A relaxation for painful breastfeeding.
When feeding your baby is painful,
It can be extremely hard.
It can make you not want to feed them at all.
It can make you dread every time they wake up or cry.
And this relaxation works hand in hand with the understanding that breastfeeding issues such as pain are a sign that something is not quite right.
So although this track is here to support you with what you are experiencing,
I also encourage you to seek out some breastfeeding support.
Now,
One of the tips I would like to share when you are learning to breastfeed your baby is that having a growth mindset towards learning to breastfeed is extremely helpful.
And what I mean by that is like pretty much all other developmental stages of our lives,
It takes time,
Practice and the making of mistakes to get to where we need to be.
You could compare this to other periods of our life such as adolescence or even learning to talk or learning to walk.
It's not something that we can instantly do.
And actually,
In all of those other examples,
We see people adulting.
So as a teenager,
We are learning to adult through making many,
Many mistakes,
Getting it wrong but also with guidance.
Right back to when we are learning to walk and talk,
We are watching,
We are having a go,
We are getting it wrong,
We are trying again.
So by having this approach to learning to feed your baby and remembering that you are both learning,
It can really help to not be too hard on yourself when things are difficult.
And also to understand that support is very,
Very important.
I would really like you to view this journey that you are on with your baby with self-compassion and an understanding that it is a learning curve and for sure,
It's harder for some people than it is for others.
But that it's nothing that you are doing wrong.
You are doing your best in this moment and I really hope that this track will help you to offer some self-love and some self-compassion to yourself within this challenging experience.
When we are in pain,
We are tense.
And when we are tense,
It can mean that we feel pain more intensely.
So it can become a cycle.
Involved in that cycle is the experience of our baby.
And our babies pick up on our stress and our tension as well.
So this isn't about trying to make you feel guilty for finding this hard.
It's to help you understand that you can use tools such as this one to break that cycle and to move forward so that things become easier.
The lovely side effect of relaxing your nervous system and your mind along with this track is that it can also help the milk ejection reflex.
So it can help your milk to flow quicker and more abundantly.
And your baby will also most likely find that a positive experience.
But it will also find the experience of you feeling calmer,
Calming in themselves.
And we know that happens through the flow of hormones such as oxytocin.
But also they can feel the tension in your body.
So the more that you can practice this and practice relaxing your body,
Even with the anticipation of pain or through the experience of pain,
The better things will be for you and your baby.
And again,
Have a growth mindset towards this practice and understand that the more you practice these techniques,
The easier and more automatic they come.
And just to finish off to repeat again that breastfeeding pain is common,
But it doesn't mean that it's normal.
And for many people,
It will ease over time as you and your baby learn how to feed together.
But for many others,
There may be something more going on where you need some help and support.
So please do go and seek out some in-person support with latching your baby on.
And if you are unable to access that,
Then please do go to our website and look for a mindful breastfeeding practitioner who can support you.
Okay,
We're going to start the relaxation now.
So you can be with your baby if they are calm.
And if they're not calm,
It would be better to wait till a moment when they are feeling calmer.
This may be after a feed or perhaps when they're sleeping,
But you know they're going to be waking up for a feed soon.
Sitting somewhere comfortable where you are able to relax your body.
And if you feel comfortable too,
Gently closing your eyes.
We are going to do an upper body scan.
Taking two nice big deep breaths.
And on your next in-breath,
Focusing on the top of your head.
Trying to visualise all the little muscles and nerve endings there.
And just allowing that to relax further.
And now moving down to your brow,
Your eyebrows,
That little area between your eyebrows.
Using your out-breath to help them to relax further.
And on the next in-breath,
Moving to your cheeks.
And using your out-breath to enable them to relax further.
There are so many tiny little muscles in this part of your face.
One by one,
They are relaxing more.
Now moving to your jaw area.
So much tension can be held here.
Just allowing the bones of your jaw to relax,
To soften.
Giving those muscles in your jaw area permission to relax.
And now noticing your whole head feeling softer and more relaxed.
Moving down into your neck and your shoulders now.
And on your next out-breath,
Feeling those muscles easing and relaxing.
You may physically feel your shoulders coming down.
We so often,
With feeding our babies,
Have tension in our shoulders.
Just practice breathing in and out and feeling your shoulders drop down and relax more.
And now I want you to focus on your chest area and specifically your heart space.
Imagine a warm glow in your heart.
A colour perhaps that you know will relax you.
It can be any colour.
And just imagine your heart surrounded by that colour.
That relaxing,
Comforting energy.
And each time you breathe out,
I want you to imagine that colour slowly spreading more and more around your body.
Helping your body to relax.
Helping you to feel calm.
Focusing in on this feeling now.
And now noticing how it makes you feel in your whole body.
So I'm going to ask you now to slowly come back into your body,
Focusing back on your breath.
Feeling where you're sitting or laying.
And whenever you are ready,
Opening your eyes,
Feeling more ready to be able to latch on your baby and feed again.
You can repeat this relaxation as many times as you need to throughout the day.
And remember that the more you practice relaxation techniques,
The easier they become.
Tune back into that feeling,
That calming energy whenever you feel you may need to.
Vedo
