Gill Rapley, MSc. Demand feeding Cue-led feeding Needs-led feeding.

What does ‘baby-led feeding’ really mean?

Gill Rapley, MSc

Demand feeding

Cue-led feeding

Needs-led feeding

Some definitions

Ensures customised milk production and respects baby’s innate appetite control

Prevents complications for the mother

Cuts out the guesswork

BUT: the emphasis is still on the baby’s nutritional needs

Why breastfeed this way?

Demand feeding

Cue-led feeding

Needs-led feeding

Baby-led feeding

Responsive feeding

Some definitions

New book!

Breastfeeding works best when it’s:

Frequent

Effective

Exclusive

on Demand

Skin to skin (in the early weeks)

Breastfeeding = FEEDS

The first breastfeed

Positioning and attachment

Demand / cue / needs-led feeding

Baby-led weaning (solid foods)

Child-led weaning (off the breast)

Baby-led breastfeeding encompasses:

Who does the feeding?

Mothers don’t breastfeed – babies do!

The mother provides the opportunity – the baby

does the rest

They have innate reflexes and instincts to:

locate the breast

use their head, arms and

legs to orientate themselves

and adjust their body position

root, attach effectively,

and suckle

Babies are capable beings

Babies’ innate abilities ...

... are triggered or enhanced by skin-to-

skin contact and a laid-back maternal

position

They need the freedom to experiment

and time to practise, to get it right

Mother and baby

fine-tune the

mechanics of

breastfeeding

between them –

with the baby

leading

The “mother-baby dance”(Christina Smillie)

Babies haven’t read the books – they are very adaptable when it comes to positions

for feeding!

Choosing to breastfeed

Initiating breastfeeding

Sustaining breastfeeding

Incorporating other foods

Deciding when to stop

Babies are quite capable of:

... provided they are given the opportunity

“There are only a very few mothers who cannot breastfeed – but there are many who are not enabled to”

(Belinda Phipps, CEO, NCT)

Enabling breastfeeding

There are only a very few babies who cannot breastfeed – but there are many who are not enabled to

Culture

Technology

Expectations

Why doesn’t it happen?

Family

Friends and peers

Health professionals

Media – advertising

Media – impressions of ‘normal’

What (or who) gets in the way?

A hard life ...

Support at home?

... but they were happy

Peer support

Networking

a pram/buggy

Parenting tools

a playpen

Did Wilma have ...

A hospital birth? Skin contact? Nursery care?

Input from health professionals?

Advice from parenting ‘gurus’?

Concerns about spoiling the baby, or being used as a dummy?

A safety pin, to help her remember which breast to use first?

Formula and bottles?

A full-time paid job

A multi-function car seat

A baby monitor / CCTV

A mobile phone – with apps

Facebook & Twitter

A BabyNes

21st century parenting

To breastfeed unaided soon after birth (before anything else happens)

To touch and smell their mothers, as well as hear and see them, 24/7

To feel warm and safe, day and nightTo be able to feed easily, whenever and

wherever they wantTo be understood and responded to without

having to cry

Babies’ expectations(whatever the century)

Recognise babies’ innate abilitiesUnderstand how to facilitate (and recognise)

effective feedingGet to know all our babies’ signals, not just

the feeding cuesFocus on using breastfeeding to comfort

and calm – nutrition will take care of itselfHave a ‘babymoon’

Becoming baby-led

Shut out the 21st century; surround yourself with real supporters

Listen for your instincts – and follow themKeep your baby close, day and nightGet to know his signals, and what he

needs to do to breastfeedExperiment with different ways to hold himTake every opportunity to ‘sit down for a

rest’ – with your baby, skin to skin

Having a ‘babymoon’

D AD

The father’s role

“Hospital routines should not be

deemed as more important than

parents for babies’ wellbeing;

parents should only ever be denied access

to their baby on occasions where it is

judged to be in the baby’s best interest.”

(UNICEF UK BFI guidance, 2012)

Baby-led care in the NNU

We can support mothers to:have a babymoonhold their baby whenever, and for as long

as, they wishkeep their baby close – day and nightdiscover how to help their baby to feed

himself at the breastoffer the breast for comfort (and food)

Supporting baby-led breastfeeding

Babies are vulnerable, but they aren’t incapable – or passive

They can be trusted to know what they need and how to get it

Being baby-led makes breastfeeding – and parenting – easier

Pass it on ...

Yabba

Yabba

dabba

DOO!

Thank you

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