As a Certified Breastfeeding Counselor (CBC) your role is to help families with typical breastfeeding initiation and reaching their personal feeding goals. While breastfeeding is sometimes wonderful, it can also be taxing. As a CBC you can help your clients enjoy breastfeeding.
Rather than waiting until a client is overwhelmed, these tips given early into the breastfeeding journey can help create a positive association with feeding. Most importantly, however, you can remind breastfeeding families it is perfectly okay to not enjoy every feed or aspect of breastfeeding.
Here are five tips to help clients enjoy breastfeeding:
#1: Reframe Thinking About Breastfeeding
Unfortunately, many of us in western culture have grown up with the idea that life is about speed and convenience. It is easy to think in terms of how much time breastfeeding can take. However, when we reframe our thinking about feeding, it can help us remain positive.
Rather than thinking, “it takes so much time to breastfeed!” one can think, “how wonderful I get to spend time being still and feeding by baby.”
One mistake new parents make is being too active and too busy. They often rush to get back to typical activity levels without allowing for adequate postpartum healing. In some ways, breastfeeding is nature’s way of forcing a bit of stillness throughout the day.
Another way to reframe it, if a parent is feeling like they’re wasting time (due to arbitrary expectations by those around them), is to think about how much they accomplish by breastfeeding. Remind parents that when they are providing their baby with breast milk they are:
- Providing baby’s nutrition – they are literally producing and making all their baby needs for a full feed
- Helping their baby develop their immune system
- Supporting closeness and bonding
- Aiding in healthy oral development
- Providing positive sensory integration
Just to name a few things. The hours spent feeding throughout the day are never wasted.
#2: Encourage Parents To Have An Activity To Enjoy Breastfeeding
The early days of breastfeeding can be exhausting. Having a book, a show, a craft, etc. to do during long feedings can help create a positive association with feeding. As a CBC, you can help reassure parents that it is okay to multitask.
Parents might read how important it is to use feeding time for bonding. While it is true, parents should engage and interact with their babies, it’s important they have realistic expectations about doing so. One example you could use is that while it is nice to have a formal dinner by candle light, it would be exhausted to expect someone to prepare such a meal three times a day, plus multiple snacks, every single day for months or years on end.
In the same way, some breastfeeding sessions are gazing into baby’s eyes. Other sessions are while browsing a phone, reading a book, or crocheting.
#3: Rest And Relax During Breastfeeding Sessions
Encourage parents to use feeding time to rest and relax. Help clients learn to feed safely in the side-lying position. They can physically rest while meeting their baby’s needs. Remind parents never to sleep side-lying in an unsafe situation, such as on the couch. However, they can otherwise rest and relax anywhere while feeding.
Encourage parents to couple rest with something they find relaxing. Perhaps a book, music, or even enjoying a nice dessert at the end of a long day.
#4: Use Skin-to-Skin While Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding releases oxytocin, a feel-good hormone. Skin-to-skin, whether feeding or not, also releases oxytocin.
Doing lots of skin-to-skin while feeding can help boost oxytocin and lower stress hormones. Skin-to-skin is also great for milk supply. If a lower supply or growth spurt is contributing to the frequent feeds this might help baby eventually give longer stretches between feeds.
While feeding and meeting the needs of a young baby can be stressful, nature provides natural hormones to reduce stress.
#5: Teach Parents About Babywearing
Wearing baby can be an excellent way to make breastfeeding more enjoyable. Though it takes some time and practice, being able to breastfeed in a carrier means being able to multitask during feeds. Baby hungry in the middle of dinner? A new parent can feed in carrier while enjoying their meal with two hands.
They can also find it easier to complete errands, go for a walk, and do nearly any task while feeding. This can make breastfeeding more enjoyable by helping someone feel less “tied down” during every feed of the day.