A Baby’s Transition after Birth

“Your baby will face many changes after birth. From your baby’s perspective, some startling physical changes happen AT birth. Food and oxygen are no longer constantly provided through the umbilical cord. Your baby begins breathing air with her lungs. And for the first time, your baby begins taking her nourishment by mouth.

After your baby is born, your body is equally well-equipped to give him just what he needs to help ease this major transition. Before birth, your baby never felt hunger; his need for food was constantly satisfied. After birth your baby feels hunger for the first time. Using his digestive system and having intermittent (rather than continuous) feedings are new experiences. To make this transition easier, nature starts your baby off gradually, with small, frequent feedings rather than large amounts of milk right after birth.

These small feedings are better for your newborn than large feedings.

Why?

Newborns’ tiny stomachs don’t stretch. During his first day, a newborn’s stomach is about the size of a large shooter marble (Seammon and Doyle, 1920.) At each feeding he can keep down about 1/6-1/3 oz. (5-10ml.) Not surprisingly, this is the amount of available colostrum (the early milk) that is ready and waiting for her at the breast.”

From Breastfeeding Made Simple by Mohrbacher and Kendall-Tackett, 2010

Next post: How does a baby’s stomach grow to take in more milk?