All mammals have mammary glands in the area of the underside of the body. Only elephants and humans have paired glands located in the breast area. They produce milk in varying amounts of fat (depending on nutritional status) and thus can function in different ways to promote health and nutrition. The distance between the birth canal in the vaginal area and the breast is about two body lengths of the baby, and ideally should be bridged by the baby itself using the instictive Breast Crawl.
What is breast crawling?
After the birthing process, the baby will take its first drag. Since this can be painful, it will begin to cry. Then it will open its eyes and gather its first impressions of light. After about ten minutes, it will look at the breast and recognize it. Reflexes now make the baby react. Saliva begins to flow and it starts to make searching movements of both the head and the legs. The lips search the mother’s skin surface with oscillating movements of the head. The fingers begin to grasp and claw and are akin to those pumping movements that baby animals use to stimulate their mother’s milk line so that the milk shoots into the tissues. At the same time, the legs try to push the body forward. The knees and toes, as well as the inner edge of the foot, push against the mother’s abdominal wall. This over-the-chest crawling, or breast crawling, is the first stage of breastfeeding. If the mother gives the baby time to find the breast on its own and latch on in the beginning, it will work much more quickly and easily in the time that follows, giving both mother and baby a higher level of satisfaction from their relationship. It is best for the mother to lie back in a semi-sitting position with the baby skin-to-skin on her belly. The baby is already familiar with this position from birth, when its body exerted a certain beneficial pressure (also with regard to the afterbirth) on the mother. The baby can approach the areola horizontally, without having to overcome gravity. Vibrations of the abdominal wall and the mother’s voice, as well as breathing movements, heartbeats and, above all, the warmth and smell of the skin accompany the baby on its way up along its mother. If the baby is given time to bring about the contact itself, to process all the impressions and to reach the destination at its own speed, the breathing rate and heartbeat will remain calmer and the togetherness will be more pleasant.
Function and task
During the breast crawl, which can last one to two hours immediately after birth, the first feeling of hunger occurs. The circulatory system realizes that the supply of nutrients from the umbilical cord is missing. When drinking, the oral cavity, esophagus and stomach come into contact with food for the first time. Similar to breathing, unfamiliar sensations up to and including pain may occur. The baby lies in an advantageous position on its stomach below the breasts and is stroked on the bottom and feet to initiate the search reflex. If the breast was grasped correctly and there is no vehement pain, the baby does not need to be moved any further. Otherwise, the head should be regulated a little. Above all, the nose should not press against the breast, as this could cause the baby to tire too quickly during sucking if it has to take a constant, energy-sapping breath. Both haptic and visual stimuli have guided the baby to the breast. Now it looks for a comfortable head position so that it can continue to drink with pleasure. Ideally, the head falls outward from the breast and can be supported by the mother’s upper arm. Only after a few times of sucking does the baby’s swallowing reflex also set in. If the baby starts to gasp or stops swallowing, he should be given a rest. Every 2 to 3 hours, the infant can be offered the opportunity to drink.
Diseases and ailments
To prevent ailments, the mother can take some measures. Every mother will drink enough to keep her own circulation stable. Breastfeeding children show a high resistance to gastrointestinal diseases and to respiratory diseases. Kidneys work better, wound healing progresses faster, and children with congenital heart defects get relief from nutritious milk. While an oversupply of milk is easier to handle, it could be frozen, a mother with too little milk quickly reaches her limits.In these cases, either a regular massage of the breasts can help, increased sucking of the child or, in the last consequence, various additional foods. If the mother was given anesthetics at birth, the infant will not be able to start breast crawling until later and will search for longer. However, bonding with the mother during this phase should not be interrupted. Weighing and measuring should be done later, because the environmental distractions are masses anyway. So it is nice when nothing interferes with the first touch, the first contact.
