Breastfeeding and Bonding: Building a Strong Relationship

During the whole pregnancy one thing that keeps the mother going, despite many physical and emotional bumps, is the anticipation of meeting the baby. This gives the mother the strength and courage to overcome all her doubts, fears, anxieties, reservations and apprehensions. When the wait is finally over, it's one of the most defining and memorable moments in anyone’s entire life. After delivering the baby, the first couple of weeks are very important irrespective of whether it's your first born or forth born. Bonding develops when you care, hold, interact, touch and spend time holding the baby, making everything worth it.

In order to develop a strong bond between you and the baby, one of the best ways is to breastfeed the little one. Breastfeeding has numerous advantages for the baby and the mother, early bonding is just one of them. Breastfeed is a magic potion that nourishes the baby, boosts the immune system, lessens the chances of getting sick, is easily digested, promotes weight gain and also saves the baby from many diseases and infection in the long run as well. Breastfeeding is very beneficial for the mother in various ways as well, most importantly is subsiding her postpartum depression.

Although breastfeeding can be a very challenging, demanding and daunting task to say the least. Breastfeeding demands full commitment and dedication, as many as 53% mothers give up on breastfeeding in the first month of delivery, which was at the start a whopping 85%! Staying calm, doing all the house chores, dealing with depression, worrying about a low milk supply (which can be easily restored by lactation supplements and many other factors influence the mother to give up. But if a mother can stick to this commitment then the benefits are all worth the effort. Especially when she sees a distinct bonding is developing between the baby and her.  

How Does Breastfeeding Helps in Building a Strong Bond?

There’re a number of ways in which breastfeeding helps in strengthening the mother-baby bond. Initially the closeness with the baby provides him comfort, a sense of security and of course nourishment. When a mother nurses her child, an array of hormones naturally gets triggered in both the mother and the baby naturally. These hormones promote motherly instincts and innately an unbreakable, strong bond starts forming. Another thing that must be kept in mind that breastfeeding not only fulfils the nourishment box for the baby, the overall closeness, warmth and affection makes the baby crave you, sometimes even when they’re not hungry at all. Here are some ways which helps in creating this strong bond through breastfeeding.

Ski- to-Skin Contact

In general, we feel secured, calmed and protected when we come in a skin to skin contact with a loved one, right? Same goes for the baby, when a mother holds her nappy clad baby against her skin, wrapping just a blanket around themselves, the skin-to-skin contact made here is the foundation of a strong bond. An early skin-to-skin contact, ideally during the first hour of the delivery, helps in the secretion of hormones that triggers the baby to find your breast and start suckling on it. A skin-to-skin contact isn’t just perfect for those initial hours, in fact this works whenever the baby is cranky, agitated or disturbed. Skin-to-skin has many other benefits as well, like regulating the heart rate, stabilizing the body temperature and maintaining blood sugar levels. Skin-to-skin also acts like a natural milk supply booster which ensures a steady supply of milk.

Releases Oxytocin Hormone

Oxytocin is a potent cocktail of comforting hormones that releases during the skin-to-skin contact. This hormone is also known as cuddle chemical or love hormone as it enhances the motherly behaviour, calms the baby down, helps the mother in adjusting and accepting her new role, gives her the patience a mother is known for and also helps the mother to deal with postnatal depression. Whenever you are close to your little one, when you’re thinking about him/her, when you smell or caress him/her, this hormone activates thus intensifying the bonding.

Oxytocin is a very clever hormone; it has anti-anxiety and antidepressant qualities and it also acts as a lactation supplement or milk supply booster. The secretion of this hormone stimulates the breasts and chimes your brain for breastfeeding. Another important hormone is also released that invigorates the mother to calm her baby down, respond to his needs and give a feeling of immense pleasure and satisfaction, this is known as beta-endorphin.

Promotes Peaceful Sleep

Breastfeeding your baby binds a very strong tie between the mother and the baby which reflects in the various aspects of his life. The calming hormone that is released when the baby comes in direct contact with the mother helps the baby to have a peaceful, well-rested and deep sleep. It builds the trust between them and both find comfort and solace in that setting. Both mother-baby duo feels deeply satisfied and loved which comforts both of them, resulting in a sleep that eventually makes the baby healthier and happier.

Comforts an Irritated Baby

Breastfeeding is a great way to calm down a distressed baby who won’t get better any other way. As soon as you’ll put the little one against your breast, he/she will instantly calm down and find peace. This act builds a strong and robust bond between the two which further endorses closeness and understanding. Nursing a distraught child also helps the baby grow healthier, promotes healing and reduces his pain.

Recollection of Scent and Voice  

Another way breastfeeding helps in creating a solid bond between the mother and baby is when the little one starts to recognize his mother’s scent and voice. As the mother and baby are in such close proximity that it's inevitable for the child to not start picking the voice and scent of his mother. Over the course of time, the baby will crave for your touch and will instantly react to your calling, resulting in an unbreakable bonding.

Conclusion

Breastfeeding has a lot of advantages but the most lasting one is the special bonding between the two., which lasts a lifetime. Breastfeeding reassures the baby that he is safe and protected. Don’t give up on this opportunity so soon, I know it's overwhelming, demanding and disorienting but trust me it's all going to be worth it.