Your breastfed baby's weight gain

Sauf cas très rares (anomalie ou lésion de la glande mammaire, médicament, pilule contraceptive, problème hormonal) nous pouvons toutes allaiter et nous avons toutes assez de lait pour notre enfant. On vous rassure donc tout de suite sur ce point.

 Vous n’avez besoin de rien d’autre à la naissance de votre enfant, que vos seins, votre bébé, et de rester “à la même adresse” collé-serré. Bébé va dormir joue contre le sein, et pouvoir téter à la demande, aussi fréquemment que nécessaire. Le contact étroit avec son bébé va également aider à prendre confiance en vous et en vos capacités d’allaitement. Être tout prêt de lui va vous aider à mieux comprendre ses besoins, sans avoir besoin de savoir “combien” il prend. Bref, laissez-vous guider par votre instinct et par votre bébé ! 

Pas besoin de tirer votre lait non plus durant les premières semaines, sauf cas particuliers (besoin de supplémentation temporaires, bébé prématuré et hospitalisé..). Vous n'avez pas besoin non plus de prendre systématiquement un complément post partum à base de galactogènes pour soutenir votre lactation.

In all babies, weight loss after birth is completely normal and physiological. It is mainly a loss of water. Weight loss can be up to 10% between birth and the eighth day.

Colostrum is rich in immunoglobulins and is simply perfect for feeding your baby until your milk comes in, both in quantity and quality. There's no need to worry about your milk coming in. Simply start breastfeeding from birth, with skin-to-skin contact, to get things off to a good start.

At birth, a baby's stomach is the size of a small marble (5ml). It grows 11 times larger in size over the first 10 days of life! 

The baby needs to feed frequently. The colostrum produced in the first few days (between 35 and 50 ml) is therefore more than sufficient to meet its needs!

After birth, the brain needs a continuous source of fuel, especially during the first three months, during which it achieves 25% of its growth. The baby must therefore continually fill its little stomach to fuel its big brain.

Put baby to the breast as often as possible. It is perfectly normal for a baby to feed between 8 and 12 times in 24 hours, or even much more. Weight gain is generally directly proportional to the number of feeds and their effectiveness.

It is important to breastfeed on demand, or at the first signs of waking. Do not wait for baby to cry before putting them to the breast, as it becomes more difficult than when they are calm. You can also feed them while they are in a light sleep phase (characterised, for example, by eye and eyelid movement).

Night feeds account for a significant proportion of milk consumed over 24 hours

Expecting him to sleep through the night straight away is therefore unrealistic, as is wanting to "manage" this by spacing out and reducing feeds. This can lead to insufficient weight gain and poor establishment of breastfeeding.

If in doubt, seek support from an IBCLC straight away — she will carry out a full assessment by observing a complete feed. The sooner the issue is addressed, the better the chances of breastfeeding getting back on track. Don't wait!

If the baby's condition is satisfactory, supplementation is not necessarily required.

- Increase the frequency and duration of feeds,

- You can also practise "super-switching" (frequently alternating baby between breasts to prevent them from falling asleep on one breast — be careful not to do this in all situations, particularly if the baby is too weak, has lost too much weight or is struggling to feed, in which case it is preferable to leave them on one breast for longer),

- You can also compress the breast during a feed,

- And to express milk between feeds to stimulate production.

If weight gain resumes after 3–4 days, you can then stop expressing milk.

If necessary, the breastfeeding consultant may suggest temporary supplementation, using expressed breast milk where possible, and with a supplemental nursing system (SNS), or a cup.

The WHO weight gain charts for babies are higher during the first 6 months than those observed in France. A weight gain considered normal according to French criteria may therefore be deemed insufficient according to the WHO study.

For high-weight baby boys, French data coincides with WHO growth charts for the second year of life. 

For baby girls, however, French data is higher than WHO data. This can raise concerns about insufficient weight gain according to traditional criteria, which may lead to an accelerated introduction of solid foods.

In the WHO study, mothers breastfed on average between 8 and 12 times in 24 hours, with many night feeds. At 3 months, the average was still 10 times, 9 times at 6 months and no fewer than 5 times at 12 months!

A breastfed baby may therefore be well above the curves in the health record book, whilst still following the WHO curve normally. We do not put the baby on a diet by spacing out feeds. A baby who is exclusively breastfed on demand is never too big!

They found that among the 11 high-quality studies, the association between breastfeeding and overweight/obesitywas weaker, with a 13% reduction in risk. 

For type 2 diabetes, the risk was lower in individuals who had been breastfed (35% reduction in risk).

However, one explanation for this correlation may be related to the development of different gut bacteria. Breastfed babies have higher levels of beneficial gut bacteria, which may affect fat storage [2].