Breastfeeding support
During your first week postpartum, our maternity nurse will help you feed your baby as best as she can. Annual education and training gives her all the skills and smart tips she needs. She will take the time to answer your questions and support you so that you and your baby can enjoy breastfeeding together.
If you have specific issues, she can also consult with Isis Kraamzorg’s Breastfeeding Coaches and Lactation Consultants.
Our maternity nurses all own their own pumping kit. As a client, you have the option to rent or buy a pump and to buy another breastfeeding aid. You can do this through the Atermes customer portal. You will have received login details for this portal when you registered as a client. If you want to rent or buy a pump or buy another breastfeeding aid, your maternity nurse will be able to help you with this.
Isis Kraamzorg is WHO certified
Isis Maternity Care holds the Global Breastfeeding Scorecard issued by the World Health Organisation. This certificate is official recognition of years of experience in supporting mothers who choose to breastfeed.
Breastfeeding Coaches and Lactation Consultants
Isis Kraamzorg has maternity nurses who are also trained as Breastfeeding Coaches. A coach will help answer all your questions about breastfeeding, plays a signalling role and can refer you to your GP, midwife or our Lactation Consultants if necessary. For advice on pain, breast infections and problems getting the baby to latch on, you can contact our Lactation Consultant.
Support from Lactation Consultants
If you are unsure or experiencing problems while breastfeeding, you can contact one of our Lactation Consultants. You can request this support during pregnancy or during or after your postpartum period.
This support could be in the form of a one-off telephone appointment or a video appointment. Video appointments involve video calls, photos and videos in addition to telephone contact. You then have the option to contact the Lactation Consultant by telephone or email on your own initiative up to and including 12 weeks after the birth.
Rates
Telephone appointment: €35.00
Video appointment: €75.00
Reimbursement by your health insurer
Many health insurers reimburse lactation counselling through supplementary insurance. Ask your own health insurer about reimbursement options for lactation counselling if this is something you are interested in. Our Lactation Consultants are all certified by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners. They are therefore entitled to use the IBCLC title and they are also members of the Dutch Association of Lactation Consultants (NVL) professional association.
For more information, please contact our Customer Service team. You can contact the Lactation Consultant by email: lactatiekundige@isiskraamzorg.nl
Tips for breastfeeding
Feeding on demand
Feeding on demand means that you start feeding every time your baby asks for it – you respond to your baby’s hunger signals. Your baby can drink as often and as long as he or she needs to.
Sometimes, your baby will ask for several feeds in quick succession. This is called ‘cluster feeding’. You can simply give in to this. After a cluster feed, your baby will probably fall into a deep sleep and will often sleep for longer stretches. Sometimes, your baby may suddenly want to drink more often. We call these ‘regulation days’ and they often coincide with growth spurts. Simply give in to this and you will meet your baby’s needs.
Problems with feeds are often caused by your baby not being allowed to drink well or often enough. As a result, your baby may not grow as well and may even lose weight. Your baby may also experience discomfort if their stomach is too full or too empty. By watching your baby closely and learning to pick up on and interpret the signals, you will develop a feeding pattern and rhythm that suits you together.
Latching on
While breastfeeding, it’s important that you’re in a relaxed position. When latching on, your baby should lie at nipple height, ‘tummy-to-tummy’. He or she latches onto your nipple and a large part of the areola while drinking. While your baby is drinking, their cheeks are rounded, their jaws move up to the ears, their lips are curled outwards and their chin touches your breast.
When your baby is drinking at your breast, you don’t need to use your finger to keep your baby’s nose clear. Applying pressure on your breast with your finger can clog the milk ducts. If your baby’s nose is not clear, they will let go of the breast. It is better to press your baby’s bottom a little closer to you. This allows the chin to lie more firmly against your breast and creates more room for your baby’s nose. If your baby is latching on properly, they can drink from the breast for as long and as often as they want and feeding doesn’t hurt.
Engorgement
After a few days, once breastfeeding is going smoothly, your breasts may feel very full. In order to avoid severe engorgement and hard spots, it’s best to frequently change your baby’s position when at your breast during the first few days and allow your baby to drink well. If your full breasts make latching on difficult, you can take the pressure off the areola by gently massaging, pumping gently with your hand and warming your breasts with a warm cloth or shower.
Breastfeeding shouldn’t hurt
If your baby is latching on properly, they can drink from the breast for as long and as often as they want and feeding doesn’t hurt. It’s not uncommon for your nipples to be sensitive during the first few days of breastfeeding. That sensitivity will disappear naturally as your baby learns to drink and you get better at feeding. If your nipples hurt and continue to hurt, discuss this with your maternity nurse. She will check how your baby is drinking at your breast. Often, the best solution is to change feeding positions.
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