Breastfeeding 101

How Well Do You Know the Basics of the Breast?

By Heather Johnson Durocher

Determined to give your baby the best, you've chosen to try breastfeeding. As you await your little one's arrival, you may be reading up on nursing and chatting with friends and family who've "been there, done that." You may even be taking a class to learn the basics. Now try our quiz to discover how prepared you are for the first few weeks of breastfeeding. With a little luck, all the information you've been gathering and this quiz will help you build the nursing relationship you are hoping for.

1. True or False: A new mother's milk will come in shortly after birth.

2. True or False: Monitoring the number of wet diapers is a good way of knowing whether a newborn is eating enough.

3. True or False: Proper positioning helps eliminate many cases of sore nipples.

4. True or False: Nursing a baby "on demand" will spoil him.

5. True or False: If you no longer feel full, you probably aren't producing enough milk for your baby.

1. False. When your baby is breastfed early and often, your breasts will begin producing mature milk around the third or fourth day after birth. Until then, however, your baby receives all that she needs from colostrum, the first milk your breasts produce in the early days of breastfeeding.

This special milk is low in fat and high in carbohydrates, protein and antibodies to help keep your baby healthy. It is extremely easy to digest and is therefore the perfect first food for your baby. It is low in volume but high in concentrated nutrition for the newborn.

Colostrum has a laxative effect on the baby, helping him pass his early stools, which aids in the excretion of excess bilirubin and helps prevent jaundice.

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• Talk about it!