Mothers usually resort to breastfeeding their babies while they are asleep or feeling sleepy. Sometimes mothers may have difficulty or their babies refuse to breastfeed when they wake up. In this article, we will learn about Harmful effects of breastfeeding a sleeping baby We will also learn about the reasons why some babies prefer to breastfeed while sleeping.

Breastfeeding while sleeping baby

Feeding occurs during sleep, when the infant feeds while drowsy or asleep. The baby may be awake at first, then fall asleep during the feeding and continue to eat during light sleep. Or the baby may nurse when he is already drowsy, during sleep, or when He begins to wake up.

Read also: important information about breastfeeding.

Reasons why babies want to breastfeed while they sleep

Before we learn about the harms of breastfeeding a sleeping baby, we will learn about the reasons for their desire to breastfeed while they are sleeping. Breastfeeding a baby in a state of sleepiness or sleep may not be something the mother chooses. Rather, it may be something she feels compelled to do if he refuses to breastfeed when he is awake, or Doesn’t get enough to eat when feeding while awake, or because he prefers feeding when drowsy.

Some of the reasons why babies prefer sleep feeding include:

Newborn sleep

Newborns start sucking characteristically when ready to feed, and become sleepy once their hunger is satisfied but continue to nurse during light sleep, pausing only once during sleep.

The relationship between breastfeeding and sleep

When the baby falls asleep again and again during feeding, it can associate its desire to sleep through feeding, and this association means that when the baby wants to sleep, it will cry for feeding, especially whenever it is tired or ready for bed, regardless of whether it is hungry at that time or not. This is to get him used to sleeping while breastfeeding and noticing that this is the main way to sleep.

In some cases where the infant associates breastfeeding with sleep, he may want to breastfeed frequently to sleep, which leads to him getting used to breastfeeding only during sleep, and not needing to wake up to breastfeed.

Harmful effects of breastfeeding a sleeping baby

Most newborns will resort to breast feeding from time to time or often without any apparent complications. However, this may cause some harm or problems to the baby, including:

sleep deprivation

The association between feeding and sleep can lead to sleep deprivation in the baby, which means that the baby is only able to fall asleep through feeding.

malnutrition

A chronically sleep-deprived baby may fall asleep before completing a feeding, and this can lead to undernutrition, which can result in other complications.

Overfeeding

Newborn babies are prone to overfeeding, offering a bottle without feeling hungry just to fall asleep can lead to a problem of overfeeding, which can lead to digestive problems for the baby, reflux or excess lactose.

tooth decay

To complete the identification of the harms of breastfeeding a child while he is asleep, the child’s ability to swallow may decrease compared to feeding while awake, and milk can collect in the child’s mouth to provide food for the bacteria that cause tooth decay.

suffocation

Breastfeeding while sleeping increases the baby’s risk of suffocation.

Respiratory infections

Studies show that babies who fall asleep while being breastfed are at increased risk of respiratory infections.

Read also: Baby refuses to breastfeed.

At the end of the article, dear reader, after getting to know me Harmful effects of breastfeeding a sleeping baby And why some children prefer to breastfeed while sleeping, in the event that the child is attached to sleep through breastfeeding, you should consult a doctor, in addition to the mother getting used to breastfeeding her child while awake, and we wish you continued health and wellness.