Hello boobzfriends!
You're probably wondering who I am and what I'm doing here, so I'll tell you all about it.
My name is Julie, I'm nearly 30 (ouch, it hurts to write that...), I've been a midwife since June 2014 and a mum since August 2018.
I've been breastfeeding my daughter since she was born and we've been through a lot of difficulties and surprises during our breastfeeding adventure. And don't think that just because I'm a midwife, I've had an advantage over other mums - far from it!
Current WHO recommendations for breastfeedingWorld Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for breastfeeding are that babies should be exclusively breastfed until six months of age and then continue to breastfeed along with a varied diet until at least two years of age.
And yet, after six months, the breastfeeding rate in France is one of the lowest in Europe. Women are not sufficiently informed, the health professionals who accompany them are not sufficiently trained specifically in breastfeeding, and there are too few breastfeeding support structures.
So when Ma Petite Assiette asked me to write a column on breastfeeding for her blog (which is already a mine of information on infant feeding and food diversification), I said yes. To be able to pass on and inform mothers and mothers-to-be, but also those around them who have a very important role to play in the success and continuation of breastfeeding beyond the few days spent in the maternity hospital.
This column will link my theoretical knowledge and professional experience as a midwife with my personal experience as a young mother. The aim is to shed light on the different aspects of breastfeeding, the preconceived ideas that we have to face, the possible little problems that may arise and to give you some advice.
I would like to point out that I am not a certified lactation consultant IBCLCThe advice I will give you here is general and therefore cannot answer the many specific cases you may find yourself in, and in no way can this advice replace a "face-to-face" consultation with a professional trained in breastfeeding.
But this column is made for you and will be what you make of it. Of course I'll talk about some of the "must-haves" but I'd especially like to be able to answer your questions and your needs. So don't hesitate to tell me what you would like me to talk about!
See you soon and happy feeds to all!
Julie (@mamanchouke)
2 Comments. Write a new one
Good evening Claire!
First of all, thank you for your interest in this column!
To answer your question, after diversification, breastfeeding remains on demand, as it was before we started diversifying baby's diet.
So as many feeds as baby wants, and as long as he needs. Especially since at the beginning, diversification is essentially used to introduce baby to solid food, tastes, textures, smells... At the beginning, baby will only eat very small quantities. Moreover, until the age of one year, energy intake is mainly provided by milk (maternal or not) which is the main element of baby's diet and he still has to drink at least 500mL of it per day!
Normally there is no need to change anything in your habits, your lactation will adapt itself if necessary! If you have gone back to work or will go back to work, you will need to express your milk regularly of course.
Have a nice evening and good feeds!
Hello
Thank you for your review! I look forward to reading your next articles.
I would like to know how breastfeeding goes once diversification has started: how many times a day? Certzknemet 2/3 times so is the lactation enough to feed baby? Is it necessary to boost lactation once you start diversification?
Thank you for your insights
Have a nice day
Claire