All mammals have milk glands to nurse their young. But not all baby mammals nurse with the same frequency. Human babies are considered “carry mammals” because they must be held and carried a lot and need frequent access to their mothers to nurse. Human milk is composed of very low amounts of fats and protein which means our babies must nurse frequently, both day and night. It is normal and necessary to breastfeed often and around the clock.
Many complications with breastfeeding can be avoided with nursing on demand instead of restricting a baby’s feedings based on the clock. In the past, guidance around feeding was to only feed every so many hours, which coincidentally lines up with a time in our history that had some of the lowest breastfeeding rates due to mothers having low supply. Breastfeeding works on supply and demand so if milk is being removed infrequently and/or not enough in 24 hours, the milk factory will start to shut down.
If your baby is indicating an interest in nursing but someone says to you, “Didn’t he/she just eat?”, listen to your baby.
To learn more about typical nursing patterns in babies, reach out to Beholding Baby for an individual consultation, or check out some free resources on our site.
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