Preparing for breastfeeding - before baby is born

The first hours and days you spend with your new baby will be very important in many ways, one of which is your experience of breastfeeding. Your birth and immediate postpartum events have much to do with how easy you and your baby settle in to nursing. An easier start to breastfeeding for both you and your baby is one of the many reasons why a natural, unmedicated birth is preferable.

Time and time again, breastfeeding educators find that babies born to Mothers who choose painkilling medications during labor have more difficulty getting baby to breastfeed. An emergency Cesarean section may be beyond your control, however, women can control to some extent the outcome of their births by doing some of the following things

·         Attend childbirth preparedness classes

Birth preparedness classes teach you that birth is a normal physiologic event in a woman’s life, not an emergency or medical event.  

Think about it: a woman’s body is just as equipped to give birth as it is to conceive and nourish a life inside its womb!

Our society promotes a medical view of birth, but many other economically and technologically advanced societies like our own do not share this view. Birth is a family event, a rite of passage and even a spiritual event.  Pregnancy and birth are not sicknesses. J

These classes also help build your confidence in your body’s ability to birth by teaching you skills you need to know to manage your labor pains and help ease you through the various stages of birth.

There are many resources including books, videos and CDs you can utilize. Here are a few:

The Pink Kit
The Pink Kit is a complete resource for childbirth education. It includes a video, book and audio portion. The video is divided into 20 minute lessons and in it you learn about your birthing body as well as how to keep relaxed and open during labor and delivery. This is a great resource for Dad and Mom to use together!

http://www.thehappybreastfeeder.com/pinkkit.html

Smart Mama’s Guide to Childbirth Choices

This book will help guide you through the process of figuring out what kind of birth experience you want and how to get it. It also shows you the difference between different childbirth philosophies and how to choose the one that fits you best.

http://www.thehappybreastfeeder.com/smartmama.html

Childbirth Preparation Classes:

Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth

There are other types of childbirth philosophies but this is one I’m familiar with. I took Bradley classes with my husband before our first child was born. The Bradley classes are very comprehensive and emphasize getting the most natural birth experience possible in a hospital setting. They also strongly recommend breastfeeding and have helpful information to help you get breastfeeding off to a good start after the birth.

I had a medication free birth with my first child, in a hospital, with almost no intervention, and I credit these classes (and my stubbornness!). We had no tearing, no episiotomy, and a healthy baby. My only caveat with the Bradley philosophy is that it recommends hospital birth for all Mothers. I had my next 3 babies at home, something I recommend for Moms who qualify for home birth, but I certainly recommend the Bradley classes if you want to have a hospital birth.

http://www.bradleybirth.com

Part 2 of this article on breastfeeding and childbirth