A nursing pillow or a breastfeeding pillow is one which offers support to a breastfeeding baby and the mother. Not only does it offers comfort to the mother but also enables her to hold her baby in the right position. Nursing pillows or cushions come in many shapes and sizes but it is important that you know which one to select so as to gain maximum benefits out of it.
Selecting the wrong one can cause back ache and may come in the way of smooth breast feeding. The following are a few tips and suggestions for selecting a nursing pillow that may help.
Size
The first thing to consider when buying a nursing pillow is the size. It must be big or large enough to accommodate a growing baby and one must remember that babies feed for atleast 6 months after birth. The surface area must be large to accommodate even a year old baby since some babies tend to breastfeed even till their first birthday and beyond.
Fit
The opening of the nursing pillow that you select must fit comfortably around your waist. If the fit isn’t like this, then you may face problems adjusting it to you and this may make nursing a very uncomfortable experience for you. The pillow must be flexible enough to be adjusted as per your convenience.
Washability/Maintenance
Baby spit up, leaky diapers and leaky breasts can also cause the nursing pillow to become dirty and stained every few days. Thus when buying one for yourself, you must make sure that it can be washed and is easy to maintain. Ideally, the nursing cushion or pillow must not have foam or a built in vibrator inside it as these ones cannot be washed.
Support
The main purpose of a nursing pillow is to offer you support. It is meant to ease your back pain and neck pain and must fulfill this purpose. You must look for a nursing pillow which has the capability to raise your baby to the level of your breasts and has a firm surface which is neither too hard nor too yielding.
Multi-use
A good nursing pillow is one which not only supports you and your baby during breastfeeding but can also double up as a support pillow for babies when they are at a stage of learning to sit up. A horse-shoe shaped pillow usually proves perfect for this purpose since it has a small area in the middle where the baby can rest comfortably.
Easy Care Cover
Look for a nursing pillow which comes with an easy care cover with it so that you don’t always have to worry about washing and then drying the pillow and can simply wash the cover. This cover must preferably be of cotton material and of high quality. Low quality covers may soon fade away after a few washes and may not prove durable enough.
Thus considering the above given points, you can get a good quality nursing pillow as per your requirements.
