Can I breastfeed my baby while lying down?

Nowadays, many young couples are raising their babies alone. Due to lack of experience, they will encounter many confusions in the process of raising their babies. For example, there will be many questions about breastfeeding. Many young mothers do not know what posture to use to feed their babies. The most common way in life is to let the baby lie in their arms to feed. So is this method of breastfeeding correct?

Can I breastfeed my baby while lying down?

This may also be a problem that many new mothers encounter. It is too tiring to breastfeed while sitting. It causes severe back pain and numbness in the arms. If you can lie down for a while, you will definitely feel more comfortable. However, it is not recommended for mothers to breastfeed their babies in a lying position. So why is that?

1. Prone to otitis media

The normal human ear is divided into the outer ear, middle ear and inner ear. There is a passage in the middle ear that connects the pharynx and the middle ear, which makes the tympanic cavity of the middle ear equal to the atmospheric pressure outside, so as to cause the eardrum to vibrate. One end of the Eustachian tube is called the tympanic opening, which starts from the front wall of the tympanic cavity; the other end is the pharyngeal opening, which is located in the pharynx.

Compared with adults, the Eustachian tube of infants and young children is shorter, flatter and has a larger diameter. Normally, the pharyngeal opening of the Eustachian tube is closed. When swallowing or yawning, the pharyngeal opening opens and air enters the tympanic cavity, maintaining the balance of atmospheric pressure inside and outside the ear.

If the mother lies down to feed the baby, the baby's Eustachian tube is short and flat, with a large lumen, and the swallowing is not coordinated, it is easy for milk to enter the middle ear and cause otitis media.

2. It is easy to cause the baby to spit up milk

A newborn's stomach is very different from an adult's.

The stomach of an adult is shaped like a fishhook, with a bubble-shaped fundus at the upper part of the stomach. The air that enters the stomach with food accumulates in the fundus and will not cause vomiting. The baby's stomach is horizontal, and the entrance is looser than that of an adult. If the baby is fed while lying down, air can easily enter the stomach and cause the baby to spit up milk and have bloating. In severe cases, the spitted up milk can easily be aspirated into the trachea, causing suffocation.

3. It can easily cause suffocation

Mothers are usually very tired from taking care of their babies. If they are not careful, they may fall asleep, and the baby may suffocate because his nostrils are blocked by his breast.

TIPS: If the mother is really tired, she should learn to show weakness, let people around her help take care of the baby, and rest more. In addition to lying down, there are other breastfeeding positions that can be adopted. It should be noted that when lying on the side in the picture below, you need to raise the baby's head slightly as shown in the picture, and remember to burp the baby after feeding, which will greatly reduce the occurrence of the above situations.