Milky Touch Lactation Clinic

21/04/2023

03/05/2022

Feeding #

•Dr.Ravina Kadam(Lactation Consultant @ Milky Touch Lactation Hub,Pune)

• It is back to back nursing sessions that your newborn can demand every 20 mins to 2 hrs.
•These feeds one after another & help mother to boost milk supply.
• The best time to encourage a cluster feeding is between 4pm to bedtime that's help your baby sleeps at night.
• When you give your sweet little baby series of quick milky meals every 1-2 hrs ,they load your baby's system with calories to keep him/her well stocked with nutrition through the night.
• If your baby starts crying 60 mins after after a feeding, first calm her, see how your baby acts, if he/she is opening him/her mouth & searching for a ni**le, give a little more milk.
• Can cluster feeding cause stomach pain ? - Give cluster feeding as a try & you will see that a baby with a full tummy is usually a happy baby.
• Is a solution to walking less often in middle of the night.

14/04/2021

BEING A FATHER.......

By DR. RAVINA KADAM( General Pediatrician & Lactation Consultant)

The birth of a baby is also the birth of ‘new parents’. The arrival of the little one rings the bells of ‘responsibility’. This very often overwhelms the new parents. The mother is looked upon as the primary caregiver of the newborn as she takes over the most important responsibility of breastfeeding.

Many mothers may have a bumpy start and face multiple issues with breastfeeding. This brings down their confidence and makes them feel inefficient. Research has shown that support from their partner in these circumstances, have helped the mothers overcome their depression and guilt.

Gone are those days when fathers believed that baby care is not their responsibility. I am glad to see the change over the last decade. I now see fathers not only accompanying their partners to my lactation clinic but they are also actively engaged in understanding the breastfeeding related problem and how they can be of any help. This involvement shown by the fathers makes the mothers feel more confident. Most of the fathers appreciate the efforts taken by their partners in continuing breastfeeding in spite of all odds. This definitely boosts up the mother’s confidence and she is ready to take up the challenge. It also definitely improves the relationship between the husband and the wife.

Fathers take down the details of all the suggestions given during the consultation. They actively volunteer to take up the responsibility of baby care so as to ease down the mother’s responsibility. Of course, they too love to share some quality time with their little one and this must be encouraged. Being with the mother during the act of breastfeeding and making her comfortable surely helps to increase the breastfeeding rate in the long run.

It is interesting to know that, fathers too undergo hormonal and neurobiological changes during this baby care. The more they care, the more are the changes and the more responsible fathers they become. I believe, fathers should be given this opportunity, to let them be connected with their baby by getting involved in activities like diaper change, burping the little one, putting her off to sleep, baby massage and even bathing the baby. Let us not underestimate their potential.

08/02/2021

HOW TO STORE EXPRESSED BREAST MILK.

BY DR.RAVINA KADAM (General Pediatrician & Lactation Consultant) Touch Lactation Hub...

•Use breast milk storage bags or clean food-grade containers with tight fitting lids made of glass or plastic to store expressed breast milk.

•Never store breast milk in disposable bottle liners or plastic bags that are not intended for storing breast milk.

•Freshly expressed or pumped milk can be stored:
o At room temperature for up to 4 hours.
o In the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
o In the freezer for about 6 months is best; up to 12 months is acceptable but not desirable.

•Clearly label the breast milk with the date it was expressed.

•Do not store breast milk in the door of the refrigerator or freezer. This will help protect the breast milk from temperature changes from the door opening and closing.

•If you don’t think you will use freshly expressed breast milk within 4 days, freeze it right away. This will help to protect the quality of the breast milk.

•Freeze breast milk in small amounts of 2 to 4 ounces (or the amount that will be offered at one feeding) to avoid wasting breast milk that might not be finished.

•When freezing breast milk, leave about an inch of space at the top of the container because breast milk expands as it freezes.

•Breast milk can be stored in an insulated cooler bag with frozen ice packs for up to 24 hours when you are traveling. Once you arrive at your destination, milk should be used right away, stored in the refrigerator, or frozen.

09/01/2021

IS IT A GOOD IDEA TO EXPRESS SOME BREAST MILK BEFORE THE BIRTH OF YOUR BABY ?

BY Dr. Ravina Kadam(Lactation Consultant) Touch Lactation Hub & D.Y.Patil Medical College Pune...

You may wonder, why would a woman express her breast milk, even before her baby is born? Well there a few situations in which this can be helpful.

Very often, after the baby is born, many hospitals do not attempt to immediately breastfeed the baby. The standard idea is to give some formula milk first, so that the mother can REST (?). This spoils the mother’s plan to exclusively breastfeed her little one. In such circumstances, she can provide antenatally expressed breast milk, which can be used instead of formula milk. Later she can resume direct breastfeeding.

Babies born to diabetic mothers, may have a tendency to develop low blood sugar levels .Hence, they are intensely monitored for the first few hours and may be given formula milk to prevent episodes of hypoglycaemia (i.e. low blood sugar level). Such mothers should surely have expressed milk with them, when they reach the hospital for delivery
Also, in some unexpected medical situations, the mother and the baby may be temporarily separated for a few hours. Here again, the expressed breast milk can substitute the formula.

