Breastfeeding problems
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Last reviewed: May 2018
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Breastfeeding problems | Australian Breastfeeding Association
Common breastfeeding questions: enough milk, too much milk, expressing - Raising Children NetworkCommon breastfeeding questions: challenges, getting help - Raising Children Network
Read more on Australian Breastfeeding Association website
Breastfeeding problems and solutions | Raising Children Network
Solutions to breastfeeding problems such as sore nipples, not enough milk, too much milk, sore breasts, engorgement, mastitis, baby not feeding, biting and returning to work.
Read more on Raising Children Network website
Common breastfeeding problems
Read more on Pregnancy, Birth & Baby website
Nutrition, breastfeeding and bottle-feeding for newborn babies | Raising Children Network
An in-a-nutshell guide to newborn nutrition, which gives parents the basics on breastfeeding or bottle-feeding a newborn baby, including information on breastfeeding problems and solutions and supplementary feeding.
Read more on Raising Children Network website
Oversupply of breastmilk and engorgement | Raising Children Network
Breastfeeding mums can have an oversupply of breastmilk, which might lead to breast engorgement. Read practical tips to manage these breastfeeding problems.
Read more on Raising Children Network website
Personal story: postnatal depression
This video details a woman's personal story of postnatal depression after having not having the birth she had planned and breastfeeding problems.
Read more on Pregnancy, Birth & Baby website
Attachment to the breast | Australian Breastfeeding Association
A baby who attaches well to the breast can help prevent many breastfeeding problems. The well-attached baby causes no nipple pain and drains the breast well. This helps ensure a good milk supply so the baby grows well. In this article you can find out how to attach your baby well using different techniques and holds, including baby-led attachment, the cradle hold, the underarm (football) hold and lying down.
Read more on Australian Breastfeeding Association website
Breastfeeding
Some mums may have problems such as sore, cracked or bleeding nipples, breast engorgement, oversupply, low supply, reflux and mastitis (blocked milk ducts).
Read more on Pregnancy, Birth & Baby website
Sore nipples, mastitis & blocked milk duct | Raising Children Network
Breastfeeding isnt always easy. Some mums have problems with sore nipples, mastitis or a blocked milk duct. Heres how to sort out these problems.
Read more on Raising Children Network website
Breast refusal and baby biting breast | Raising Children Network
Breastfeeding isnt always easy. Some mums have problems with baby breast refusal or baby biting breast. Heres how to sort out these problems.
Read more on Raising Children Network website
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Support for breastfeeding mothers | Cochrane
The World Health Organization recommends that infants should be exclusively breastfed until six months of age with breastfeeding continuing as an important part of the infants diet till at least two years of age. This is because there is extensive evidence on the short-term and long-term health risks of not breastfeeding for both infants and their mothers. Many mothers stop breastfeeding before they want to as a result of problems, many of which are preventable with good care and support. This premature discontinuation may cause disappointment and distress for the mothers and health problems for both themselves and their infants. Support for breastfeeding can include giving reassurance, praise, information, and the opportunity to discuss and to respond to a mothers questions. This review looked at whether providing extra support for breastfeeding mothers, from professionals or from trained lay people or both, would help mothers to continue to breastfeed when compared with providing standard maternity care. The review found 52 randomised controlled studies from 21 countries that included more than 56,000 women. All forms of extra support, analysed together, showed an increase in the length of time women continued to breastfeed and the length of time women breastfed without introducing any other types of liquids or foods. Support by both lay supporters and professionals had a positive impact on breastfeeding outcomes. Face-to-face support was associated with a larger treatment effect than telephone support. Support that is only offered if women seek help is unlikely to be effective. This indicates that women should be offered predictable, scheduled, ongoing visits. Interventions providing extra support had a more pronounced effect when background rates of breastfeeding initiation were high. Women's views about support interventions were not well reported in these studies. Support should be tailored to the setting and the needs of the population group. Further research is needed to identify the aspects of support that are the most effective.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Breast examination during pregnancy for promoting breastfeeding | Cochrane
The rationale for breast examination during pregnancy is to determine whether any problems with breastfeeding can be anticipated and to use the opportunity for the healthcare provider and pregnant woman to discuss breastfeeding. Examination by a healthcare provider is recommended in some countries. Breast examination can also be performed by the pregnant woman herself. Furthermore, breast examination during pregnancy has been recommended as a screening method for breast cancer, although no evidence has been found to support breast examination by a doctor, nurse or the woman as a primary screening technique for breast cancer. A womans breasts are often tender and swollen during pregnancy. This makes examination difficult and potentially compounds a woman's feelings of discomfort or vulnerability. Some women may find a clinical breast examination during pregnancy intrusive, and identification of flat or inverted nipples may actually act as a deterrent to breastfeeding. No randomised controlled trials were identified to guide a decision on whether antenatal breast examination promotes breastfeeding. Ideally, policies that govern the care of pregnant women should be evidence based and impact on any disease outcomes.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding | Cochrane
Exclusive breastfeeding for six months (versus three to four months, with continued mixed breastfeeding thereafter) reduces gastrointestinal infection and helps the mother lose weight and prevent pregnancy but has no long-term impact on allergic disease, growth, obesity, cognitive ability, or behaviour.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Interventions for encouraging women to start breastfeeding | Cochrane
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Annual Report of the Advisory Panel on the Marketing in Australia of Infant Formula
The Panel monitors compliance with the Marketing in Australia of Infant Formula: Manufacturers and Importers Agreement 1992 (MAIF Agreement). The aim of the MAIF Agreement is to help ensure safe and adequate nutrition for infants, by the protection and promotion of breastfeeding.
Read more on Department of Health website
Drugs in breastfeeding | Issue 5 | Volume 38 | Australian Prescriber
Most commonly used drugs are relatively safe for breastfed babies. The dose received via milk is generally small and much less than the known safe doses of...
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Antipsychotic drugs for non-affective psychosis during pregnancy and postpartum | Cochrane
Women who suffer with psychotic conditions who become pregnant are usually treated with antipsychotic drugs. The risks of harm to the offspring associated with exposure to these drugs, in utero or through breast-feeding, are unknown. We aimed to find good quality evidence from randomised controlled trials on the risks and benefits of antipsychotic drugs during pregnancy and breastfeeding for both the woman and the foetus/infant. We found none. Ethical constraints concerning randomisation of treatment for pregnant and breastfeeding women, the logistics of such a study and a lack of impetus from the pharmaceutical industry in this area may explain the lack of research. However, the continued use of antipsychotic drugs in these women during pregnancy and lactation without sound evidence raises serious clinical and ethical concerns.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid supplements for mothers who breastfeed | Cochrane
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid supplements for mothers who breast feed | Cochrane
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Drugs affecting milk supply during lactation | Australian Prescriber
Which drugs can be useful in improving the milk supply during lactation when non-drug approaches don't work and what are the potential side effects?
Read more on Australian Prescriber website
