Breastfeeding as a Love Relationship

We can trace back to how this love story all began.

Our baby was conceived with the hormone of love called oxytocin, a hormone that is released in lovemaking. And this hormone of love continues to be present when we are in labor. It causes the uterus to contract, for the purpose of helping us in the process of labor and birth.

After the amazing journey of birthing our baby, we hear their first cry.  Immediately after, they put the baby in between the mother’s breasts, and oxytocin is released even more! We are so in love with this tiny human being, who marvelously grew in the mother’s womb for nine months.

In this first meeting, our baby is put skin-to-skin. It’s amazing that the mother’s body warms up to the temperature that the baby needs, helping the baby transition to this new life outside the womb. Your baby feels a sense of closeness while feeling their body next to yours and hearing the familiar sound of your heartbeat!

This is why, at birth, it’s best that we are given the time and space to bond with our baby in these precious golden hours, especially the first two hours. During this time, your baby is in a state of quiet alertness. They are observing their entirely new environment. Both their senses and the mother’s senses are heightened. Your voice is so familiar to them! The smell of amniotic fluid is in your skin, which makes them feel like home. 

It’s best to take it slow and enjoy this moment, as we gaze at our little one, calling them by name, smelling their head, and caressing their back, and touching those tiny fingers and toes. You are both in this dance of love. 

Your baby has also been exhausted in the birthing journey. Let them just rest in the warmth of your body. Your amazing newborn has the ability to step up, crawl, and search for the nipple. Given the right environment of warmth, dim lights, privacy, quietness,and feeling a lot of love, this encourages your baby to go and search the mother’s breasts when he feels hungry. Our baby knows how. Their reflexes and instincts will guide them. These trigger the release of even more oxytocin and prolactin, ejecting the milk from the breasts!

Your very first milk, the golden milk, is called colostrum. This precious milk does not look like milk but looks more sticky, thick, and slightly yellowish in color. It is a superfood specifically created by your body, for your baby. It also has a real concentration of antibodies that protect the baby from infection. It is the best gift that you can give your baby at birth.

Aside from feeding our baby with a “superfood”, breastfeeding is primarily a love relationship between mother and child. In order to love and care for our baby, we need to know them. We need to be attentive to their cues and be more sensitive as parents. It’s best to hold or even wear your baby, cuddle, and enjoy this feeling of closeness. Breastfeeding gently transitions us to our new role as mothers in this dance of love! It nourishes and fills our hearts.

Preparing for breastfeeding begins by preparing for a positive and empowered birth, no matter what the outcome will be. Know all your options for birth and learn how you can navigate your unique birthing journey.

You can learn this from our Birth Basics Workshop and our postpartum class, the After Birth Care Workshop, which covers the mother’s recovery, breastfeeding, caring for your newborn, and finding your village of support. Both of our classes help you to educate your mind, empower your body, encourage your heart, and enlighten your spirit for your life as new parents.

Learn more about our classes here.