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An Introduction to Biological Nurturing: New Angles on Breastfeeding
Most health professionals believe that mothers need to be taught how to breastfeed. This book describes new research evidence suggesting that mothers and babies innately know how to breastfeed, and introduces a new approach called biological nurturing. Biological nurturing is a collective term for optimal breastfeeding states and positions whose interaction release spontaneous behaviours helping mothers and babies get started with feeding. Biological nurturing is quick and easy to do. Most moms and babies automatically move into the correct positions if left on their own. The challenge for health professionals lies with understanding the releasing mechanisms and learning how to help mothers and babies do what comes naturally. This book restores confidence in nature's biological design and in mothers' innate capacity to breastfeed. Dr. Suzanne Colson is one of my heroes because her thoughtful and careful research and the conclusions she has drawn from this research have finally brought common sense into the discussion of breastfeeding. Ina May Gaskin, CNM, Ph.D., Author, Spiritual Midwifery and Ina May's Guide to Breastfeeding
135 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 8, 2011
Yes, it is worth reading a whole (small) book about one simple concept!
I found the sections on BN vs Kangaroo Care quite interesting, and a good reminder that it can be hard to control for all those variables.
On sleep: "Mothers often say that each time they put the baby down, instead of settling, he wakes up. This is not really surprising, and there are several biological explanations." "Unfortunately, when this happens, instead of understanding that continuity of normal 'habitat' has been disturbed, mothers often think that they have not got enough milk and that is why the baby is not settled. Health professionals believe that being"settled" and sleeping after a feed is an indicator of good milk transfer and satiety. Yet to my knowledge, there is no research data supporting this argument." "Babies who cry when placed in the cot after a feed are cueing. The crying behaviour rarely means that the mother has not got enough milk. The baby usually stops crying as soon as his mother picks him up. The crying cues, therefore, only mean that the newborn baby is not in the right place."
On hunger: "Independent of hunger, babies will often latch again and again in response to positional stimuli releasing feeding reflexes." "During the first days, the baby is learning how to coordinate suck and swallow with breathing for the first time. When the healthy term baby is in the right habitat, it usually does not take long to achieve reflex conditioning and physiological coordination, suggesting that this is best done before maternal milk volume increases (approximately the third postanatal day) and hunger increasingly becomes a factor."
On "interest": "...'interest in breastfeeding' is probably not the right turn of phrase. Furthermore, when health professionals suggest that the baby is 'not interested' in breastfeeding, it can undermine a mother's confidence, making her think that the baby does not like her milk or that she does not have enough. This can lead to feelings of guilt and inadequacy, which are heightened when the baby rapidly glugs the artificial milk drink in the bottle that is often given to the baby who is 'disinterested' in breastfeeding. This rapid deglutition usually has nothing to do with interest or hunger, but rather occurs because the length of the bottle teat is specifically designed to release the suck reflex. A suck then releases a swallow....He ingests the milk rapidly because the reflexes have been released, not necessarily because he is hungry or interested."
I found the sections on BN vs Kangaroo Care quite interesting, and a good reminder that it can be hard to control for all those variables.
On sleep: "Mothers often say that each time they put the baby down, instead of settling, he wakes up. This is not really surprising, and there are several biological explanations." "Unfortunately, when this happens, instead of understanding that continuity of normal 'habitat' has been disturbed, mothers often think that they have not got enough milk and that is why the baby is not settled. Health professionals believe that being"settled" and sleeping after a feed is an indicator of good milk transfer and satiety. Yet to my knowledge, there is no research data supporting this argument." "Babies who cry when placed in the cot after a feed are cueing. The crying behaviour rarely means that the mother has not got enough milk. The baby usually stops crying as soon as his mother picks him up. The crying cues, therefore, only mean that the newborn baby is not in the right place."
On hunger: "Independent of hunger, babies will often latch again and again in response to positional stimuli releasing feeding reflexes." "During the first days, the baby is learning how to coordinate suck and swallow with breathing for the first time. When the healthy term baby is in the right habitat, it usually does not take long to achieve reflex conditioning and physiological coordination, suggesting that this is best done before maternal milk volume increases (approximately the third postanatal day) and hunger increasingly becomes a factor."
