Breastfeeding Timing and Positions (Nursing)

00:01 So let's talk about that very first feeding, because that's really important in setting the stage for how this breastfeeding is going to happen over the course of the next hopefully months and year.

00:12 We want to encourage skin to skin contact immediately after birth.

00:16 So you remember that kangaroo care, it helps with thermoregulation.

00:20 But it also allows the baby to kind of smell that breast milk, you know, it's like pizza for me, it's so good.

00:27 There's actually a video where you can see the baby.

00:30 If you place the baby on the chest, they will over time crawl their way up to the breast and actually latch on if the birthing person hasn't received any medication.

00:40 It's really cool.

00:41 It's a natural, automatic thing.

00:45 We also want to provide support and encouragement, because breastfeeding sometimes is really challenging.

00:50 As natural as that little video I described makes it seem like it is, sometimes it takes work.

00:56 And we need to be able to support the birthing person in the family as they make this decision.

01:01 Now, we need to encourage that first feeding within the first 30 minutes.

01:05 So that's important.

01:06 So anything that we can do in our nursing care to help get the baby to the breast is going to be a priority, because this again sets the stage for what's going to happen later.

01:17 Because we also know if you remember the lecture from newborn care that the baby's gonna go to sleep and a little bit, and it's really hard to eat when you're sleepy.

01:30 We've talked about benefits and contraindications, now let's get down to the work.

01:36 Let's talk about breastfeeding positions, and how we can encourage the birthing person to get in a position that's going to optimize breastfeeding.

01:44 We're going to talk about four positions.

01:46 And you want to make sure that you can explain this to the birthing person so that you can be in a position to be helpful.

01:53 So the first position is the cradle position.

01:55 And what you'll notice about this position is that we've got the baby turned in to the birthing person.

02:00 You don't want to breastfeed like this, I think probably in movies or something like that, you might see something like this, but as you can see our baby.

02:08 And by the way, our baby needs a name can't be cleared as the fetus, because clearly this is no longer a fetus.

02:15 So if you've got a suggestion, feel free to send it to me, and maybe we'll come up with a new name for this baby.

02:20 But anyway, so we want to make sure that the baby is actually turned towards the birthing person, so that the baby's head and mouth are lined up in the appropriate position.

02:30 We want to make sure that the baby's fully supported.

02:32 If the birthing person is in a bed, you can put a pillow either behind the arm here or behind the arm over here to make sure there's support.

02:40 Because unless you're doing maybe CrossFit or doing some lifting weights, the baby can be really heavy.

02:45 In fact, my arms getting really tired right now.

02:48 But anyway, so now we're in this position here, the baby's turned, the mouth is ready right here for the breast.

02:55 And this is the cradle position.

02:58 Okay, the next position is the cross cradle.

03:01 So the cross cradle, as the name implies, we're going to move the baby over to this breast.

03:06 And instead of bringing our hands around the baby this way, we're going to hold the breast here.

03:12 And then we're going to feed the baby like this.

03:13 So you see cross cradle, still want to use lots of pillows in order to offer support them both sides, we can also use a clutch or football hold.

03:24 And as the name implies, we're going to hold the baby like we would a football.

03:28 Now I don't watch football.

03:29 So this is me guessing, but this is what it looks like.

03:32 Okay, so now we have the baby tucked behind.

03:35 And we have the mail here.

03:37 And we can breastfeed this way.

03:39 Now can you think of a time when this might be beneficial, thinking about like, "Oh, surgery that somebody might have in order to bring the baby into the world and an incision that's located in the look." You got it, a cesarean birth.

03:53 So in a situation where we have pain in the lower abdomen, this is a really great position to keep the baby off of that incision.

04:00 We can also do a sideline position.

04:03 And I can't really lie down.

04:04 So I'm going to utilize our pictures to show you this one.

04:07 So sideline works when you're breastfeeding in the middle of the night.

04:11 Or again, maybe when you're experiencing some pain from a cesarean birth.

04:15 And sometimes it's just really comfortable.

04:17 And you can adjust the position of the baby.

04:20 So you can actually lay the baby down so their feet is going the same direction as a birthing person.

04:25 Or you can flip them the other way and have their feet up by the head because maybe they're some blisters or lacerations and you want to change the direction of the suck.

04:33 So that works really well too.