Lying may ease breastfeeding

Breastfeeding can be difficult and many women give up after a few weeks of trying, BBC News reported.

This study looked at 40 mothers breastfeeding in different positions. The researchers found that newborns' natural feeding reflexes were more easily triggered when mothers were lying down and their babies were placed on their stomachs, on top of the mothers.

The babies in the study were less than a month old.

Researcher Dr Suzanne Colson, a senior midwifery lecturer at Canterbury Christ Church University, identified feeding 17 reflexes in babies who were breastfed this way. Infants breastfed by mothers in a sitting-up position showed only three feeding reflexes, BBC News reported.

"When mothers were lying flat or semi-reclined, babies could find the breast easier and in many cases attach themselves and feed whilst asleep," Colson said. "The research suggests that babies when they are on their tummy display these primitive reflexes, head bobbing in particular, that is seen in other mammals who are abdominal feeders." – (HealthDayNews)

May 2007