Midwife – breastfeeding consultant Ieva Girdvainienė says that women often worry about breastfeeding difficulties for too long and seek help too late.
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Breastfeeding is serious work
Many women imagine before giving birth that breastfeeding will be simple and easy, after all, it is a natural thing, but when faced with everyday life, they have to adapt to a completely new rhythm.
“A newborn needs to be fed initially no less often than every 2.5–3 hours, sometimes the baby has to be woken up to ensure the need, because it is important to ensure uninterrupted breastfeeding both day and night. But frequent contact can cause nipple sensitivity,” explains “Gandro lizdo” breastfeeding consultant I. Girdvainienė.
She points out that in the first weeks, some women find it difficult to find a comfortable breastfeeding position. After episiotomy, perineal tear, or cesarean section surgery, women find it hard to sit comfortably, so they have to breastfeed lying down. In such situations, help from relatives is often needed.
Physical fatigue is compounded by emotional stress. For some women, the hardest part is realizing that breastfeeding will require a lot of strength, patience, and family resources.
Breastfeeding is “coal miner’s or builder’s work” because it is a process that requires a lot of strength.
“The breastfeeding process is long. It starts from the first hour of the newborn’s life and, as recommended by the World Health Organization, continues for more than two years or according to the family’s needs. The most difficult period is the neonatal period, i.e., the first 28 days, while the family and baby are learning everything,” she emphasizes.
The midwife sometimes jokingly tells women that breastfeeding is “coal miner’s or builder’s work” because it really is a process that requires a lot of strength.
Pain while breastfeeding is not normal
One of the biggest problems, as I. Girdvainienė notes, is that women suffer for a long time thinking that pain while breastfeeding is normal: “If it hurts when you breastfeed, that is a bad sign. There may be increased nipple sensitivity, new sensations, but pain is a clear signal to seek help.”
She says she has noticed that help is often sought only when the situation becomes unbearable.
Another common reason why women get scared is a severely engorged breast. About the first week after birth, milk begins to be produced from colostrum, so the breasts can become hot, painful, and the skin reddens.
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“Women often get scared of mastitis – inflammation of the milk glands. However, most often at that time a change in lactation simply occurs.
In such cases, she recommends applying cold dry compresses to the breast, breastfeeding the baby frequently, and changing breastfeeding positions. If the condition does not improve within more than a day or the well-being worsens, specialists should be consulted.
How to know if the baby is getting enough milk?
One of the most common fears of mothers in the first weeks after birth is that the baby is not getting enough milk. The midwife explains that newborns are naturally restless, want frequent contact with the mother, and often ask for the breast, so women begin to think that the baby is not satisfied. However, frequent breastfeeding does not necessarily mean a lack of milk; the baby physiologically stimulates and activates lactation this way, wanting to be close to the mother.
The midwife pointed out that in the first weeks, the baby may ask for the breast more often than every two or three hours, as each newborn’s need is individual. Whether the baby is getting enough milk is assessed by weight gain, urination, and bowel movements. In the first days, newborns lose weight, but it should not decrease by more than 10% of the birth weight.
She also reminded that the first newborn stools, called meconium, later change to so-called breast milk stools. They are mustard-colored, with white granules, and the baby defecates frequently.
Advises not to rely solely on friends’ experiences
Often women look for advice on social networks, forums, or artificial intelligence chats, but according to I. Girdvainienė, this can confuse even more: “Friends’ experiences are also only their personal experiences. Still, specialists should be consulted.”
She recommends that women attend breastfeeding classes before giving birth, and after birth, first consult with midwives in the maternity hospital. Only after returning home should they check whether the maternity hospital where they gave birth has a lactation consultant office to which they can turn for help after returning home.
When it is difficult to get an appointment or there is a long wait, families look for private breastfeeding consultants who come to the home. However, the midwife emphasizes that a breastfeeding consultant should also be a medical professional: “It is not enough just to complete courses and have personal experience. A breastfeeding specialist must be a medic.”
According to the specialist, it is also important that consultations are recorded in the woman’s e-health record – this helps ensure continuous care in cooperation with the family doctor.
Funded by the State Public Health Promotion Fund (state budget) funds.
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