What You Didn’t Know About Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is one of the most intimate, loving and memorable moments for a woman once she becomes a mother.
Breastfeeding means feeding a human being who depends exclusively on us and who is unable to provide for himself.
It means providing him with the necessary defenses against pathogens and strengthening an emotional relationship that began in the womb.
We at Siamo Mamme really like to talk to you about this topic and put emphasis on something you did not yet know about it.
Breast milk… more than a food
Breast milk is the best food a newborn can eat.
Although there are other recommended supplements, which milk intolerant children can eat or valid in cases where the mother does not produce enough milk, to date breast milk has no substitutes.
The first yellowish liquid that comes out of the breast is called colostrum and, together with milk, it has the function of immunizing the baby from the pathogens to which it is exposed once it comes out of the womb.
Furthermore, in addition to providing him with food and the necessary defenses, the action of breastfeeding a baby, protecting him and caressing him in the meantime contributes to his psychological well-being.
As good mothers that you are, you must know that emotions, both positive and negative, are also transmitted through breast milk .
If you breastfeed your baby in a quiet place where both you and him feel comfortable, you will make him happy.
If, on the other hand, you feel impatient, nervous, bothered by prying, uncomfortable glances, you will transmit the same negative impressions.
Because of this, he will cry, throw tantrums and be nervous during the time he should rest between feeds.
What you didn’t know about breastfeeding
So far we have agreed that breastfeeding means dedication, responsibility and, most of all, love.
And it is precisely to love that we wanted to arrive.
Did you know that the hormone that makes you love your baby so much is also responsible for leaking milk from your breasts?
Oxytocin: the molecule of love and breastfeeding
That’s right, oxytocin is nothing more than the molecule of love, as well as among those responsible for the affection you feel for your little one, even before you know him.
It is a hormone that also plays a fundamental role in the stimulation of the milk ducts of the breasts, whenever the baby needs to feed.
Below, we explain what happens.
Oxytocin and maternal love
When a woman is close to giving birth, her brain increases the production of oxytocin.
This hormone makes the love you feel for your baby grow stronger as the days go by.
During childbirth, the mother’s brain continues to produce a large amount of oxytocin and this causes the maternal instinct to increase immediately after birth.
It is the high levels of oxytocin that guarantee that love at first sight that soon overshadows pain, fatigue and any other state that does not concern affection, protection, attachment and love towards the newborn.
Oxytocin and milk
During suckling, the baby causes a nerve stimulus in the mother that reaches the brain, which leads to the segregation of oxytocin.
The hormone travels through the blood vessels to reach the breast, where the stimulated muscle cells cause the breast tissue to contract and the glands begin to secrete milk.
Due to the countless times in which the stimulus to feed occurs, this mechanism becomes a real reflex: for some mothers it is enough to hear their baby cry to make the milk come out.
While it is not common, for some women, it is enough for some women to watch pictures of babies on television or hear them cry on the street for the stimulation of milk production.
Dear moms, breastfeeding is a unique time in your life.
As the years pass and you see other mothers breastfeeding their babies, you will think longingly of those good times you spent with your “brats”.
So enjoy this authentic gift of nature and live every minute as if it were your last.
Sure you already knew that this is the best way to live life in general, but we always like to remember it.