A woman starts producing colostrum (i.e. the first milk) in her breasts, right from the 16th week of pregnancy. This milk however, does not leak out of the breast till the baby is born. This is because of the inhibitory effects of the placental hormones. So, it this colostrum which she can express manually (not use a breast pump) . This can be started about a week prior to the expected due date.

She can express once or twice a day after a hot shower and breast massage. Milk will spurt out as tiny droplets which can be collected in sterile 2 cc syringes. She can store the syringes in the freezer compartment and carry them all to the hospital, when she leaves for her delivery.
😃
WHERE THERE IS A WILL, THERE IS A WAY!

15/12/2020

•GROWTH SPRUT•

Dr. Ravina Kadam
General Pediatrician &
Lactation Consultant
Touch Lactation Hub...

Most babies go through several growth spurts (also called frequency days) during the first 12 months.
•What is a growth spurt?
During a growth spurt, breastfed babies nurse more often than usual (sometimes as often as every hour) and often act fussier than usual.

The increase in baby’s milk intake during growth spurts is temporary. In exclusively breastfed babies, milk intake increases quickly during the first few weeks of life, then stays about the same between one and six months. As solids are gradually introduced after six months, baby’s milk intake will gradually decrease.

Physical growth is not the only reason that babies may have a temporary need for increased nursing. Babies often exhibit the same type of behavior (increased nursing with or without increased fussiness) when they are working on developmental advances such as rolling over, crawling, walking or talking. Mom’s milk is for growing the brain as well as the body!

•When do babies have growth spurts?
Common times for growth spurts are during the first few days at home and around 7-10 days, 2-3 weeks, 4-6 weeks, 3 months, 4 months, 6 months and 9 months (more or less). Babies don’t read calendars, however, so your baby may do things differently.

Growth spurts don’t stop after the first year – most moms notice growth spurts every few months during the toddler years and periodically thereafter on through the teenage years.

•How long do growth spurts last?
Growth spurts usually last 2-3 days, but sometimes last a week or so.

•What is the best way to handle a growth spurt?
Follow your child’s lead. Baby will automatically get more milk by nursing more frequently, and your milk supply will increase due to the increased nursing. It is not necessary (or advised) to supplement your baby with formula or expressed milk during a growth spurt. Supplementing (and/or scheduling feeds) interferes with the natural supply and demand of milk production and will prevent your body from getting the message to make more milk during the growth spurt.

Some nursing moms feel more hungry or thirsty when baby is going through a growth spurt. Listen to your body — you may need to eat or drink more during the time that baby is nursing more often.

30/11/2020

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23/11/2020

Milky Touch Lactation Hub..

DR. RAVINA KADAM

Ouch. These pain-in-the-boobs are no joke! They’re generally caused by fat molecules sticking together and clogging the milk duct. They can feel like a hard hm painful lump in one spot of the breast, leaving mama a sensitive and inflamed duct. Left to their own devices, they can result in mastitis — an infection of the milk duct — which generally needs antibiotics to help resolve.

Clogged milk ducts are most common in women with oversupplies or very fatty milk, but anyone can get a clogged duct.

Thankfully, there are things you can do at home to help your body pass a clog, and things to prevent them if you get them often.

There are so many ways to treat a clogged duct. Here are a few of the most effective. It is generally best to use as many as you can in conjunction with each other!

1) Heat. A hot shower, warm compress... Heat will help your sphincter muscles relax, and help the clog be as malleable as possible.

2) Massage. Hand massage, electric tooth brush, lactation massagers... this breaks up the fat, and also helps to relax sphincter muscles.

3) Suction. Baby, pump, or partner. It may help to “dangle” feed or pump, using gravity to help your body release a clog.

4) Epsom Salts. Use a silicone pump or bowl with warm water and Epsom salts to help draw out a clog.

Preventing future clogs:
- good breastfeeding management. Don’t neglect expressing your milk, but don’t cause yourself an oversupply.

Have you ever had a clogged duct? What helped you?
touch lactation clinic...

28/10/2020

WHAT DOES A BREASTFEEDING MOTHER NEED TO DO TO PRODUCE ADEQUATE BREAST MILK FOR HER BABY?

BY DR. RAVINA KADAM (LACTATION CONSULTANT)

One needs to understand that nature is kind enough to give adequate breast milk in the initial 2 weeks, to almost all nursing mothers. It depends on how we respond to this signal, so as to continue getting adequate breast milk even later.

It’s a demand and supply policy. The key is-KEEP YOUR BREASTS EMPTY by either nursing on demand or if for any reason the baby cannot do the job, then by using a breast pump. The more the breast stays empty; it gives more signals to your body to produce more milk. So avoid getting episodes of engorgements. If you feel the breasts are getting heavy but the baby is refusing to nurse, then express out some milk to reduce your discomfort.

Some mother may get the fullness in their breast every 2-3 hourly and some may get it even 5-6 hourly. It can vary from mother to mother and is absolutely normal. As you keep doing this over a period of few weeks your lactation hormones start responding better to these signals and keep producing sufficient quantity of breast milk.