Reference: 2022-06-23; https://mbp-japan.com/jijico/articles/32293/
Modified and translated by CFJA
Mothers breastfeed 6 to 15 times a day.
A mother’s delivery is a life-threatening event. Although medical science has developed and the probability of health for both mother and child has improved dramatically, the birth of life still feels mysterious and sacred. Many people are soothed by the sleeping face of a baby, perhaps because they are refreshed by its unblemished appearance. However, after meeting her baby, the mother who has accomplished a great task has no time to rest and must feed her baby many times each day. The stomach of a newborn baby has a capacity of about 30 ml to 50 ml. It gradually grows by drinking breast milk or formula.
The capacity of the stomach that changes with each month of age is considered to be as follows
- Newborn; 30ml-50ml
- 1 week old; 70ml-80ml
- 1 month after birth; 100ml-120ml
- 6 months of age; 120ml-200ml
- Around 1 year of age; 200ml-300ml
Newborn babies tend to get tired easily and fall asleep quickly because their sucking power is weak. After 3 to 4 months, however, they begin to suck strongly.
The frequency and time required for a mother to breastfeed her baby are considered as follows.
- 1 month of age approx; 8-15 times every 2-3 hours, total of approx. 10 minutes on both sides
- 2 months of age: approx; 8-10 times every 2-3 hours, total of approx. 10 minutes on both sides
- 3 months of age: approx; 6-8 times every 2-3 hours, total of approx. 10-15 minutes on both sides.
The daily breastfeeding volume for each age group is as follows.
- From birth to 1 week: 160-480 ml/day
- 2 weeks to 1 month of age: 560 ml/day
- 1 to 2 months of age: 840 ml/day
- 2 to 3 months of age: 840-960 ml/day
- 3 to 4 months of age 900-1100 ml/day
- After 4 months of age: 1000-1100 ml/day
The amount of breastfeeding starts from about 500 ml to over 1000 ml. While breastfeeding, she will be sweating a lot because she is carrying a baby who has a high body temperature. It is not surprising that some mothers feel that the act of breastfeeding is like hard labor. In other words, mothers are doing hard labor every day after a life-threatening birth. People around her need to recognize that mothers have a really hard role to take care of her baby.