FINALLY, THE BREAST FEEDING TIPS YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR

Breast milk is the best nutrition a mother can offer her newborn baby. Breastfeeding offers tremendous health benefits to both a mother and her baby. It is specially designed to cater for all a child’s nutritional needs in the first six months of life. I breast fed my daughter for seven hundred days, which is twenty three months, and during that period we never visited the hospital for any ailment. No money was spent on medications because my breast-milk was her medicine while also building her immune system.

Odenke Amos is a lawyer with a background in alternative dispute resolution. This year she celebrated one year of starting her own Lactation Treats Company- Zuriel’s Lactation Delight. Her work has made so much impact in her community and on social media platforms across Nigeria. She gets so much satisfaction and joy from running a breastfeeding support group for nursing mothers. Her company educates women on the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding for their babies, and how to solve problems that they might face in the course of breastfeeding

In 2018, as a first time Mama she struggled with motherhood especially the pangs of trying to lactate in order to exclusively breastfeed her baby.  Her eureka moment was when she had to  send her husband out in the middle of the night in search for anything that she could take to boost her milk supply, because she was not producing enough breast milk. Her husband came home empty handed and she was deeply saddened.

At that point, she vowed to find a solution to enhance her breast milk supply. She embarked on an extensive research where she learnt all about nutrient deficiency in nursing mothers and organic products that boost and enrich breast milk. I applied this knowledge to myself and it yielded great results.

Her entrepreneurial debut was very simple – a small capital and a big heart. Today her work helps other mothers with solutions and knowledge around breastfeeding and enhancing milk production.  She aspires to be a key player in the improvement of maternal nutrition aimed at curbing malnutrition in Nigeria.

Why focus on lactation?

Eating healthy is important to maintaining a breastfeeding mother’s health, and provides essential nutrients for her baby’s growth. The World Health Organisation emphasizes on the importance of this because research shows that nutrition plays a huge role in determining a mother’s milk supply. About sixty percent of mothers in Nigeria do not breastfeed or practice exclusive breastfeeding due to inadequate breast milk.

At least 5.4 million children in Nigeria miss out on the benefits of breast milk thereby contributing to malnutrition problem. At Zuriel’s Lactation Delight, we strongly believe that nutrition matters while breastfeeding, so our purpose is to improve maternal and infant nutritional status in Nigeria through breastfeeding with our nutritious products that have a powerful combination of healthy and organic ingredients best known for increasing the quality and quantity of breast milk in a lactating mother.

Our lactation treats are a quick way to get body nourishment thus our lactation cookies and milkshake mix are bursting with lots of Omega 3 and 6 fatty acid, protein, iron, B-vitamins, Carbohydrate, zinc and other essential nutrients good for a lactating mother and her baby.

These healthy treats are high in fibre and low in cholesterol meaning they will not only give a mother’s breast milk a rich boost but will support a healthy, happy heart and body. Our products ensure that lactating mothers get the most important nutrients for their babies and their bodies while also enriching and increasing their breast milk supply. We all know that breastfeeding a miniature human consumes energy which is why most mothers are often hungry after each breastfeeding session. Our purpose is to make things easier with our ready to eat nutritious lactation treats so that nursing mothers do not have to stress in going to the kitchen to prepare meals especially at night.

Also, as many as 92 percent of first time mothers encounter the issue of low breastmilk supply, and these new mothers give up on breastfeeding due to this. Some mothers do not know where to turn to for support, and because they do not want to be seen as failing mothers, they bottle up this difficulty they are facing which may lead to depression. At Zuriel’s Lactation Delight, we do not only help mothers increase their breastmilk supply, we also offer breastfeeding support to guide and encourage mothers through their breastfeeding journey and make it easy for them.

Let’s talk breast and go a bit further.

Our bodies are Amazing! A woman’s breast is mostly made up of fat cells called adipose tissue. This tissue is packed with ligaments, fibrous connective tissue, nerves, lymph vessels, lymph nodes, and blood vessels.

 It is also composed of milk-making and transporting milk ducts. Each breast has between twelve and twenty sections coming from the nipple which are known as lobes.

These lobe sections are made up of smaller lobules. Lobules contain the milk-making part of the breasts and are made up of little clusters of expandable balloon-like structures called breast alveoli which are connected to a common milk duct.

