Bottle Feeding and Breast feeding Tips

The experience of breast feeding means more than just supplying a small person's stomach with needed nourishment. The smell and taste, the cuddling and warmth, the sight of her face and the sound of her voice all build up the concept of Mother in the baby's brain. Similarly, he will build up a mental image of Dad - a different, but also very important and loving person. 

Mothers sometimes worry in case their baby won't get enough milk. One of the attractions of bottle feeding is that you can see how much has gone down the small throat. There is more scientific evidence each year that 'breast is best', and most mothers can feed their babies successfully and enjoy doing so.

It is worth weighing the baby each week at first, to have the reassurance that he is in fact sucking as much as he needs., and it is very important for mothers to have enough sleep, drink plenty of water, fruit juice, or milk, and be as relaxed and happy as possible.

If is for some reason you to bottle feed your baby, you will find detailed directions on the container of the powdered formula. Health visitor or midwives are also available to advise about feeding and other management matters. Whether the feed is from the breast or the bottle, feed times should be happy, peaceful times, and the bottle-fed baby should receive the same sort of cuddling and attention as if he were breast fed.

A feed should not usually last more than 15-20 minutes. If the baby was not very hungry this time, he will probably take a bigger feed next time. Although rigid schedules for feeding three hourly or four hourly are not advised, most babies  settle in the first few weeks into a pattern of feeding  and sleeping which fits more or less with their parents' lifestyle.

A breast fedd baby's stool are usually bright yellow, but the new modified milk babyfeed  formulas may cause stools of a greyish or greenish color.  The number of times a day that baby opens his bowels is another thing each mother will get to know. Some babies dirty their nappy with every feed; others may only produce a motion three times a week. Longer than three days between motions may cause the stool to be hard and painful when it is passed. If this happens to your baby, ask your doctor or health visitor to advise you.

Child Safety At Home

In Europe fifteen times more children die from accidents than from infectious diseases.

Child safety is recognized as a major problem.

Danger begins in the first weeks of life. Even a baby's ability to turn over opens up the possibility of a fall and resultant injury, even - to be melodramatic - suffocation. But it is so easy for safety-conscious parents to reduce the the dangers by maintaining a watchful eye on their baby and keeping its close environment free from any possible danger. Every mother seems to have a sixth-sense regarding these matters. However, she can be even more alert if she trains her eye, is prepared for any possible danger and works to eliminate the source of danger.

Cot Safety

For the first few months, the cot is the child's limited living area. An accident-proof cot is therefore vital. The best kind is one which is sufficiently large, stable - though portable, with wooden bars and adjustable sides.

The vertical bars must be at least forty centimeters high and should be at the most seven and a half centimeters apart, so that the baby is unable to force his head through. A light, firm mattress is important so as not to interfere with the development of bone structure.

Soft, thick, large pillows should not be placed in a cot as the child could suffocate. It is better to use a flat, horse-hair pillow or a soft nappy placed under the child and pulled taut. If the baby needs a feather pillow in winter, it should be fastened with a lip or a ribbon.

Sheets should be tucked firmly under the mattress or carefully tied, to prevent any possibility of the child child becoming tangled up in them.

Safety within the child's reach

Items of baby clothing which could become wrapped around the child , should be taken from the cot. It is important to remove everything from a child's reach that could swallowed  or might cause injury. Toys should be large and light, without corners or edges. Babies' toys made from natural rubber (latex) have been proved acceptable in tests, and can safely be put in the mouth.

Buttons, marbles, small bricks or coins are a genuine source of danger during the 'oral phase' of a child's development, when it puts everything into its mouth to try it out. Such things should not be placed within the child's reach.

Playpens and prams

The sides of most playpens are made with netting or bars. Netting which is too coarse and in which buttons could get caught is dangerous. So that the child does not injure himself, the width of the mesh - according to safety specifications - should be no more than four and a half  centimeters. In the case of bars, there should be no more than seven and a half centimeters between them. When buying a playpen, check that there are no sharp edges or corners and that the surface is smooth. The playpen's stability and rigidity can easily be tested by shaking it firmly.

There is a safety standard for prams. Only prams conforming to this standard should be bought.

Look out for the following points:

• Has the pram got a brake which can be left on?
• Is the carriage safe against involuntary collapse?
• When the pram is folded up, does the handlebar go well over the child's head?
• Check that the pram does not easily tip up.
• A basket under the carriage is not only practical, but also improves stability.

The Role of the Father During Pregnancy

Most ante-natal classes include fathers for some or all of the sessions, including an evening when films on childbirth are shown. Fathers are encouraged to take on active interest in the pregnancy and by support and help, to participate in the labour and delivery to the extent the couple wish.

This includes being present for the birth of the child in most cases. The parents-to-be are usually also invited to visit the labor and delivery rooms prior to the woman's admission into hospital. 

The attitude and support of the father does much to encourage good bonding between mother and child and this forms the basis of  a good stable family unit.

Ante-natal classes are open to couples or women on their own and involve discussions on parenthood, plus relaxation and breathing exercises, based on psychoprophylaxis, to make birth as painless as possible and to reduce the need for painkillers. However, the medical profession recognises that some women will still need some form of pain relief from drugs.

National Health Systems have acquired the reputation of making birth as natural as possible and also provide good support for the mother following the birth, especially with briest feeding. They also publish a series of useful booklets.

Home deliveries are generally discouraged because of the risks to mother and baby of an unpredictable emergency. Most births take place in a hospital where adequate emergency and resuscitation facilities are available for both mother and baby - the mother returning to her own home with the baby a few hours or days after the births to the continuing care of the midwife or health visitor.

French obstetricians Leboyer and Michel Odent have both done much to revolutionize women's thinking on childbirth and in particular in the area of the positions and atmosphere in which they want to give birth. Leboyer advocates birth without violence, the child being delivered in a quiet and semi darkened  atmosphere and then placed in warm water so that the transfer from the womb to the outside environment is less traumautic to the infant and gradual adjustment can take place.

Dr Michel Odent has found popularity with those women who want to be able to choose the position they find easiest and most natural for labor and delivery.

It is hoped that all pregnant women, certainly those expecting their first child, will take advantage of the facilities available to them so that they can be adequately prepared physically and mentally for the reality they will meet, thus achieving a satisfactory experience of childbirth.