Know How To Prevent Nipple Confusion

Most mums may wish to exclusively breastfeed their babies, but this does not always happen. How can someone understand a mum's frustration of not being able to breastfeed not by choice but because of circumstances? The challenges of a new parent are best understood when one has actually experienced it. If you have not been in the same situation it is not easy to understand how difficult it is to bottlefeed a baby who refuses to take a bottle or to breastfeed a baby who refuses the breast. Many mums feel helpless when it comes to supplementing particularly when they do so because that's the only option they have.

A hard fact of parenting is that no one receives more unsolicited advice than new parents. They also get a good amount of criticism. And for some unexplainable reasons, many think that they know what is best for your child. This blog will discuss one of the most talked about topics of motherhood: Feeding.  The focus will be on nipple confusion-- a mum’s struggles and ways to prevent and overcome it. Lauranne, a new mum shares her experience with us.

“She was losing too much weight…”

“I had a bit of an experience with bottle feeding when I was in the hospital; when I had my little girl. I had to do some express breastfeeding cause my milk hadn’t fully come through and she was losing too much weight.”

It is normal for babies to lose some of their birth weight in the early days after delivery. They may lose between 7 and 10% of their birth weight. This they regain within two to three weeks. After which, their weight gain is up to 30 grams a day. However, if a bub fails to regain this weight within the average time this is labelled ‘failure to thrive’. This can cause serious health issues with their growth. Babies do not have the same reserve in body fat as adults. This is why establishing a good feeding routine is important.

Lauranne continues with her experience with her feeding challenges:

“She refused to go on the breast…”

“They gave me the normal bottles and teats that you would get from a hospital. She took them which was great but then she refused to go on the breast afterwards which made my job that much harder!”  

Lauranne’s first problem with feeding her daughter was remedied by supplementing with the bottle. This was important to prevent her bub from losing any more weight. However, this created another problem. Nipple confusion! What is nipple confusion?

Nipple confusion and bottle preference are viewed as a myth by some who may think that babies will suck on anything that goes in their mouths. The latter is the real myth. Nipple confusion, also called bottle preference can and does happen. It occurs when breastfed babies are given artificial nipples such as bottle teats and dummies too early after birth. The baby then learns how to suck on these with a feeding technique that makes it too hard to adjust to breastfeeding.

Lauranne did not want her breastfeeding journey to end prematurely. What did she do to solve the challenges she was having with this? She continues…

“My sister had actually told me about Minbie…”

“So, as soon as I left the hospital my sister had actually told me about Minbie.  Before she used Minbie, my sister had a lot of issues with her baby taking the bottle, as well as with going back to the breast.  I thought I had better give Minbie a crack! It was at night time and my daughter wasn’t getting enough milk at the night time feed. I was doing expressing during the day. As soon as I got Minbie teats they were a Godsend because my baby then took the bottle and went back to the breast extremely easily!”

The key to ensuring a good transition from the breast to the bottle and back is a teat that allows a baby to feed with the same latch and suction as the one used for breastfeeding. This is the way of Minbie.

Minbie stands behind mums and their breastfeeding journey. This is our objective: giving mums the freedom to do both.  Lauranne puts it this way:

“I highly recommend Minbie as a product that you should have before the baby comes. I bought the Minbie  newborn  teats and the  3 month + bundle  . I highly recommend Minbie to anyone who is thinking of doing breast and bottle feeding.”