Swimming babies

Event of the month

Breastfeeding

So you have decided to breastfeed. A wonderful, heartwarming adventure awaits you.
More and more women are choosing to breastfeed their babies (52.5 % in 2002 compared to 47 % in 1981, in France).

However, France is still lagging behind the northern European countries which are always at the top of the list (just over 95 % of Finnish or Norwegian women breastfeed their babies after leaving the maternity ward)
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends breastfeeding for as long as possible (if you can, until the child is six months old). The advantages of this means of feeding are also extensively covered during antenatal classes.

Breastfeeding will, of course, enable you to build a very close mother-child relationship with your baby. During feeding, a real bond is created between you and your baby as the months go by. After the adaptation period, which lasts around 5-6 days, breastfeeding your baby will be a source of real joy.
Above all, breast milk is, incontestably, the best food during the first months of life.

This means of feeding brings a number of advantages for the health of your child:

1. Breast milk perfectly fulfils your baby´s nutritional requirements. It contains all the nutrients that a newborn needs: proteins, fat, sugar, minerals. It is a complete and perfectly balanced food that boosts your child´s development.
2. Breast milk is more easily digested than cow´s milk.
3. It is a food that contains protective elements which will help your baby to defend itself more effectively against infections and germs. What´s more, as it requires no handling, breast milk is perfectly sterile and therefore free of harmful germs (which could cause infection
4. Breast milk limits the risks of allergies. Newborns (until the age of 3 months) do not have a mature enough intestinal barrier, and are therefore more sensitive to foreign proteins introduced by bottle feeding (cow’s milk) making them more susceptible to allergies to cow´s milk proteins.
5. In practical terms, breast feeding is economical (a packet of formula costs €15 to €22), and reduces practical chores such as sterilisation.
6. The contractions caused by breastfeeding help the mother´s womb to readopt its initial position, and in the long term, help reduce the risk of breast cancer.

A few tips to help you get started:

It is important for your child to latch onto the breast quickly (this is quite possible in the delivery room if baby seeks your breast!).). It is during the first hours of your newborn’s life that the suckling and swallowing reflexes are strongest.

The milk produced in the early days, called colostrum, is a real concentration of antibodies. If you don´t want to keep breastfeeding for long, try at least to give your newborn his first few feeds at your breast.

The important thing is to feel comfortable with your choice, and never to feel guilty about it. Whatever happens, your decision will be made with love and that’s what matters most for your baby!

For more tips on breastfeeding from our site, go to our "Wellbeing tips" section in the Breastfeeding range.

TIGEX - a complete baby product range (breast feeding, bottle feeding, nipples, tableware, ...) for the comfort of your baby and its parents. ALLEGRE PUERICULTURE - 41, Rue Edouard Martel - B.P 197 - 42 013 SAINT-ETIENNE cedex2 - FRANCE - Tel : +33 4 77 81 81 81 - Fax : +33 4 77 81 81 85