If you plan to return to work after your baby is born, you can still enjoy a happy and successful nursing experience. Your baby will benefit from whatever time you spend breastfeeding, as he...

The special closeness that breastfeeding provides will be particularly important if you deliver by cesarean section. Since you will not have experienced the physical sensations of birth, nursing will afford you the intimate contact...

Your baby’s unique personality or his condition at birth may affect your nursing relationship. Remember that every baby is an individual and that no baby “goes by the book.” Meet his individual needs and...

Sometimes problems arise in connection with nursing, but you will be able to easily remedy them if you are properly prepared. Nipple Soreness Figure 11.2 The proper positioning of the baby’s mouth on the...

Women have been breastfeeding successfully for centuries. You can use the experiences of others to help make breastfeeding go more smoothly for you. This section offers some suggestions to make your experience easier. During...

Within the breasts are grapelike clusters called alveoli in which milk is produced under the influence of the hormone prolactin. (See Figure 11.1) The milk travels from these alveoli through lactiferous ducts until it...

Researchers have documented the many advantages that breastfeeding offers to both mother and baby. First, and most important, breastmilk is the ideal food for an infant. Each species of mammal produces milk especially suited...

Nursing is a natural continuation of the birth process because it completes the maternity cycle. Just as you nourished your baby prior to birth with nutrients from within your body, you continue to supply...