(Family Features) For moms who breastfeed, the idea of introducing a bottle can feel like a big change. Whether supplementing for personal reasons, returning to work or ensuring adequate nourishment, the transition between breast and bottle can be eased with the right approach – and the right tools. Here’s how to make this process smooth and stress-free for both you and your baby.

Begin Gradually and Mindfully
When supplementing with a bottle, it’s important to start slowly, ideally once breastfeeding is well-established, usually after the first few weeks. Begin by replacing one breastfeeding session with a bottle feeding and gradually increase as needed. This gradual transition helps your baby adapt to the new experience without feeling overwhelmed or confused. If you have questions or concerns about introducing bottle feeding, your pediatrician is an excellent resource.  

Prioritize the Right Bottle Design
Using a bottle that closely mirrors the breastfeeding experience can make all the difference in a smooth transition. For example, NUK’s Perfect Match Bottle, from the No. 1 hospital-trusted brand (based on industry data) for feeding, is specifically designed to bridge the gap between breast and bottle feeding. Its ultra-soft silicone nipple is shaped to mimic the feel of a mother’s breast, adapting to your baby’s unique palate for a familiar, comforting feeding experience. This breast-like comfort can make the transition seamless and intuitive for babies. Additionally, it features an advanced anti-colic venting system that minimizes air intake, reducing digestive discomfort and keeping your baby comfortable for a calm, enjoyable feeding time – without the hassle of extra parts to clean.

Maintain Familiar Feeding Conditions
Convincing a breastfed baby to take a bottle can take a bit of patience. Ease the transition by creating an environment similar to breastfeeding conditions to provide a comforting and familiar experience for your baby. Hold your baby close, make eye contact and create a quiet environment to establish a sense of security. Also, plan for bottle feedings when you know your baby is ready to eat, but not overly hungry or fussy.

Use a Safe and Convenient Feeding System
One common concern when supplementing is ensuring milk is served at a safe temperature. With a built-in SafeTemp indicator that changes color if the milk is too hot, the NUK Perfect Match bottle gives parents peace of mind. This feature can simplify the feeding process, making it more intuitive for busy caregivers.

Enlist Help with Bottle Feeding
Sometimes, a baby may be more likely to accept a bottle when offered by someone other than the breastfeeding parent. A partner or caregiver can introduce bottle feeding, helping your baby adapt without associating it directly with breastfeeding. Once established, you can alternate who offers the bottle.

Stay Flexible and Patient
Every baby’s journey is unique, and patience is key. If challenges arise during supplementation, such as bottle refusal or digestive changes, seek guidance from your pediatrician or a lactation consultant. They can help tailor the approach to your baby’s needs.

Discover the future of feeding and learn more at nuk-usa.com.

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Our Lifestyle section on STM Daily News is a hub of inspiration and practical information, offering a range of articles that touch on various aspects of daily life. From tips on family finances to guides for maintaining health and wellness, we strive to empower our readers with knowledge and resources to enhance their lifestyles. Whether you’re seeking outdoor activity ideas, fashion trends, or travel recommendations, our lifestyle section has got you covered. Visit us today at https://stmdailynews.com/category/lifestyle/ and embark on a journey of discovery and self-improvement.

Christopher J. Ferguson, Stetson University

Few people would doubt that sex is ubiquitous in media – whether movies, television, music or books – and that teens today have unprecedented access to all of it. It’s often taken for granted that this easy access to “sexy media” has an influence on teenage sexuality.

Specifically, the worry is that teens may have sex earlier or engage in higher-risk sexual activities such as having multiple partners or exposing themselves to potential pregnancies or STDs. In 2010 the American Academy of Pediatrics even published a position paper claiming that sexually explicit media could promote risky teen sexual behavior.

But government data find that teens are actually waiting longer than in the past to have sex. And teen pregnancy rates are at historic lows. How is it possible that sexy media has such a pernicious effect even as teen sexuality is becoming healthier?

