I do not want to breast-feed

Despite the fact that the benefits of breastfeedingis obvious, very often, for some reason or another, the woman decides for herself: "I do not want to breast-feed my baby." The reaction of others is often ambiguous. Someone supports a young mother, someone does not understand, and someone blatantly condemns. However, when making a decision to transfer a child to artificial nutrition, do not rely on the opinions of others. It is also extremely unreasonable to choose in favor of breastfeeding or artificial feeding, looking back at the experience and advice of relatives, acquaintances and even your mother. All children are absolutely unique, and what has benefited one child can seriously harm another baby. In addition, do not be afraid of the fact that if you decide to feed the baby with milk formulas, others will consider you a bad mother, or vice versa, if you give preference to breastfeeding, you will be considered a hen-hen. The only opinion that you need to listen to is the opinions of your pediatrician, who oversees the development and knows the health features of your baby. Many young mothers are frightened by terrible stories that artificially fed babies have bad teeth, weak immunity and lag behind their peers, who were breastfeeding. Of course, one can not deny the enormous benefits of mother's milk and its extremely beneficial effect on the baby's organism, however, artificial feeding is not as harmful as the opponents of milk formulas sometimes try to expose it. But despite all the arguments in favor of breastfeeding, often life circumstances develop in such a way that it is not possible to continue or even begin to feed the baby with a breast. A serious illness of the mother, her hospitalization in the hospital, the use of pharmacological drugs that are contraindicated in the lactation, the departure of the mother or her going to work - such reasons can be quite a lot. To ensure that a woman does not later regret the choice, she needs to learn as much as possible about each form of feeding. If a woman does not want to breastfeed, she should really weigh the pros and cons, and only then choose the best option for herself.

A woman does not want to breast-feed - "for" and "against"

The benefits of breastfeeding are obvious andalmost no one has long been trying to challenge this fact. In the past, stories of "bad" milk from some women left, that after a year milk has no nutritional value and other misconceptions. More and more mothers try to breastfeed as long as possible. However, artificial feeding has been going on for many years and the babies grow up healthy and full, and numerous terrible predictions of "well-wishers" remain just predictions. Below are analyzed all the positive and negative aspects of breastfeeding and artificial nutrition. First, consider the benefits of breastfeeding:

The most important advantagebreastfeeding, is an absolutely unique composition of female milk, which has not been replicated artificially at the moment. Moreover, the composition of women's milk is constantly changing, adapting to the current needs of the baby.
Breast milk is almost 100% absorbedstill immature digestive system of the child. This effect is achieved due to the protein contained in human milk (lactalbumin) and fats, ideally suited to the needs of crumbs. Protein and cow's milk fat can lead to the development of gastrointestinal disorders. In addition, the child's body does not absorb more than 60% of these substances.
Breastmilk contains much lessprotein and, importantly, sodium. And after all, as is known, it is the protein and sodium that are subjected to the kidneys kidneys the greatest load. Excessive workload can lead to very unpleasant consequences, such as pyelonephritis.
Calcium, found in human milk,is assimilated by 60% better than calcium from milk formulas, thanks to the fact that the optimal balance of calcium and phosphorus is stable in human milk. The high content of phosphorus interferes with the full absorption of calcium and can even lead to its elution from the body.
Children who are breastfeeding,are much less likely to manifest allergic reactions, since allergy to female milk is an extremely rare phenomenon. As a rule, if the child sucking his chest, and there is an allergy, then it is on those foods that used to eat mom. But when switching to the use of artificial mixtures in 2 out of 10 babies there are signs of the strongest allergy. In this situation, you can advise either to return to breastfeeding, or try hypoallergenic mixtures, based on soy or goat milk.
In infants who are breastfed,there is almost never a violation of the balance of normal intestinal microflora and, as a consequence, children are much less likely to suffer from constipation or diarrhea. Intestinal infections also belong to the extremely rare phenomenon in toddlers who are breastfeeding, since breast milk is always aseptic and absolutely sterile. Mom's milk will never spoil and will not turn sour.
In addition, thanks to mother's milk, fecesInfant rarely cause irritation to the delicate skin of the child and the occurrence of so-called "diaper" dermatitis. However, this feature applies only to those children who do not receive any additional food. As soon as the first lure is introduced into the diet, this advantage is lost.
Breastfeeding is extremely convenient and does not requireexpenses of mother's forces. The woman does not need to boil the bottle, prepare the mixture, control its temperature. Breastfeeding mother will never encounter a situation when it is necessary to stop walking just because the time has come for the baby to feed, but there is no mixture with herself.
It should be noted that the fact that breastfeeding does not require absolutely no material costs, except, perhaps, the purchase of a breast pump necessary for some women in the first month of feeding.
Breastfeeding is not only beneficial to the child, but alsopositively affects the health of a nursing woman. Sucking the baby's breasts in the first days after delivery stimulates an early reduction in the uterus, and later helps the woman to return to her former weight. The lactating woman loses about 500 grams every month, without any diets and physical exercises.

