"Remember that your small effort can make a huge difference in the lives of babies that struggle for survival."
Michelle (breastmilk donor) - Cape Town
"Having had a baby almost 8 weeks early myself, it meant a lot to help other prem babies, without milk from their moms, by donating milk to Milk Matters, a very special organisation that is very close to my heart."
Michelle S. (breastmilk donor) - Greenpoint
"I express and freeze my milk for donation as there is no better feeling than knowing we are helping other moms and babies."
Andrea (breastmilk donor) - Cape Town
"I have cherished the opportunity to donate milk to a worthy cause."
Chloe (breastmilk donor) - Kreupelbosch
Your Newborn Baby Breastfeeding Tips
General Breastfeeding Tips
Preparing for your Baby's Birth
Potential Breastfeeding Problems
Where to go for support
Your Newborn Baby
- Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC)
- Skin to Skin Care
- Self Attachment
- Dr Nils Bergman
- Kangaroo Father Care (KFC)
- Trusting your instincts
Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC)
The outdated practice of separating mothers and their babies has changed in many hospitals. Rooming-in, even bedding-in is now practiced in many hospitals eager to encourage and support breastfeeding. If your instinct says "I want to keep my baby with me" ensure that you find a hospital that is up to date with proven best practice. Research indicates that spending the first few hours with your baby skin to skin (in KMC) has numerous advantages for both you and your baby:
Skin to Skin Care (KMC)
Skin to Skin Care offers a gentle welcome into this world, minimising the stress for your baby (separation is hugely stressful for a newborn baby), encourages his suckling instincts which are strongest in the first few hours, bonding, temperature control, stable respiration and heart rate, more successful breastfeeding and the list goes on and on. It is how we were meant to be.
Self Attachment
On the other hand, the vast majority of these children are not breastfed. The conclusion being that more babies are dying when not breastfed than those dying due to HIV/ AIDS. It is true that a baby can contract HIV through breastmilk but he can also contract HIV before and during birth.
Healthy newborn babies, who have not been separated and whose mothers have not had pain relief during labour, are able to crawl to the breast from the mother's abdomen and start breastfeeding all by themselves. This process may take 50 min or longer, but for mothers and babies this is a precious time where they start to learn about each other. Babies who "self-attach" run into far fewer breastfeeding problems. This skin to skin contact will also help keep your baby warm.
Dr Nils Bergman
Dr Bergman who specializes in and researches Kangaroo Mother Care in South Africa says:
"The very best environment for a baby to grow and thrive, is the mother's body". "When placed skin-to-skin on the mother's chest, the baby receives warmth, protection and food, and its brain can develop optimally. Not feeding the baby often enough and leaving it to sleep alone after a feed can result in the baby getting colic", he adds. "The mother's skin is the baby's natural environment, and both physically and emotionally the healthiest place for the baby to be".
Kangaroo Father Care (KFC):
Remember to also allow Dad the opportunity to enjoy that special skin to skin connection with his newborn baby. Dad's too are able offer there babies warmth, security and safety. KFC offers a unique opportunity to foster the special relationship between a father and his newborn baby.
Trusting Your Instincts
In some hospitals, it is not unusual to have a doctor or nurse tells you that you must rest and want to put your baby in the nursery while you do so. If your instinct says "no", don't be bullied into doing it.
