Factors influencing breast-feeding

Factors influencing breast-feeding:

1.     Milk producing reflex is influenced by the psychology of the mother.

2.     Confidence of the mother about her ability for lactation stimulates the milk production.

3.     Love and affection of the mother for her baby, through the close contact, develop a psychological bond between the mother and the baby.

4.     Frequent feeding stimulates the production and ejection reflex.

5.     Feeding habits and technique are important to improve the close contact, positioning, comfort, and regulate the demand for feeding.

6.     Social factors such as not feeding the colostrum, delays the first sucking of the baby, thus, affects the milk production.

7.     The diet of the mother containing extra proteins and calcium is necessary. Pregnancy during the early lactation period affects the lactation.

8.     Faulty sucking and the weak baby may cause inadequate stimulation. If the baby does not have sucking reflex, the express milk can be fed by tube feeding method. In case where mother' s milk is not available for some reason, the milk may be obtained from the substitute mother or a milk bank.

9.     The value of the human milk is very high and cannot be substituted.

10.                        If in any situation, it is not possible to obtain breast milk, cow milk may be used.

11.                        Sometime because of saturated fats in the cow milk, neonates cannot digest and absorb it.