If, in spite of all these facts, the woman is allmore often thinks: "I do not want to breast-feed my baby," she will be interested to know what advantages artificial feeding gives. It's not for nothing that it is also quite popular.

Baby who gets artificial dairymixture, experiencing a feeling of hunger is much rarer than a crumb breastfed. This is explained very simply. Almost all baby food is made on the basis of dried cow's milk. Casein, which is part of cow's milk, is formed in the stomach of the baby into large lumps, which take much longer to digest, than to mother's milk.
Unlike mothers who breastfeed a baby,a woman who does not want to breastfeed, but prefers mixtures, always knows exactly how much food she ate. However, it is necessary to exercise caution and focus not on the standard food norms for a child at a certain age, but on the needs of your baby. Very often babies who are on artificial feeding are obese, as the mother, worrying that the baby is eating less than necessary, as a result, overfeeds it.
Mom, who refused to breastfeedfeeding, have much greater freedom and mobility. A woman can go shopping, go on a visit or even go on a business trip - in her absence the child can feed a dad or grandmother.
Another big, if not the most important,the advantage of artificial feeding is that the baby can be fed by the father. This allows the father to take an active part in caring for the baby from his very birth, which has a positive effect on the emotional connection between father and child.
In addition, care of crumbs can beolder children. As a rule, in those families where parents attract older parents to the feasible care of the newborn, cases of childish jealousy are much less likely. However, remember that the help should be strictly on a voluntary basis, forcing the child to do something, most likely, you will achieve the opposite effect.
A woman feeding a baby artificially hasmuch more opportunities to relax and come to life after childbirth. She does not need to get up at night to feed the baby - the child's dad can do it for her. In addition, the body of a woman does not need to spend her energy, already depleted, supplies for the production of breast milk.
If a woman does not feed her baby, she canafford to wear such clothes as she likes, and not the one in which it will be convenient to feed. Of course, a nursing mother can also afford to wear beautiful clothes, but everything has to be limited to choosing, first of all, when buying, to pay attention to whether it is possible to quickly give the baby a breasts in this clothing.
If to speak about freedom of choice, it is impossible notmention the choice of contraceptives. A woman who is not a nursing mother can afford to choose any remedy from a wide range, without worrying about how it will affect the health of the baby.
A woman who does not breastfeed does not need to follow any diet. If only a young mother does not decide to go on a diet to get rid of the excess weight gained during pregnancy.
Feeding from a bottle in public places does not cause any difficulties, my mother does not need to look for a secluded place, hidden from prying eyes, and after feeding to bring in a proper kind of clothes.
A woman who decided to give up breastfeedingfeeding, much faster can return to full-fledged sexual life. This is explained by the fact that the hormonal background of a non-nursing mother is much more quickly restored, and she does not have such symptoms that are experienced by nursing women: for example, the dryness of the vagina or spontaneous discharge of milk from the breast during sex.

How to stop lactation?

So, you have learned all the pros and cons, thought about them anddecided: "I do not want to breast-feed." However, the appearance of lactation after delivery is inevitable, and the woman faces the task of stopping her most quickly and painlessly, avoiding the appearance of mastitis. To do this, the mother must know exactly what to expect.