I’ve spent more than a decade researching how media – like video games or advertising – influences youth behavior. What fascinates me is how society interacts with media, often embracing salacious content while simultaneously blaming it for societal problems, whether real or imagined.

So my colleagues and I decided to look at the research on sexy media and teenage sexual behavior to see how the strong the link between the two is.

Sexy media doesn’t predict sexual behavior

Despite the common assumptions about sex in the media and its alleged effects on teens, the evidence behind the link is weak. Some studies find evidence for a small effect (perhaps in some circumstances but not others), while others find no evidence for any effect.

One reason the evidence may not be conclusive is that there are practical and ethical limitations to conducting research. We can’t run experiments where teens watch different TV shows and we wait around to see who has sex. This means research often relies on self-reported data. What we do is ask teens to report on their sexual behavior and their media preferences, as well as other variables we might like to control for (such as personality or family environment) and see if correlations exist.

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With this in mind, my colleagues Patrick Markey at Villanova and Danish researcher Rune Nielsen and I conducted a meta-analysis of 22 studies with over 22,000 participants that examine the correlation between sexy media and teenage sexual behavior. A meta-analysis lets us look for commonalities in the results, and is something that had not been done previously with this pool of research.

All of the studies in the meta-analysis looked at depictions of sexual situations, nudity, partial nudity or explicit discussions of sex in television shows or movies easily accessible to minors (and thus excluded pornography).

In particular, we were curious to see whether sexy media predicted teen sexual behavior once other variables had been controlled. For instance, maybe boys tend to watch sexier media and also are more sexually risk-taking. Or perhaps youth who are more liberal in terms of personality are more open both to sexy media and earlier sexual initiation. Perhaps a difficult family background is the underlying key to understanding any correlation between media use habits and actual sexual behavior.

Ultimately, this is what we found. Once other factors such as family environment, personality or even gender were controlled, sexy media exposure did not meaningfully correlate with teen sexual behavior.

Contrary to common fears, sexy media doesn’t seem to have any practical significance for when teens first have sex or start other sexual behaviors. This lack of correlation is a warning sign we might be on the wrong track in trying to blame media for teen sexual risk-taking.

Why doesn’t media influence teens?

There are numerous theories that discuss how individuals and media interact. However, many older media effects theories didn’t consider why people were drawn to media, how they processed it, or what they hoped to get from it. Such theories assumed viewers simply irrationally and purposelessly imitated what they saw. Most of the papers we examined in our meta-analysis were tests of these basic, automatic, media effects theories.

In the past few years, some scholars (myself included) have specifically called for the retirement of these older media effects theories. This is because the evidence increasingly suggests that fictional media such as feature movies or sitcoms media is too remote to have a clear impact on consumers’ behavior, especially compared to families and peers.

In addition, emerging evidence suggests that young children process fictional media differently from real events. If small children are able to process a difference between fictional events and real events, we can assume that teens don’t really expect media to reflect reality.

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Our results regarding the limited impact of media also fit with the observations from societal data. Despite a plethora of sexual media available to teens, a crisis of risky teen sexual behavior has not emerged.

We watch what we’re interested in watching

Newer models of media use suggest that it is the individuals who consume media, not the media itself, who are the driving agents of behavior. Evidence suggests that users seek out and interpret media according to what they want to get from it, rather than passively imitating it.

People don’t generally accidentally watch media, sexual or otherwise, but are motivated to do so because of preexisting desires.

For instance, some recent studies have indicated that youth seek out media that fit with preexisting motives, called a selection effect, but that media don’t necessarily lead to further problem behaviors. For example, research suggests that some teens who are already aggressive might be interested in violent video games, but playing such games doesn’t make kids more aggressive.

That’s a point that sometimes seems ignored when we talk about teens and sex. Interest in sex is a largely biologically motivated process; fictional media really isn’t required. Teens will become interested in sex all on their own.

Parents have more influence than the media

Parents can rest a bit easier since the evidence suggests that media isn’t a primary driver of teen sexuality.