On "interest": "...'interest in breastfeeding' is probably not the right turn of phrase. Furthermore, when health professionals suggest that the baby is 'not interested' in breastfeeding, it can undermine a mother's confidence, making her think that the baby does not like her milk or that she does not have enough. This can lead to feelings of guilt and inadequacy, which are heightened when the baby rapidly glugs the artificial milk drink in the bottle that is often given to the baby who is 'disinterested' in breastfeeding. This rapid deglutition usually has nothing to do with interest or hunger, but rather occurs because the length of the bottle teat is specifically designed to release the suck reflex. A suck then releases a swallow....He ingests the milk rapidly because the reflexes have been released, not necessarily because he is hungry or interested."
April 18, 2016
Eigenlijk is het echt heel erg gek om een boek te moeten lezen om meer te leren over borstvoeding geven. Borstvoeding geven zou juist iets heel natuurlijks moeten zijn, maar helaas zijn we dat best wel verleerd. We hebben tegenwoordig het gevoel dat je borstvoeding geven moet leren, maar gelukkig hoeft dat helemaal niet zo te zijn. Biological nurturing is een manier van borstvoeding geven waarbij je alle aangeboren reflexen van een kindje kunt gebruiken en tevens op een comfortabele manier kunt voeden.
Vorig jaar ben ik al naar een masterclass geweest van Suzanne Colson en heb ik genoten van de manier waarop ze kan vertellen over biological nurturing. Ik heb toen ook direct dit boek aangeschaft, maar ik had het nog altijd niet gelezen. Op een zonnige vrije middag, besloot ik dit boek maar eens op te pakken. Succesvol, want binnen enkele uurtjes was ik er doorheen.
De eerste paar hoofdstukken zijn flink doorbikkelen. Dat gaat voornamelijk over hoe en waarom ze een onderzoek is gestart. Veel informatie waarvan ik echt niet weet wat ik er mee moet en sommige delen begreep ik niet eens. Ik vond het ook heel storend dat er zoveel complete verwijzingen naar literatuur in stonden, cijfertjes met een bronnenlijst had de tekst veel overzichtelijker gemaakt.
Maar toen was ik bij de hoofdstukken waar het mij om ging. Opnieuw veel geleerd over biological nurturing en het kriebelt direct. Ik wil dit echt graag meer in de praktijk brengen!
Vorig jaar ben ik al naar een masterclass geweest van Suzanne Colson en heb ik genoten van de manier waarop ze kan vertellen over biological nurturing. Ik heb toen ook direct dit boek aangeschaft, maar ik had het nog altijd niet gelezen. Op een zonnige vrije middag, besloot ik dit boek maar eens op te pakken. Succesvol, want binnen enkele uurtjes was ik er doorheen.
De eerste paar hoofdstukken zijn flink doorbikkelen. Dat gaat voornamelijk over hoe en waarom ze een onderzoek is gestart. Veel informatie waarvan ik echt niet weet wat ik er mee moet en sommige delen begreep ik niet eens. Ik vond het ook heel storend dat er zoveel complete verwijzingen naar literatuur in stonden, cijfertjes met een bronnenlijst had de tekst veel overzichtelijker gemaakt.
Maar toen was ik bij de hoofdstukken waar het mij om ging. Opnieuw veel geleerd over biological nurturing en het kriebelt direct. Ik wil dit echt graag meer in de praktijk brengen!
March 31, 2011
These ideas have revolutionised my practice. They are deceptively simple and this book for professionals gathers together the underpinning theories and research.
I'd give the book 5 stars except that the production values were too low to communicate key points as effectively as they deserve. I could also have done without the disembodied spines sitting on a bed!
I'd give the book 5 stars except that the production values were too low to communicate key points as effectively as they deserve. I could also have done without the disembodied spines sitting on a bed!
April 10, 2012
Awesome information! It's important for women and MEN to realize the importance of the mother-baby relationship and how natural breastfeeding can be! I am amazed!
February 18, 2014
a good read
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews