Your breastfeeding baby can’t already be hungry again, can they?
Aren’t they getting enough milk?
Should you be supplementing with formula?
Mums shouldn’t worry if their baby constantly wants to suckle, experts say.
Known as cluster feeding, the behaviour is very typical in the first weeks of life, usually during growth spurts.
It serves to satisfy the baby’s milk needs – their small tummy can’t hold much at once – and stimulates lactation, i.e. the production and release of milk from the mammary glands.
Mothers shouldn’t interpret it as a sign their baby isn’t getting enough milk and stop breastfeeding in favour of formula.
Another reason for it is that the baby needs comforting.
Cluster feeding is exhausting, no doubt about it.
So every bit of relief counts, and even little things can be a big help.
The mother’s partner, friends and family members can make it as easy as possible for her by taking the baby off her hands during the short intervals between breastfeeding, for instance.
They could also bring her water to quench her thirst and nutritious snacks to boost her energy.
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If it seems the baby constantly wants to suckle for hours at a time, the mother will also benefit by settling into a comfortable, relaxing breastfeeding position with plenty of pillows for support and all necessary accessories close at hand.
How is she to know whether her baby is getting enough milk?
“If the baby sucks strongly, swallows audibly and is latched onto the breast when they signal hunger, they’re usually feeding to fullness,” says the Healthy Start Network, an information platform on pregnancy and early childhood run by Germany’s Federal Centre for Nutrition (BZfE).
“Remember, you cannot overfeed or spoil your baby by feeding them in response to their cues,” Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) says.
“Infants should be breastfed on demand – that is as often as the child wants, day and night,” the World Health Organization (WHO) advises.
Experts add that supplementing with bottle feeding, without measures to increase milk production such as breast pumping, only leads to diminished production. – dpa
