Breastfeeding Your Baby

Pregnancy is naturally something that prepares a woman’s body for breastfeeding. There are important hormones that cause the breasts to enlarge and prepare the glands inside the breasts for breastfeeding. Besides this natural happening, there are other things that a mother can do to prepare her breasts for breastfeeding every day. There are techniques to harden the nipples for example and which can reduce any pain a woman might feel at first. Here are some ways to prepare your breasts:

• Use a breastfeeding bra with the openings uncovered so that your nipples rub up against your clothing.

• Pinch your nipples in between your index finger and thumb for one minute every day.

• Rub your nipples vigorously with a towel after bathing.

One thing to keep in mind though about preparing your nipples for breastfeeding is that later on in pregnancy, stimulating the nipples can cause and bring on uterine contractions. When you are near the end of your pregnancy, ask your doctor which is the best way of stimulating them. One way of avoiding this problem is just to avoid stimulating the nipple itself but rather rubbing the areola with Vaseline or with baby oil.

There are cases of women that have inverted nipples and who worry that this condition will be a problem when it comes to breastfeeding. Usually the problem can be corrected before the baby is born. Here are some techniques that might help:

• Use you thumb and index finger to retract the skin around the areola. If this does not cause the nipple to come out, hold it softly between the thumb and index, pull and keep it there for a few minutes. Do this exercise several times a day.

• There are also special plastic cups that can be placed over the nipples, which can cause the nipples to come out a little, and these can be easily found in pharmacies.

Start out by doing these techniques in short sessions during the third months of pregnancy and then work the amount of time you do it up, or you can also use the cups until you have managed to make the nipples to remain.