I had forgotten the feeling of a newborn latch. The last child I breastfed was three and a half and it feels very different...
I had forgotten the sweet, sensual tug of a newborn mouth. So much smaller then a toddlers. A little bit unsure but utterly determined. My baby girl latched easily, she had no drugs in her system and no separation from me, so she followed her instincts and found what she needed.
It was a pleasure for me to give her what she needed and to finally rest together after the intense hours of birthing, now separate but still one unit.
Birth is part of the continuum of life and when there is an uninterrupted thread between the birthing person and the baby, then health, safety and connection are so much easier to foster and support, for that important first breastfeed.
When a baby has been born, without interruptions or interventions to disrupt its instincts, it will automatically search for the breast, which smells like the amniotic fluid it has be used to. Its eyes can see how the areola and nipple have darkened throughout pregnancy and it will aim for that spot. It will paw and lick and nuzzle, just like a new born kitten, to encourage the mothers biology to start producing colostrum and to lay the biological foundations for long term breastfeeding.
It is an incredible process!
There are a myriad of interventions, for clear medical reasons or not, that can interrupt this thread. The most important things to keep the physiological thread supported are: keeping the mother and baby together, so they can see ear, smell and touch each other and keeping the mother and baby in skin to skin contact.
There is a huge amount of evidence that supports these simple physiologically logical steps. If you need feel you need help or support at any point on this journey then feel free to contact me.
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