"Night Feeds" - The words itself makes many mothers tired!

                      However babies tend to sleep for full night ever since they are 6 weeks old, they wake up for every two or three hours to fill up their tummy.( If your baby is older than two months and still is not sleeping for full night, read this article which could help you). Night Feeds are unavoidable till their first birthday. There are few things that has to be taken care of while feeding the babies during the night.
                    My Gynecologist is a very 'take it light' person which has also helped me handle my pregnancy in a better way. When I went for a check up post delivery, she warned me not to give the night feeds by lying on bed and she also said that if I do so I may risk my son's life. Since this was the only condition she had told me for all those nine months of pregnancy, I strongly made a determination not to do that at any cost, without analyzing much on it. But why did she say so? Isn't feeding like that would keep the baby as well as the mother undisturbed from sleep?

               Even during the night the baby should be fed in the correct position and has to be put on shoulders and gently tap the back until he burps and then has to be put back to sleep.

• When both the baby and the mother has gone back to sleep without checking whether the baby has burped, it may cause reflux in babies and sometimes even the baby tends to vomit.
• The latching cannot be made properly leading to 'no proper flow of milk'. The baby's tummy doesn't gets filled and also the left over milk may cause Breast Engorgement for the mother.
• Above all, unknowingly the mother's breast may press the baby's face leading to suffocation. It's quite natural to sleep for both the mother and the baby while feeding because the secretion of milk itself gives a very relaxed feeling leading to drowsiness. This is was the reason why my Gynecologists warned me not to feed by lying in bed especially during the night.

        (  Couple of years back I read a news in which a women found her three months old daughter died in the morning and also she said that she fed her baby just two hours back and that she don't know what happened in that two hours time. The news also told that the Doctors have confirmed that the baby has died out of inability to breathe. )

So its something serious to think about and change!!

Click here to know more about breast feeding.

Have a Happy Parenting

Reader's suggestions and experiences are highly appreciable for the benefit of other mothers.