{"id":348,"date":"2026-07-29T10:21:54","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T10:21:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mamymleko.pl\/blog\/?p=348"},"modified":"2026-07-29T10:21:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T10:21:54","slug":"grandma-your-support-matters-more-than-you-know-whats-changed-in-newborn-care-over-the-past-30-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mamymleko.pl\/blog\/en\/grandma-your-support-matters-more-than-you-know-whats-changed-in-newborn-care-over-the-past-30-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Grandma, Your Support Matters More Than You Know: What’s Changed in Newborn Care Over the Past 30 Years?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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I hesitated before writing this article because this blog is mainly for new parents and breastfeeding mothers. But there’s someone else I wanted to write to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grandmothers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mothers and mothers-in-law of the women I meet every day on the postnatal ward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I often see deeply moved women holding their new grandson or granddaughter for the very first time. They are eager to help, genuinely supportive\u2014you can see it in everything they do. They want to make life easier for the new family, but sometimes they’re simply not sure how.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that’s completely understandable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Times change. Medicine changes too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That doesn’t mean the way things were done years ago was wrong. It simply means that today we know more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear Grandma!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being a grandmother is a truly special role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You pass on your experience, offer reassurance and stand beside new parents as they learn how to care for their baby and adjust to a completely new chapter in life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of the things you learned when you became a mother are still just as important today. Love, affection, cuddles, patience and responding to a baby’s needs never go out of date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, scientific research has changed some of the recommendations about newborn care over the past 30\u201340 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not because mothers in the past did something wrong. Simply because today we understand much more about infant development, breastfeeding and newborn safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article isn’t about judging the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s about sharing what we know today so that you can support your daughter or daughter-in-law with even greater confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Hasn’t Changed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

❤️ Love and closeness have always mattered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although recommendations about feeding and sleep have evolved over the years, one thing has remained exactly the same:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Babies need loving, responsive adults more than anything else. Cuddles, affection, a calm voice and responding to a baby’s cries all help build a sense of safety and support healthy emotional development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, science confirms what many mothers and grandmothers have always known instinctively:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You cannot give a baby too much love or closeness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best grandmothers are not the ones who know everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They’re the ones who combine their life experience with new knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medicine continues to evolve, which is why it’s worth becoming familiar with some of the recommendations that have changed the most\u2014not to criticise the past, but to support today’s parents in the best possible way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Years Ago, Newborns Were Often Given Water, Herbal Teas or Glucose Water<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today we know that healthy, full-term breastfed babies receive all the water they need from their mother’s milk\u2014even in hot weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Routinely giving additional fluids can reduce the frequency of breastfeeding and interfere with establishing a healthy milk supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Years Ago, People Thought Crying Always Meant Hunger<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today we know that newborns cry for many different reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A baby may be crying because they:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– need closeness,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– are tired,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– need help settling,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– simply want to be held.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The breast is not just a source of nutrition. It also provides comfort, reassurance and a sense of security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Years Ago, People Said, „Don’t Pick the Baby Up\u2014You’ll Spoil Them”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today we know that close physical contact helps regulate a baby’s body temperature, breathing, heart rate and stress levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You cannot spoil a newborn by holding them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Years Ago, Mothers Were Told, „Your Milk Is Too Thin”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many mothers were told that their milk was „too thin” because their baby wanted to breastfeed frequently, fed for a long time or cried after a feed. Some people even judged the quality of breast milk by its appearance, assuming that milk which looked more watery was somehow less nutritious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today we know that there is no such thing as „milk that is too thin” in a healthy breastfeeding mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Human milk is not meant to have exactly the same composition throughout a feed\u2014and that is precisely what makes it remarkable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the beginning of a feed, the milk contains more water, making it excellent for satisfying a baby’s thirst. As the breast becomes progressively emptier, the fat content naturally increases, providing the baby with more energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a normal physiological process\u2014not a sign that one type of milk is „better” or „worse” than another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Years Ago, People Said, „Have a Beer\u2014It Will Increase Your Milk Supply”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many years, there was a widespread belief that beer\u2014especially dark beer\u2014could increase milk production. Some women received this advice from their mothers, grandmothers and, occasionally, even healthcare professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today we know that scientific evidence does not support the idea that drinking beer increases milk production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is true that certain components of barley may have a small effect on prolactin, one of the hormones involved in milk production. However, an increase in prolactin alone does not mean that a baby will receive more milk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s more, alcohol can inhibit the milk ejection reflex (also known as the oxytocin reflex), making it more difficult for milk to flow from the breast. As a result, babies may feed less effectively and transfer less milk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most effective way to increase milk production remains exactly what lactation physiology has taught us for decades: frequent and effective breastfeeding, responsive feeding, and regular, effective milk removal from the breast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Years Ago, Giving Baby Cereal Before Bed Was Thought to Help Babies Sleep Longer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today we know that research does not support the idea that introducing baby cereal or other more filling foods earlier improves sleep in healthy infants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Night waking is a normal part of infant development and is primarily related to the maturation of the nervous system\u2014not because babies are „still hungry.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear Grandma,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your experience is invaluable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It gives new parents the reassuring feeling that they are not facing this journey alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, alongside that experience, we also have knowledge gained through scientific research. These two worlds do not compete with one another\u2014they can complement each other beautifully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes the greatest support is not offering another piece of advice, but simply saying:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

„That’s interesting. We used to do things differently when I had my babies. Tell me how it’s recommended today.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That kind of openness builds trust. It helps new parents feel heard rather than judged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world changes. Medicine evolves. Recommendations continue to change\u2014and perhaps in another 10 or 20 years, this article will need updating too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But one thing has remained unchanged across generations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every mother wants the very best for her baby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a new mother feels that her own mother\u2014or her baby’s grandmother\u2014is standing beside her without judgement, offering support rather than criticism, she is much more likely to find the confidence she needs during those challenging first weeks of parenthood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because our most precious family memories are not created by proving who was right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are created by treating one another with kindness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Your experience is invaluable. Discover what has changed in newborn care over the past few decades\u2014and how you can become one of the greatest sources of support for new parents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":346,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestylowe-pl-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mamymleko.pl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mamymleko.pl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mamymleko.pl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mamymleko.pl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mamymleko.pl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.mamymleko.pl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":350,"href":"https:\/\/www.mamymleko.pl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348\/revisions\/350"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mamymleko.pl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mamymleko.pl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mamymleko.pl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mamymleko.pl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}