timed feedings could be harmful to your baby

Picture the following scenarios...
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Scenario One: You’re meeting someone you love for dinner. You’re having such a good time with them you’ve barely touched your food or sipped your drink. The server comes by after 15 minutes to take away your salad and water and puts down your steak and potatoes. Another 15 minutes goes by, laughing and catching up. The server returns, takes your barely touched food, and leaves the check. You’re still hungry! What’s going on here! You were just enjoying a leisurely meal with a loved one!

Scenario Two: You just woke up and you’re STARVING. You sit down to a breakfast buffet. There’s plenty of food and you can eat all you want. You go to town and after a few minutes, you notice you’re feeling pretty full. You nibble on a few more things, then get up to leave the table. The server comes by and informs you that you have to keep eating for another 20 minutes. You explain you’ve had all you want and you’re full! He tells you it doesn’t matter, and keeps poking you, even putting an ice cube on your bare skin to “wake you up” to eat more food. You’re mad. This isn’t a nice meal.

Scenario Three: You’re one of those people who prefers six small meals a day to three large ones. If you go for large meals, you feel bloated, or maybe your acid reflux flares up. You feel better and have more energy if you eat less food more often. But that server is back, telling you that you have to finish a large meal. You explain to him that you prefer small frequent meals. He tells you this is the way it is, as you struggle to clean your plate. Later that day your stomach feels bloated and your acid reflux is terrible, with painful burning in your stomach and throat. 

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​Almost every parent I’ve ever talked to has been told by SOMEONE that their baby needs to eat x amount of time per breast. 15 and 15, 20 and 20, the numbers vary. Some of the reasoning they were given is “They won’t get enough food if they don’t nurse that long,” but heaven forbid they nurse longer than that. “They’re just using you as a pacifier. They’re burning more calories than they’re taking in.” I want to say this very clearly. For a healthy term baby, TIMED FEEDINGS ARE HARMFUL. They should literally NEVER be on a timer to eat and I’ll go over some of the reasons why. ​

1. Storage capacity.
No one on earth knows how much milk YOU personally can hold in each breast. It might be 1oz and 1oz. It might be 2oz and 3oz. It might be 12oz and 10oz (yep, I’ve seen that much and more). What we DO know is how big your baby’s tummy is. If a baby nurses off one breast and gives clear signs they’re full, they should never be forced to take more milk. They may have taken all they can hold!

2. Refill rate. 
Most medical professionals (and I swear even some LCs) don’t understand milk production. Breasts that have very little milk inside send an urgent message to your body - crank up the production, NOW! Breasts that get a little bit of milk emptied each time but stay mostly full send the opposite message - we’re all good here. Slow down the milk factory. If a newborn is allowed to fully drain one breast before going to the other, it helps establish a beautiful, stable, long lasting milk supply. Timed feedings can send the wrong signal and after a few months, your body might make less than the baby really needs because your breasts never got the chance to empty, or a baby got pushed to stimulate those breasts more than they should have, or you were told to pump if baby didn’t stay on for x amount of time, and you now have an oversupply you’re not sure how to manage. 

3. Calories, sugar, and fat.
The “burning calories” concept is insane. If anyone ever tells you that, run. It shows they have zero idea how human milk works, and definitely shouldn’t be giving advice to people breastfeeding. When a baby starts nursing at the breast, the milk is watery and sugary. It’s low in calories. The longer a baby stays on that breast, the calories increase! The water and sugar decrease, and the fat increases. The milk at the end of a full feeding might have 2-3 times the calories compared to the milk at the beginning of a feeding! If we cut a baby off because the timer told us to, we’re not allowing them to get that milk that has more fat in it. If you’ve ever had a slushie, it’s easy to drink at first, but when most of the water is gone, you really have to mix it up and suck to finish the rest. It takes more time and effort for a baby to access that milk. The milk at the beginning of the feeding is fast and easy. If a baby gets used to always having milk that’s fast and easy, if things slow down when baby gets a little older, baby starts getting bottles, you go back to work, baby sleeps through the night, or your period comes back, you might find yourself with a baby who “weans”. It’s not because they’re ready for your journey to be over. They never built up the skills they need to get all the milk. You have a narrow window of time to teach them in those first few months. Doctors are most familiar with formula. Formula is always the same amount of calories per ounce, and many doctors assume breastmilk is too. To get more calories in a formula fed baby, there is no other option besides giving them more ounces of formula. To get more calories in a breastfed baby, working with an IBCLC to get them to feed longer from one breast is going to do way more good than pushing a baby to rapidly switch back and forth. 

4. Effort. 
​Here’s one last scenario, and it’s so sad, but very common. You wake up with a pinched muscle in your neck. Even breathing deeply hurts! You’re hungry but you have a really hard time sitting up at the table. Chewing is painful. You can feel every bite in your neck and shoulder muscles. You eat just enough to take the edge off and push your plate away. The server comes by and says you have to keep eating. You tell him you’re hungry, but you just can’t keep it up. It’s easier to skip the calories and go lie down. He tells you it doesn’t matter. You’re expected to keep eating even if it hurts. You’re upset and emotional, and definitely don’t want to eat now. Why can’t he understand you’re in pain. Sometimes there IS a problem with a baby’s ability to drain a breast! Sometimes weight gain isn’t great and more calories are absolutely needed. Sometimes a baby has a sneaky restriction that isn’t obvious to someone without the skills to do a full assessment of the entire nursing process, skill set, and anatomy in both the baby and the breastfeeding parent. Forcing a baby to feed when there might be a real reason they can’t can be frustrating and scary for them, and lead to resisting nursing at all. ALWAYS work with an expert in lactation if there’s a problem. 

“So if I’m not supposed to time feedings, what should I do?” ​

Babies don’t come with a manual! Learning the language your baby speaks takes time and practice for every new parent. Learn these cues. Watch for diaper output. Baby should have frequent, loose, yellow, seedy stools after Day 5 of life. TRACKING feedings is perfectly fine if it makes you feel better - how frequently and for how long. Listen to your baby, hear what they’re telling you, respect their “no”, and recognize when they’re asking to keep nursing. Don’t switch them off a breast that isn’t empty. Listen for swallowing. If someone tells you to time a feeding, ask why. If it's any of the reasons above, or if there’s an actual problem, find an experienced IBCLC (shameless plug) to do a full assessment on both of you. It may just save your breastfeeding relationship!
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author

Hey! I’m Allison, one of the Lactation Experts with Successful Breastfeeding! I am an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and have over seven years of experience as a pediatric nurse working one on one with mothers and babies. My most important credential is being “Mama” to two little ones. ​I am so happy to be part of the Successful Breastfeeding team; to be able to offer support in a more relaxed setting! I can help you meet your breastfeeding goals no matter where you are - virtual sessions for convenient, accessible help no matter where you live. Breastfeeding is a relationship between you and your baby, and it’s my job to support it, whatever your goals and needs happen to be.