Saturday, April 21, 2007

Pacifiers-مصاصة


Yesterday someone emailed us a question about pacifiers and what I thought of them.. I coached women breastfeeding for few years now and its one of the most frequent concerns, so this is not the first time I answer this question.. in fact I love answering it! Its one of those questions that I never get tired of answering! So here is my answer everybody!
Pacifiers!
Q: My baby is breastfeeding all the time my nipples are sore!! I need a break! Can I use a pacifier?!?
A: Babies are born with an intense need to suck. Its natural for a baby to suck and suck and suck some more.. Babies not only suck for food but they suck for comfort too.. And the truth is there is no more satisfying pacifier than mommy's breast!
Research shows that mothers who use pacifiers do not have a happy breastfeeding experience in fact they all tend to wean their babies off the breast before 3 months of age! Sucking on a pacifier will interfere with the balance between your milk's supply and ur baby's needs.
Happy breastfed babies are less willing to accept a pacifier especially if the mommy avoided offering one in the first 3 months of babies life. Mothers who r in tune with their baby and his/her needs will not offer pacifiers and will happily offer the breast when the baby asks.
Sucking is an important way for a baby to settle him/herself when stress, fears, or tiredness threaten to overwhelm his emotional resources. Lots of one-year olds in Kuwait walk around with pacifiers in their mouths, how lucky ur baby is to do his comfort sucking at ur breast which has a comforting person attached to it!
Babies needs extra sucking when they r sick, during an illness breastfeeding mommy's really appreciate being able to comfort their baby at the breast, it’s a natural pain killer so when a child is feeling under the weather he may nurse more frequently than usual and as long as he is nursing he will not be dehydrated!
So, your baby maybe sucking because he/she is tired or over stimulated or afraid of something... (Babies nurse after nightmares for example). However if ur sore nipples need a "break" u can use ur finger as a pacifier (not recommended for less than 3 months old )
All baby's sucking should be at the breast! For comfort as well as food! Avoiding supplemental bottles and pacifiers will help u breastfeed successfully! Pacifiers (and bottle feeding) also cause nipple confusion for the baby, you will make it harder for him/her to suck correctly when its time to feed!
Pacifiers keep babies from nursing frequently enough to gain weight and then u will think u need to feed him formula to gain weight quickly, this unhealthy weight gain lowers his immunity making him sick all the time! Starting bottle feeding is the end of a happy breastfeeding experience, its also the beginning of a distressing journey with a depressed baby who will suffer from colic, constipation, low immunity, rashes, tummy aches, slow learning, ..etc
It's also the first lie u tell to ur baby! Sucking will send a msg to the stomach signaling that food is on the way! im not okay with lying to my children in anyway.
I think every breastfeeding mommy gets offended when she sees another mother sticking an ugly tasteless plastic nipple in her baby's mouth, you want ur baby to learn to seek comfort from people not plastic... Pacifiers do not and can not replace a mother.
So.. if ur nipples are sore , u can put some of ur milk on them and allow to air dry every time u nurse... u also need to learn the correct latch on technique to avoid sore nipples.. a baby should never suck on the nipple alone but he/she should take as much as possible from the areola.
Other ways u can comfort a breastfed baby:
1. Put him in his trolley and go for a walk! Or just around the house!
2. Baby wearing is a popular method world wide, use a natural sling ( modern carriers hurt baby's hips and very uncomfortable for the baby.)
3. babies love being touch and a baby massage is a great way to bond with ur baby!
4. have a nice warm bath with ur baby.
and remember, ur child is a baby for such a short time! he/she will grow out of it in no time! so enjoy it while it lasts!
المصاصة.. هل استخدامها لتهدئة طفلي يضره؟
سئلت أمس عن ما نسميه بالكويتي الفصيح المصاصة ، و لاني اعمل كمدربة رضاعة طبيعية لم تكن هذة المرة الاولى التي أسئل فيها عن هذا الموضوع الخطير، و لخطورة المصاصة على الطفل و الام و لتأثيرها السلبي على الرضاعة الطبيعية و لتأثيرها على العلاقة بين الام و الطفل.. لا أمل ابدا من الاجابة على هذا السؤال!
الياهل ينولد مع غريزة المص عشان يتغذى على حليب امه ، و طبعا يستخدم هذة الغريزة ليس فقط للتغذية بل ليستمد من امه الحنان و الاطمئنان كما يعمل صدر امه كمخدر للالم فنرى الطفل يلتصق بامه عند التعب او الخوف او المرض.
تثبت لنا الدراسات ان عند استخدام المصاصة يتشوش الطفل و لا يستطيع ان يتكيف مع تغييرالشكل و الحجم و الملمس و الطعم فلا تنجح الام في اعادته لصدرها و تضطر ان تفطمه قبل ان تسفيد من قربها و حليبها الاستفادة المرجوة.. و بصراحة لم ارى تجربة واحدة ناجحة لام تحاول ان تجمع بين الرضاعة الطبيعية و استخدام المصاصة فقطعة البلاستيك القبيحة سخيفة الطعم تخرب قدرة الطفل على المص من صدر امه مما يجعله يمص بطريقة مؤلمة للام .. كما ان هذا الاسلوب من المص لا يسمح لحليب كافي بالخروج مما يجعل الطفل يبكي فتعتقد الام ان حليبها غير كافي فتركض للحليب المركب ( و هنا تبدأ سلسلة من العذاب فيبكي الطفل من اّلام البطن و الصداع و اّلام العضلات و المفاصل و يزيد وزنه بطريقة غير صحية و يصيبه الامساك و الامراض الجلدية و تضعف مناعته بطريقة رهيبة الخ)
المصاصة هي اول كذبة و اول خطوة لهدم الثقة بين الطفل و امه، المص يبعث رسالة للمعدة بان هناك طعام قادم!
طبعا عندما تفهم و تدرس الام اهمية الرضاعة الطبيعية فيكون هدفها الاساسي هو اعطاء طفلها كل الصحة و السعادة الموجودة في حليبها.. فقط هذة الام تستطيع الابتعاد عن المصاصة بل تكرها و تمقتها لانها تتعارض مع مفهوم التربية الطبيعية و فطرة و غريزة أمومتها.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

1.ghair enna el massasa waskha o etlawwe3 el chabd
2. etkharreb el throos o shakel-hum.
3. yet3awwad 3laiha el yahil o telgain yahil sentain wella thalaath sneen mashee ma3a umma bel mujamma3 eb 7alja massasa shakla eyfashel!

o mashkoora 7abibti 3ala el blog!