The “5 S’s” and Breastfeeding Success
Breastfeeding builds a wonderful bond between mothers and babies. However, that bond can be severely tested when a baby cries and cries without any clear reason. Half of all babies cry and fuss for more than 1.5 hours a day and 15% cry and fuss more than 3 hours a day (including breastfed infants).
Needless to say, this is very demoralizing to a new mother. The concern and anxiety that prolonged crying can stir up a mother can eat away at her confidence, provoke marital stress, depression and even child abuse…and it can certainly undermine her breastfeeding efforts. As Dr. Derrick Jelliffe, UCLA’s great breastfeeding proponent often said, “Breastfeeding is a confidence game.” Nothing give a new mother more confidence than being able to nurse her baby successfully AND to soothe her baby’s cries quickly.
Of course, when baby’s cry, the first step is to put the baby to the breast. If the baby settles with that, the problem is solved. However, what if that does not work? What if the baby pulls and twists and cries louder? What if crying occurs in the middle of the nursing?
Too often, these mothers start to doubt the quality (and/or quantity) of their milk. Some will seek out a doctor ’s advice and will be counseled against breastfeeding, or the baby will be misdiagnosed with disease (like acid reflux) that will lead to invasive tests and unneeded medication.
Learning how to quickly calm a baby by activating her “calming reflex” via the 5 S’s gives mothers, and fathers a giant boost in their confidence. In addition, it can immediately improve nursing success because a baby’s crying:
- Can make it difficult to latch the baby on
- Leads to stress and fatigue that can decreased milk production
- May make a mother tense and inhibit let down
- Corrodes a mother’s confidence in the quality of her milk and may push her into adopting unnecessary and severe dietary changes
- Often leads to a loss of support for breastfeeding by the father and other family members
- May trigger feelings of guilt, shame, incompetence, and even resentment toward the child
- Leads to postpartum depression which can also diminish a woman’s milk supply
The 5 S’s supports nursing by:
- Helping mothers get an extra 1-2 hours of sleep at night and feel more rested and happy
- Makes a mother feel more confident and trusting in her ability to be a good mother
- Reducing postpartum depression, which has a direct adverse effect on nursing success
- Makes dads feel more competent. This makes them want to help more and relives the burden on the mother. It also makes dads feel more bonded to their baby, and that can lead to his being more supportive of the nursing
This information is provided by: The Happiest Baby, Inc. www.thehappiestbaby.com