Even if you have never since the birth of a babyput it to the chest, on the third - the fifth day you will have milk. Unfortunately, even taking medications that suppress lactation can not prevent the appearance of milk completely.
If the milk is produced in large quantities, the breast can become hard and blush, painful sensations may appear.
However, in the absence of application of the baby to the breast, lactation will gradually be suppressed. For the disappearance of discomfort, it can take from one to two weeks.
The complete disappearance of lactation and the cessation of milk allocation when pressing on the nipple will occur about three months later.

If you do not interfere with the process of extinction of lactation andlet everything go on its own, there is a great chance that a young mother will face such an unpleasant disease as mastitis. In order to make this period as easy as possible, a woman should observe the following simple rules.

If you are determined to stop breastfeeding, you should stop lactation as soon as possible. It is most safe to do this by simulating the natural extinction of the lactation process.
It is very important to choose the right bra. On the one hand, it should not be too loose and allow the chest to hang, and on the other hand, it should not push too hard. It is very important to wear a bra constantly, without removing it even at night. This contributes to the maximum preservation of the shape of the woman's breasts. Tie the same chest in no case can not be anything, because this is the direct path to the occurrence of mastitis.
It is very important to express the excess milk regularly. A woman can express both her hands and her breast pump. However, you should pay attention to the fact that if this is your first child, then most likely you do not know how to express milk effectively, so it makes sense to purchase a breast pump in advance. In the first week of pumping may be needed often enough, on average, once every two hours. And remember - in no case can you completely express all the milk in the breast, because this will stimulate lactation and even more milk production. It is necessary to decant exactly so that the unpleasant sensation of raspiranija was gone. If you take a warm shower beforehand or make a hot compress, it will help you to drain excess milk more efficiently and quickly.
If a woman experiences severe painfulsensations, to facilitate her condition will help applying cold compresses to the breast. For these purposes, you can use ice, pre-filled in a bag and wrapped in fabric.
To ease the pain, a woman cantake paracetamol containing drugs or ibuprofen. However, before use, it is always necessary to consult your doctor, as some pain relievers can cause late postpartum bleeding.
If the woman has found an appearance in the chestseals, she also urgently needs to see a doctor, since, most likely, this is lactostasis, which can lead to purulent mastitis requiring surgical intervention.
Women can also relieve the condition of the oldfolk way. In the bra, fresh cabbage leaves need to be inserted, changing them about every two hours. A lot of women celebrated the arrival of considerable relief.
Many mothers stopped lactation helped infusionmint, parsley and sage. For its preparation, take the listed ingredients in equal parts, chop them and pour boiling water from the calculation of 100 grams of water per teaspoon of herbal mixture. Insist for an hour, then strain through gauze and drink 200 grams of infusion before each meal, but at least 5 times a day. As a rule, the effect of the infusion appears after 12 hours.

"I am a mother! And therefore right! "

In conclusion, I would like to mention somepsychological aspects of those women who tend to favor artificial feeding. If you have any doubts about the fact that you do not want to breast-feed, try to maintain a lactation for a while by expressing the milk. This will give you a chance to resume breastfeeding. If you make sure that this is not for you, you can stop lactation at any time. If you originally planned breastfeeding, but after the birth of the child it turned out that you can not feed the baby for any medical reasons, except when you are taking medications that are contraindicated in breastfeeding, try feeding the baby from a bottle with expressed milk. As a rule, in such situations the young mother is very worried. She needs help and support from her people. In addition, it may be very useful to meet with a breastfeeding consultant who will help her to understand the situation and to believe in herself. If you consciously and completely independently came to the idea: "I do not want to breast-feed," do not allow anyone to question the correctness and expediency of your position. Remember that this child is yours and only yours, you are responsible for his well-being, and it is you who know what is best for your baby. Be firm in your decision, never make excuses, and try to politely, but resolutely prevent such conversations at the root. A huge number of children have grown up, feeding on artificial mixtures. And the fact that you do not give your baby a breast does not say that you do not give him your love. We advise you to read: