk, post-milk, thin milk, thick milk?

So, what is the quality of breast milk in each period? When is the best and most nutritious period of milk? Today we will take a look at the difference between several types of breast milk?

PART1 Colostrum, mature milk

According to the postpartum time, breast milk is divided into colostrum, transitional milk, mature milk and late milk. Among them, colostrum and mature milk are the most important.

The so-called colostrum refers to the milk in the first few days after childbirth, thick and yellow, which contains less fat, and globulins, antibodies, trace elements, calcium and phosphorus, white blood cells and other immune substances are more, stronger than breast milk at other times, more resistant to disease, very important for newborn development and infection resistance. Therefore, we emphasize "early milk", that is, the earlier the milk is fed, the better. After the new mother has given birth to a child, she can start feeding the child within half an hour.

Mature milk is the milk produced from the 7th to the 9th month after childbirth, when the various components of breast milk are relatively fixed, and the ratio of protein, fat and sugar is 1:3:6.

Breast milk between colostrum and mature milk is called transitional milk, and this period is short, but at this stage breast milk has the highest fat content and gradually decreases in protein and minerals.

After 9 months, breast milk is late milk, and the content of various components in late milk has decreased, and the amount of secretion has decreased. Nevertheless, as long as the mother still has breast milk in her body, it is recommended to continue feeding until the age of 2. However, it should be noted that in order to ensure the nutrition of children, complementary foods should be added in time.

PART2 Front milk, back milk

At each feeding, according to the order of breast milk production, milk is also divided into pre-milk and post-milk. The milk that is sucked out first is called pre-milk, although it looks relatively thin, it is rich in water and protein, which also allows exclusively breastfed babies to generally not need additional water in the first 4 months of birth. The milk after the "front milk" becomes white and thicker, which is the "back milk". Back milk is rich in fat, lactose and other nutrients, which provides many calories to ensure that children will not be hungry often after eating.

Therefore, when breastfeeding, do not squeeze out the initial milk, do not feed this side for a while and then change the other side, should let the baby eat as much as possible to empty the side and then change, so as to ensure that the child intake of enough nutrition.

If you only eat pre-milk, your child will be thinner; if you only eat post-milk, you will lack water and protein.

PART3 thin milk, thick milk

Even the milk secreted from one breast may be sometimes thick and sometimes thin, which is often caused by different constitutions or different nutritional conditions. Generally speaking, if the mother usually has a balanced diet and balanced nutrition, the milk will be relatively thick, and the milk nutrition is relatively rich. If the mother's nutrition cannot keep up, the food is relatively thin, and the milk will be thinner.

Milk is diluted once or twice does not matter, if it has been like this, it may be difficult to meet the nutritional needs of children, it is recommended that parents always pay attention to whether the child's growth and development is up to standard, once nutrition can not keep up, it is necessary to add some protein-rich complementary foods.

But it is not good for the mother to be too nutritious. Big fish and meat eat too much, milk water will sometimes float a layer of oil, children eat such milk, can not digest at all, it is easy to appear "fatty diarrhea".

Therefore, new mothers can not be excessively supplemented, meat, soy products, eggs, vegetables and fruits, proportionally matched, to ensure their own nutritional intake, not picky eaters on the line. In addition, spicy, irritating foods, allergic foods, alcohol, etc., should be restricted during breastfeeding.

PART4 Breast milk preservation

If you want to save breast milk, you can only put it in the bottle, but you can't keep it in your body. The mother secretes more milk, and when the child can't drink it at once, don't think about being able to save it in the body, but should squeeze it out to save.

Otherwise, not only will the mother be uncomfortable, resulting in unobstructed breast ducts, hurting the breasts, but also making the milk less and less, and it is likely to be weaned early.

Conversely, it is much more feasible to use a breast pump to suck the milk out and put it in the refrigerator for preservation. However, it should be noted that if it is stored at room temperature, it can only be stored for 4 hours at 20-30 ° C.

To save breast milk, it is necessary to choose a sterile bottle with a screw cap, and it is best to indicate the date on which the breast milk was pumped out.

Warm it up with 40 degrees Celsius of water before drinking, but do not boil it, otherwise it will destroy nutrients. In addition, breast milk cannot be refreezed after thawing.

PART5 Disease Prevention

Breastfeeding is natural, but there are some details that need to be carefully considered, otherwise it is possible to make the nipple one of the channels for transmitting infant diseases.

●During breastfeeding, wear pure cotton clothes and avoid chemical fibers. Because the fibers that fall from the clothes may get on the nipples, block the breast canals, and affect the secretion, if the child accidentally sucks it into the mouth, it is even more dangerous.

● The temperature change of the milk should not be too obvious. When you come home from outside the house in the cold winter, you must cover it before feeding it, so as not to stimulate the child from the cold.

● Pay attention to breast cleanliness. Usually do not just enter the door to feed, go out and come back, the body will inevitably carry some dust, viruses, bacteria, therefore, first scrub the breast, change clothes and then feed, so as not to prevent the baby from accidentally eating dirty things sick.

●It is best not to breastfeed when you are sick, especially if you have a cold. You can suck the milk out first and eat it hot. However, if the fever is above 38.5 ° C, you can not breastfeed.

■ Review: Feng Shujuan

■ Co-ordination: Xueyi Jiuling

■ Editor: Zhang Yu