During pregnancy, progesterone causes these alveoli to bud and expand outward toward the chest wall, in readiness for breastfeeding. These breast alveoli are lined with precious milk-secreting cells which fill and push milk into the connected ducts, down to the nipple and to your baby.

What’s delightful in Zuriel’s Lactation Treats?

Zuriel’s Lactation Delight is specially made with the highest quality of healthy and organic ingredients that promote nutritional excellence in lactating mothers. Our lactation treats is not just one which increases breast milk supply but also delivers important nutrients beneficial to breastfeeding mothers and their babies.

Our major ingredients include oats – a good source of soluble fibre packed with protein, vitamins and minerals, and contains a high concentration of Saponins, an immune stimulating compound that helps increase levels of Prolactin which is a key hormone of milk production; brewer’s yeast – which gives a more sustained energy, lowers blood sugar levels and cholesterol;

 Flax seed – which contains omega 3 and 6 fatty acid that protects mothers from cardiovascular disease and essential for baby’s developing immune system. We do not use bleached flour instead we use coconut flour, almond flour and oats flour. Because sugar is unhealthy for the body, we use dates as a natural sweetener which is also a good source of vitamin A and K.

We pride ourselves in using only natural ingredients to provide the best for lactating mothers and their babies. Research shows that the higher the nutritional quality of a lactating mother’s diet, the higher the quality of her breast milk.

Thus, we pay great attention to maternal nutrition by providing a rich source of essential nutrients that increase breast milk, lower cholesterol levels, control blood sugar levels and that are rich in antioxidants.

Breastfeeding tips for every new Mama or Mama to be.

It is important to remember that every woman’s breastfeeding journey is different. For some women, breastfeeding comes naturally while others struggle to grasp the techniques required to breastfeed their child. For mothers who are struggling with breastfeeding, I have come up with these breastfeeding hacks for them to try.

1. Drink lots of water to stay hydrated.

2. Invest in a good breast pump. You will need it to increase your breast-milk supply.

3. Make lanolin nipple cream or coconut oil your breast-friend. It will save you from nipple soreness.

4. Cannot remember which breast your baby last breastfed from? Do not worry, use a hair band as a reminder by putting it around your wrist to mark the side your baby breastfed from. Do not forget to move it after every feed.

5. Gently massage your breast while breast feeding .It promotes let-downs and ensures proper draining of breast-milk.

6. Get a breastfeeding tracking app or use the good old pen and paper. It allows mothers to track nursing sessions, sleep, and diaper changes. So when next a mother visits the Pediatrician she will be able to answer questions like when she started nursing, how long her baby fed, what side she fed off from, when baby had a wet and dirty diaper, etc.

7. Tired of washing your breast pump part after every pumping session? Then put your used parts of the breast pump into a zip-lock bag and store it in the fridge. Do this between pumping sessions to skip the sterilization. Simply wash the parts at the end of the day.

8. Baby having colic? Please do not fret! Bicycle kicks to the rescue. Lie baby on her back then gently move her leg up and down like he or she is riding a bicycle, or place baby on your lap with his or her tummy touching your knee and gently rock the child. Finally! Get skin-to-skin with your baby. It calms a mother and her baby.

My clients are my motivation, they make me work harder their testimonials mean so much to me.

I literally start dancing or lie on the floor and start thanking God Almighty for his work as shown in these lactation treats.

Initially when I began making lactation treats, I gave out free lactation cookies to my family and friends to try. One of the ladies I gave my free samples to had a cryptic pregnancy and after twenty two months, she gave birth but could not lactate so she gave formula milk to her baby. But when she consumed our lactation cookies, her breast-milk started flowing. It was amazing.

Another lady in far away Canada bought our lactation cookies and lactation milkshake powder mix. Her baby was refusing to suck and her breast-milk had dried up. She said in a text message to me, “every mother needs your lactation delights because they come with so much love, guide and genuine interest. My milk flow is finally back. Baby is now nursing and always wanting to suck now. The journey wasn’t easy I must say but thank you. Thank you for a lot and everything: the research, the guide, the advice, the commitment, the encouragement, calls, messages and check in’s. Thank you.”

Back in Nigeria, Port Harcourt to be precise, a lady bought our lactation treats and it did not only boost her breast milk supply, her baby’s weight doubled within two weeks due to the essential nutrients contained in our products. His weight just before she bought the lactation treat was 3.6kg but when she checked two weeks later, it was 6.5kg.