Should the mother wake up the baby during the night to breastfeed him?

To wake the baby or not? Our experts offer their views on this controversial topic

Yea

Nocturnal feedings bring unquestionable gains for mother and baby. It is at dawn that the greatest production of breast milk occurs, especially when the breasts are stimulated. This process makes women have the necessary amount of milk to feed the baby the next day. When the mother decides not to breastfeed at night, there are serious risks of gradually reducing milk. This one, especially during the night, is very rich in melatonin – a sleep hormone that is not produced by the baby at the beginning of its life and that will help it to establish a sleep rhythm, distinguish day from night and sleep for long periods. in the evening. Research also shows that prolactin levels – responsible for stimulating milk production – are high during the night, especially under the stimulus. This explains the maxim “the more the child breastfeeds, the more milk in the breast”. Prolactin also helps the mother to relax and rest well, even breastfeeding during the night. Another essential hormone at this stage is oxytocin, responsible for the contraction of muscle cells located in the breast, allowing the milk to flow even before the baby sucks. And as for the routine, in the first months it is important to respect the baby’s free demand, without rigid schedules. The child will wake up, on average, every three hours; if this does not occur, the mother herself must act. The important thing is that feedings occur at least 8 to 12 times during the 24 hours of the day.

Jane Santos, sanitary doctor and head of the Unicef ​​(United Nations Children’s Fund) office in Recife

No

In the first three months, the baby has a very varied sleep cycle because he cannot differentiate between day and night. And the maximum break they give themselves – between sleeping and feeding time – is three to four hours. At that point, creating a routine for the child will help them organize schedules for the next few months. From this initial period, the baby concentrates on sleeping at night. If your child is gaining normal weight, breastfeeding well – at the breast and/or bottle -, without having any problems, there is no reason to set times and wake him up to breastfeed during the night. The baby itself will wake up when necessary. In addition, parents should avoid giving the baby a bottle to sleep, especially after nine months. This is because at that age she already has teeth and, consequently, is more likely to have cavities, since she goes to sleep with milk in her mouth. Not to mention that it becomes a vicious cycle, that is, the baby will wake up during the night and call the parents’ attention just to get the bottle and be able to sleep. And then you end up centralizing food at night, when actually eating time is during the day. And another: if the baby didn’t breastfeed at night, he will definitely be hungrier during the day. In the case of children who are already used to waking up at dawn to be breastfed, the best way to correct this situation is to reduce one feeding per night, until the little one no longer wakes up during this period.

Gustavo Moreira, pediatrician and researcher at the Sleep Institute of the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp)