Conscious Breastfeeding Kaizen: Developing Conscious Breastfeeding Habits

In her NY Times article, Janet Rae-Dupree poses the question “Can you become a creature of new habits?” 

Habits, rather than being an expression of unconscious, familiar routines can become a conduit for creativity and innovation.  

Rae-Dupree reports that ”… brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop new habits, we create parallel synaptic paths, and even entirely new brain cells, that can jump our trains of thought onto new, innovative tracks.”

Based upon the research of Andy Ryan in her 2006 book “Next year I will…”, we are told that we can take control and consciously create new habits, especially when we step out of our comfort zone. 

Ms. Ryan suggested this can be done using the Japanese philospophy kaizen, which calls for tiny, continuous improvements.   “…The small steps in kaizen don’t set off fight or flight, but rather keep us in the thinking brain, where we have access to our creativity and playfulness.”

By taking fear out of the equation, new habits can be forged.  Changes can be made little by little and momentum will build over time.

As a Japanophile, this post really resonated for me.  It turns out that I have been practicing and teaching ‘Conscious Breastfeeding’ kaizen for many years.

I closely analyze the breastfeeding process and results that are achieved with each nursing couple in my practice.  What has resulted is a constant optimization of feedings and synchronization of each baby with his/her mother’s breasts.  The breastfeeding experiences of these mothers are continually being improved and are no longer subject to the vagaries of baby instincts or arbitrary rules. 

‘Conscious Breastfeeding’ kaizen can start with these simple steps:

1.  Focus on achieving a great pain-free latch.    The cornerstone for ‘Conscious Breastfeeding’ is to focus on achieving a comfortable, high-quality deep latch.  The simpler the plan, the easier it will be to implement.

2.  Keep a diary to evaluate patterns.  You can’t improve something unless you know what you have been doing.

3.  Set up a comfortable nursing nook replete with food and drink.  This conserves your energy while refueling both you and your breastfeeding baby.  Focused attention reduces wasted time.

4.  Use a consistent latch-on technique.  Remove your baby and re-latch as needed to reinforce for you a body memory of a great deep and pain-free latch.  The idea is to make it a seamless skill like driving; you, the mother, remain in charge, but it seems like it is being done on automatic pilot.

‘Conscious Breastfeeding’ kaizen requires careful attention to the details of the latch and the patterns of feeding so that the experience can indeed be incrementally enhanced for both you and your baby over time.

‘Conscious Breastfeeding’ kaizen will help you to stretch beyond the conventional wisdom that surrounds breastfeeding so that you can develop some new ‘Conscious Breastfeeding’ habits.