To the extent media has any impact at all, it is likely only in a vacuum left by adults reluctant to talk to kids about sex, especially the stuff kids really want to know.

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How do you ask someone out on a date and how do you handle it if they say no? What does sex feel like? When is it OK to have sex? What are the risks and how do you avoid them? In the face of patient, empathic and informative discussions about sex by adults kids trust, the media likely has little influence.

Ultimately, whether media have salacious or more conscientious portrayals of sexuality, we should not expect media to replace conversations with youth by parents, guardians and educators.

I’m not suggesting everyone run out and buy “50 Shades of Grey” for their teen, but if teens happen to come across it (and they will), it’s not the end of the world.

The important thing for parents is to talk to their kids.

Christopher J. Ferguson, Associate Professor of Psychology, Stetson University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Our Lifestyle section on STM Daily News is a hub of inspiration and practical information, offering a range of articles that touch on various aspects of daily life. From tips on family finances to guides for maintaining health and wellness, we strive to empower our readers with knowledge and resources to enhance their lifestyles. Whether you’re seeking outdoor activity ideas, fashion trends, or travel recommendations, our lifestyle section has got you covered. Visit us today at https://stmdailynews.com/category/lifestyle/ and embark on a journey of discovery and self-improvement.

(Family Features) The holidays often bring colder weather and more indoor gatherings. Respiratory viruses like flu, COVID-19 and RSV are common this time of year.

Illness from these viruses can be dangerous for pregnant people and newborns. Staying up to date on vaccines for flu, COVID-19 and RSV during pregnancy can offer protection, and now is the time to get vaccinated if you haven’t already.

“During the holidays, pregnant people can help protect their health and the health of their baby by getting updated vaccines,” said Dr. Rachel Levine, assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). “During the holidays, you’re more likely to be exposed to flu, COVID-19 and RSV. Vaccination not only helps build up your immune system but can give protection for your little one.”

Here are some tips from the HHS Risk Less. Do More. public education campaign for a safe and festive holiday season:

Get vaccinated against flu and COVID-19. Getting sick with flu or COVID-19 can be dangerous for people who are pregnant and young infants. During pregnancy, there is a greater risk of flu or COVID-19 infections becoming severe and leading to hospitalization. Babies are also at risk of severe flu and COVID-19, but they cannot get vaccines until they are 6 months old. By getting vaccinated during pregnancy, you pass on antibodies that help protect your baby during the first few months of life.

Get vaccinated against RSV if you’re eligible. RSV is a common cause of severe respiratory illness in infants. In fact, it is the top reason babies in the United States are hospitalized each year. You can get an RSV vaccine if you are 32-36 weeks pregnant between September and January, the months when RSV spreads the most. The RSV vaccine helps your baby build protection from severe RSV before birth. If you do not get an RSV vaccine during pregnancy, your newborn can still get protection through a preventive antibody immunization soon after birth.

Stay home or change plans when ill. If you are not feeling well, stay home to avoid spreading illness. Also, if someone you plan to see is sick or respiratory viruses are surging in your community, consider staying home. You can also wear a mask or, if weather permits, move the gathering outdoors.

If you have questions or concerns, talk to your doctor. Knowing the facts about vaccines and pregnancy can offer confidence and comfort. Visit cdc.gov/RiskLessDoMore to learn more about getting your flu, COVID-19 and RSV vaccines before the holidays. Or visit vaccines.gov to get started.

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SOURCE:
United States Department of Health and Human Services

Our Lifestyle section on STM Daily News is a hub of inspiration and practical information, offering a range of articles that touch on various aspects of daily life. From tips on family finances to guides for maintaining health and wellness, we strive to empower our readers with knowledge and resources to enhance their lifestyles. Whether you’re seeking outdoor activity ideas, fashion trends, or travel recommendations, our lifestyle section has got you covered. Visit us today at https://stmdailynews.com/category/lifestyle/ and embark on a journey of discovery and self-improvement.