Breastfeeding is back in fashion: Practical tips on the most natural food and intimate contact with your child

There is no better start in life: Birth and baby expert Vivian Weigert sensitively answers all questions about breastfeeding, offers quick help with breastfeeding problems and accompanies young parents throughout the entire breastfeeding period. Her tried and tested breastfeeding guide is now available for the first time as a paperback.

In the beginning everything is new

Breastfeeding is the most natural and, in fact, the easiest thing in the world. After birth, the baby is simply put to the breast and fed - without any preparation. But while women used to be confident in handling small babies even in their youth, today a mother who is having her first child is often holding an infant in her arms for the first time.

"Of course, everything is new at the beginning and there are new questions every day," confirms Vivian Weigert, an experienced GU and Kösel author on the topics of pregnancy, birth and babyhood. She complains that it is no longer common in our culture to pamper a mother in the first few months after birth and to let her do nothing but be there for her baby. "But that would be exactly the right thing to do now, because mothers already have their hands full just looking after the baby." Overburdening mothers is, so to speak, socially programmed today. To counteract this development and at the same time meet the need for a renaissance of natural birth, her "Companion book for a happy breastfeeding period" is now being published as a special paperback edition by Mankau Verlag.

Anticipation and sensible preparation

In the weeks before the birth, the final preparations are in full swing. It is reassuring to know that nature has already made the best possible provision for the baby's optimal nutrition. Without having to buy or prepare anything, the baby can simply be put to the breast and breastfed after the birth.

You would think that in a place where babies are born every day, everything would be set up to support breastfeeding as best as possible from the very beginning. But in hospitals, operational requirements all too often prevent this. It is quicker to give the baby a bottle than to patiently support the mother while she breastfeeds. Although studies have shown that the most common reasons for early weaning - sore nipples and insufficient milk supply - often have their origins in the hospital, false traditions persist there.

In the early days, things can easily go wrong when breastfeeding because this major adjustment phase is particularly sensitive and vulnerable. Vivian Weigert therefore recommends that you start looking after a support network before the birth and not putting it off until the postpartum period, when parents may be unexpectedly challenged in many ways: "The right support at the right time can be crucial - for a happy breastfeeding period, for a relaxed relationship, for your satisfaction with yourself and the world."

Successful arrival and correct docking

In the first hour of life, nothing in the world is more important than that mother and father can look at their child with fascination, touch it, feel it and greet it in their own spontaneous way. All they need is peace and quiet in a warm, protected room. During the first hour of its life, the newborn after a natural birth has a longer phase of quiet attention.

There are so many obvious advantages to having the baby breastfed within the first hour after birth that the WHO expressly recommends it. In the mother, early sucking leads to strong uterine contractions via hormonal messengers - this supports the detachment of the placenta and prevents unnecessary blood loss. This ensures that the recovery process runs smoothly and there is no need for medication to support these processes. Hormones also ensure that milk production starts without any problems.

It is best for mothers to take their time each time they breastfeed their baby, especially in the first few weeks. According to the breastfeeding consultant, it is normal to start over several times during a feeding, to remove the baby from the breast and then to put it back on again until everything is right and the baby is drinking well: "Very soon, you and your baby will be so used to it that you will automatically do everything that matters right."

Book tip:
Vivian Weigert: Breastfeeding. The companion book for a happy breastfeeding period. Mankau Verlag, 1st edition Sept. 2019, updated. Paperback special edition with cover flaps, 12 x 19 cm, 238 pages, 12.90 euros (D) / 13.30 euros (A), ISBN 978-3-86374-532-5.

Link recommendations:
More information about the book "Breastfeeding. The companion book for a happy breastfeeding period"
To the reading sample in PDF format
More about the author Vivian Weigert
To the Internet forum with our authors and readers