Fast let down - A lot of women face the challenge of a very fast let down which causes irritation to the baby and the baby doesn't latch on very well. One of the ways that helped me with this problem was pumping some of my milk before each feeding. That way the force of the milk release does not bother the baby.
Slow let down - If you have a slow let down reflex you may be taking longer time to feed your baby. In some cases it may be as long as an hour but if you have a fast let down , you may be done within 10 minutes. Of course most of us would want to feed the baby quickly and get on to do other chores but sometimes we may not be lucky. For instance, at times for me the let-down was so slow that I was holding the baby the entire evening. But then I came to know that evening is a time when you let down automatically becomes slow so it takes more time to feed. Also in the evenings the babies have more gas and so you need to burp them often otherwise you may face a crying baby everytime you try to feed.
Causes of slow let down could be tiredness, pain, anxiety, stress, use of drugs, medications, alcohol.
Ways to improve a slow let-down
- I found that if I had rested well and had nutritious food , my let down was much much better than when I was tired and hungry. Proper rest and nutrition is very important for a nursing mother.
- Relax . Maybe watch television or hear your favorite music or better still sing a baby song or any song that your mom sung when you were a child. All of these helped me a lot.
- Visualize- Think about mothers holding their babies and cuddling them. Think about your own mom singing to you.
- Cuddle. Cuddle with your baby, give hugs and kisses while holding close.
- Undress baby to the diaper and hold close for skin to skin contact.
- Switch breasts often.
- Keep some snack and water or any other preffered liquid close by.
- Try chewing fennel seeds before you sit to nurse.
- Get good pillows for back and arm support.
- Take a warm shower
- Massage your breasts
Trying out the above mentioned techniques can be very useful to new moms.
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