One of the biggest aims of All Things Breastfeeding is to provide trustworthy breastfeeding information and advice, specifically aimed at South African moms. We know that our systems – our healthcare system, workplace environments and social networks – are not always breastfeeding friendly, despite everyone proclaiming that breast is best.
We hope to compensate in some small way for this by providing information content that moms can use to help them cope with their breastfeeding challenges. And its not all about challenges; breastfeeding can be a beautiful experience that you can celebrate and enjoy!
Enjoy reading, and do let us know if you have a topic that you would like to read more about.
Most new moms experience some breastfeeding challenges in the first few weeks. Getting the latch right and understanding your baby’s feeding cues can take time. Even after the initial hurdles, you may still find yourself wondering: Is my baby getting enough milk? Is it normal to feed this often? Why is baby so restless or fussy? Is my milk nutritious enough? Should my baby be sleeping better by now? It’s no surprise that many moms start doubting themselves or even[...]
“I’ve never felt that terrible before,” is something many breastfeeding mothers say after experiencing mastitis. Mastitis refers to inflammation of the breast tissue and can cause pain, warmth, swelling, and redness. It often affects one breast but may occur in both. In 2022, the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine released an updated protocol that changed how professionals understand and treat mastitis and related breast complications. This article forms part of our series on Engorgement, Mastitis, and Breast Tissue Complications. Please follow[...]
Few moms will search for ‘breast oedema’, or even be interested in it, so I assume your reached this page via our features on engorgement and mastitis. If so, you are probably not feeling great right now. Occasionally full, sore breasts in the early days may be caused by too much fluid in the breasts, and not by too much milk. This is called breast oedema, or swelling. It is most likely to happen if mom received lot of intravenous[...]
In 2022 the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Brought out a new protocol, Clinical Protocol #36, on managing the mastitis spectrum. This protocol has replaced previous ones and completely changed how we look at engorgement, mastitis and other breast tissue complications like breast abscesses and plugged ducts. Please note that this is part of our series on ‘ The Updated Protocols on Engorgement, Mastitis and Breast Tissue Complications’. Please click here to visit the main article in the series, which will[...]
Hand expressing is a worthwhile skill for any mom to learn. Note though, that like most other skills it is something that you develop. Many mothers try once or twice and then decide that this is not working, while meanwhile they just needed to practice a bit more. For that matter, this is also the case when using a breast pump. Hand expressing is especially useful under these circumstances: Engorgement and mastitis often responds better to hand expressing than to[...]
