Comfort nursing is often noticed during the initial days after the birth. Many doctors’ advice mothers against such a practice and to limit the duration of the feeds. But there are also practitioners and experts who believe that comfort suckling is as important for the baby as it is to breastfeed.
Just like breastfeeding helps your baby to get all the vital nutrients and food, comfort suckling helps your baby to receive all the emotional support needed to feel secure out of the womb. Here are reasons why comfort suckling is as important as quenching your baby’s hunger.
It helps the baby to trust and interact: You might sometimes notice your baby suckling on his little fingers. This indicates his need to suckle. If you have already fed your baby and still notice this suckling offer a feed again. Because suckling a mother’s skin rather than his own little fingers would provide your baby with the trust that the mother is always there to check on his needs. Responding to such a need also helps your baby to interact well with you from a very early age.
It helps to initiates bonding: Idle sucking is not all that bad. It helps in more skin to skin contact with the mother and the baby and hence helps to bond better. This in turn also helps in better breastfeeding and boasts immunity. But if idle suckling really bothers you try putting your baby in a sling. Being close to you will lower your baby’s anxiety levels and help lessen the need for comfort suckling. That’s also why a breast crawl helps an infant to connect with the mother. Read to know how a breast crawl helps.
It helps the baby to relax: Studies have shown that comfort suckling decreases the baby’s heart rate and helps him to relax and calm down. An important aspect in the baby’s well-being.
It helps in facial development: Though this can be achieved by breastfeeding alone, but more suckling at the breast helps in better mouth and jaw development.
It helps the baby to sleep well: It is very common that mothers find it easier to put the baby to sleep feeding a little longer than required. It is also a comfort factor for babies to feel asleep at the breast. Though nighttime feeding isn’t a good idea, but comfort suckling can help babies lull into sleep during those initial days when sleep cycle is not established in a baby. Know the perils of prolonged night time feed.
Even though comfort suckling might be tiring and time consuming for the mother but it definitely has hidden benefits. Don’t be tempted to use a pacifier to do the job for you. In this way you would be missing on the bonding time with your baby and this could probably make your baby take less feed from the breast. So allow your little one to suckle with all the joy and know this would pass as you start on the process of weaning.
Also read:
- How to counter diaper rashes
- 10 ways to keep your baby’s eyes safe
- A new mums guide to bond with the new born
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- Is your baby teething? Here’s what you should expect
- Try these tips to put your baby to sleep
- 5 reasons why crying is good for your baby
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