All mammals are born with responses that Mother Nature builds in to enable them to get to their food source and feed. Yet today, the way most mothers are taught to breastfeed ignores what our babies bring to the table, making early breastfeeding harder than it needs to be. It’s no wonder then that during the first week after birth, 92% of the nursing mothers in one study reported major breastfeeding challenges.
Instead of tackling individually each breastfeeding issue—latching struggles, milk supply concerns, sore nipples--what if there was a single way to address many challenges at once? That’s what Natural Breastfeeding is all about.
What are the roots of this innovative new approach to early breastfeeding? To create the Natural Breastfeeding program, obstetrician Theresa Nesbitt (“Dr. Theresa”) and I drew from the work of many: the Swedish breast-crawl researchers, UK scientist Dr. Suzanne Colson, international brain-science experts, the Prague School, and Americans Dr. Christina Smillie and Dr. Brian Palmer. When we put together these diverse-but-related puzzle pieces, what emerged was our new prenatal preparation program, Natural Breastfeeding: For an Easier Start.
Every baby is born with her own internal GPS, so baby knows where she is and what to do. If a mother knows how to activate and use her baby’s GPS, she can avoid many common early breastfeeding struggles. At the same time, Natural Breastfeeding allows a mother to relax completely, so she can nurse in comfort and rest while baby feeds. In most cases, she can even breastfeed hands free. By taking full advantage of an infant's inborn feeding behaviors, even a brand-new baby can be the active breastfeeding partner Mother Nature intended.
The Natural Breastfeeding program prepares pregnant women for breastfeeding with more than 60 short videos and 100 images of diverse women learning about and using Natural Breastfeeding. This interactive program, which mothers can access on their tablets, computers, and smartphones, is mother-friendly, jargon-free, and fun.
Amazingly, science has already weighed in on this 21st century innovation. One 2015 study found that tablet-based prenatal breastfeeding education can increase breastfeeding initiation, duration, and exclusivity. In other words, this modern, high-tech approach works and can help more mothers reach their breastfeeding goals.
Before a pregnant woman gives birth, the demonstration videos and simple exercises in the Natural Breastfeeding program make its concepts clear and integrate its moves into her body memory. Even if her birth attendants are unfamiliar with this approach, after completing this program, a mother should be able to make it work on her own.
Natural Breastfeeding is like the training wheels on a bicycle. While mother and baby are learning, it helps them avoid unnecessary pain, strain, and struggle. By making the most of what baby can do, Natural Breastfeeding helps mothers use the behaviors built in by Mother Nature to successfully feed and nurture their newborn.
Intrigued? To view some of our basic videos, see our 38-minute video on our NaturalBreastfeeding.com website HERE, go to my YouTube playlist HERE, or browse the videos on my YouTube channel HERE.
If a pregnant woman wants to prepare for breastfeeding rather than just planning to breastfeed, she can download this program at www.NaturalBreastfeeding.com.
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