Belly Balls with Demo Breast - available in Light or Dark

Ardo works closely with healthcare professionals within the hospital environment, and we are proud to be an approved supplier to the NHS.  Ardo Belly Balls are supportive teaching products that help health care professionals explain to mums the size of a newborn's tummy, and visually demonstrate the amount of breastmilk that is needed to feed their baby.   The demonstration breast helps to show a mum how to do hand expression, carry out breast massage, and for demonstrating how to effectively use a breast pump. 

It is a very common feeling amongst breastfeeding and expressing mums that they are not feeding their baby enough breastmilk, but rest-assured that healthy, full-term, newborn babies usually only need colostrum and breastmilk and do not require additional nourishment or fluids. The specialist and professional community are in complete agreement about this. In fact, the WHO (World Health Organisation) actually recommends that supplementary feeding be avoided because it may compromise successful breastfeeding.

The Belly Balls correspond to the estimated average size of a newborn's elastic stomach:

- on the first day: 5-7 ml

- on the third day: 22-27 ml

- on the fifth day: approx. 57ml. 

References: Wang, Y et al: Preliminary Study on the Blood Glucose Level in the Exclusively Breastfed Newborn; J Trop Peds 1994, 40:187-88. Saint L, Smith M, Hartmann P.E: The yield and nutrient content of colostrum and milk of women from giving birth to one month post-partum; British Journal of Nutrition 1984, 52, 87-95. Scammon, R, Doyle L: Observations on the capacity of the stomach in the first ten days of postnatal life. Am J Dis Child 1920; 20:516-38