Off late, there have been reinventions of several natural principles, breast crawl & KMC (Kangaroo Mother care) seem to be 2 of them.
Often people believe, if you deliver a baby, you can breastfeed your baby automatically (Naturally!!). Paradoxically, in the current era, many mothers face (practical) problems with breastfeeding & often need to opt for risky options like cow’s milk or formulas.
Typically a baby rested in a pram has to cry out aloud to reveal hunger. Imagine a fresh mom going to the pram every time the baby cries, picking up the baby, sitting & carrying the 3 kg bundle to adjust at breast, pushing nipple into the mouth. More often, baby fails to get a good grip, fuzzes & goes to sleep after several unsuccessful attempts. The whole process becomes an exercise that the mom carries on day & night in the hope that she will be successful some time & till then, to satisfy the baby’s hunger, she will feed her/him any other animal milk.
Very soon the animal milk seems to reduce the baby’s cry & avoids mother’s exhaustion. In few mothers, pain at breast due to improper sucking would make her believe that she can’t satisfy the baby probably because her breasts make less milk. Categorically, animal milk feeding (deceptively famous as top milk or formula milk) seems more & more easier & breastfeeding seems too difficult. The baby is switched from human to animal milk in just few days of birth.
We as doctors & healthcare professionals are taught about methods of breastfeeding specifying the way mother should sit, hold the baby & attach it to her breasts with “4 signs of each”. The complexity of “successful breastfeeding method” contradicts the theory of “Natural skills”.
If we look at any primitive mammal, almost immediately after birth, the baby gets breastmilk. A lioness, cow or mama bear gives birth to the baby. The mom stays close enough, starts licking the baby & prompts the baby to go near the breasts. The baby with its inherent capacities, finds out the nipple. It tries to have a bite of it, fails, tries, fails, …. & succeeds accidentally to have a mouthful of grasp within minutes of birth (with only patience on mother’s part). Baby starts suckling & breast starts delivering milk. The whole process repeats, driven by baby’s desire to suckle. What is the effort of a mama cow to feed her baby? Or a cat or a lioness? They shower unlimited love, milk is a part of total package. The mother without learning any signs of “Good latch”, instinctively nurses the baby “on demand”.
The very existence of mammalian species is the evidence of efficiency of nature designed feeding strategy. Then what is different in human species that leads to breastfeeding problems so commonly? What we can learn from other mammals? or perhaps from our own ancestors?
A 2 inch sized baby kangaroo after coming out of the vagina, climbs with its tiny hands, to reach the pouch by 3rd minute of birth & starts suckling one of the 4 nipples inside the pouch, stays there till months to grow from 2 inch to 2 feet. Inside the pouch, it gets continuous supply of milk, warmth & lots of stimuli without any visible efforts of the mother.
Nature must have designed a way to take care of a normal human baby right after birth. She/he is empowered with several inborn abilities & reflexes. Given an opportunity, she/he has got a capacity to crawl, right at birth towards a darker spot surrounded by lighter skin, having a peculiar attractive smell & feel. She/he can lift & move head in prone position. If a cloth or finger touches the nose or cheek, the baby will automatically turn the face to the object, open the mouth & bite it.
A healthy human naked baby after birth when placed on bare abdomen of mom, it crawls towards breast & nipple on its own probably guided by senses of smell & vision. On reaching, it lifts the head, tries to get hold of breast & with few trials, succeeds to suckle at breast. This intentional movement at birth is called Breast Crawl. It takes 30 – 40 minutes & 99 out of 100 kids succeed to have their first feed. Thus, breast crawl facilitates first feed after birth.
After birth, a baby kept skin to skin for prolonged hours is called Kangaroo Care. The baby enjoys the warmth, transfer of friendly germs from mother’s skin, plenty of stimuli (movements, sound, vision, smell & taste) to stimulate optimum brain growth, peace of mind and along with all this breastfeeding, on demand. With KMC, the cues like smacking, sucking, rooting or mouthing will be identified early & mom will facilitate baby to suckle before cry or irritability. Baby will try frequently & will become expert faster. The mother plays a passive role in relaxed reclining or sleeping position & so demand feeding is free from exhaustion. Thus KMC facilitates demand feeding.
Over last 2 & half centuries with “modernisation”, mankind has forgotten arts & skills that nature had gifted it over ages of evolution. It is high time we “delearn” mother baby separation, uncomfortable & unnatural sitting posture of mom while feeding & scheduled feeds. If allowed, all babies know how to perform survival skills like breast crawl & demand feed while KMC.