2: The Myths of Breastfeeding Prep
Hey, mama, today we're going to talk about the myths of breastfeeding preparation. We're going to review a couple of common myths to preparing for breastfeeding. And I'm going to tell you my number one, do a head tip for breastfeeding success. Let's jump right in. The first myth of breastfeeding preparation that I really want to dispel for as many expecting mothers as possible, is that you need to rough up your nipples. I personally received this advice from my loving mother and mother in law, and several other expecting women have reported the same information. Rough up your nipples when you get out of the shower. Use the towel. Rough them up a little bit. Get them prepared. They're going to need to toughen up for breastfeeding. Well, this isn't actually true. Fortunately, you don't have to rough up your nipples. And this is a good thing because your nipples are extra sensitive when you are pregnant, because they're preparing for the birth of your baby and getting ready to feed your baby. There's a lot of growth and development that actually happened to your breasts and your nipples and that entire system while you're pregnant. So good news: you don't need to rough up your nipples. Double good news: breastfeeding shouldn't be painful, and there's no reason to create callous nipples before you give birth because breastfeeding pain is so huge that you require this preparation. Nope, all a myth. You shouldn't have any pain in your nipples when you breastfeed, and there should be no reason to prepare them. They know exactly what to do after your baby is born. Myth number two is that you need to pre pump in order to get milk flowing and have a really, really good supply. This is actually also false. There's only a few very, very specific situations in which a mom would pump before a baby's born. And most of them have to do with relaction, not with the mother who is currently pregnant and full of progesterone. The third myth that I'd like to dispel today is that you need to be prepared to pump and store milk immediately after birth. I know this one isn't a preparation one persay, but I think it's important to say that as soon as your baby's born if you plan to exclusively breastfeed for a period of time, you don't need to introduce the pump right away. Now that we've dispelled a few myths, I want to tell you my number one tip for preparation of breastfeeding and that is to know your support person before you give birth. Hopefully, the support person is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant or Certified Lactation Counselor with lots of good experience and references. Please believe me when I tell you. You do not want to be trying to figure out who this person will be when you have a newborn baby, your sleep deprived, and something isn't going as expected. Having the person that you feel comfortable with ahead of time that you know has knowledge about your particular feeding plan is invaluable if something comes up and you need support or even just reassurance. And please don't fall into the gap of thinking that the hospital lactation consultant will be your go to person. If you give birth at a hospital, I do encourage you to let the staff know that you plan to breastfeed and have the lactation consultant come by for support. However, please understand that no matter how much they would love to support you, hospital lactation consultants are usually very, very busy with their own jobs and families and do not do community based practice. Most health insurances will cover lactation support for new moms and babies. So there you have it. There's no need to rough up your nipples or pre pump or start pumping as soon as your baby comes out. If you're planning to exclusively breastfeed initially and the best thing to do to prepare for breastfeeding is to know who your support person is that you like and trust before your baby arrives.