Breastfeeding - some useful information

Quite simply, mother’s milk is the healthier choice for you and your baby.

So when you decide to breastfeed, you’re giving your baby a wonderful start in life. Studies have compared the health of breastfed babies with that of babies fed on formula milk. There’s now a large amount of research that shows beyond doubt that breastfeeding benefits your baby in many ways, and the benefits last into childhood and beyond. The greatest benefits are to be gained by feeding your baby breastmilk and nothing else for the first six months of life, but any period of breastfeeding at all, however short, will benefit you and your baby.

In pregnancy, a midwife or midwives will talk to you about breastfeeding. They’ll answer your questions and explain what to expect.

Breastfeeding: the facts

Babies who are breastfed are less likely to have many illnesses including:

•  Gastro-intestinal infections
• Chest infections
• Urine infections
• Ear infections
• Wheeze when breathing/asthma
• Eczema
• Diabetes in childhood
• Obesity

Breastfeeding also has benefits for mothers too. Mothers who breastfeed have a lower risk of:

•  Ovarian cancer
• Breast cancer
• Hip fracture in later life, caused by osteoporosis

Breastfeeding helps you to return to your pre-pregnancy weight. During pregnancy, your body lays down fat stores in preparation for feeding: if you breastfeed, you use them up, helping you avoid the long term health risks associated with being overweight, such as diabetes and heart disease.

There are many differences between breast and formula milk. Breast milk is a living fluid providing perfect nutrition, changing according to the baby’s needs and stimulating his budding immune system. Antibodies in breast milk help babies to fight common infections. Formula milk has none of these qualities.

Any breastfeeding, even for a short time, is worthwhile. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends breastfeeding with no other foods or drinks for around the first six months of your baby’s life; your baby can be fed breast milk for as long as you like after this, alongside whatever else he may eat and drink.

 Other benefits

•  Successful breeding makes you feel good
• You see your baby growing and developing as he should
• You can be proud that it’s all your own work
• Breast milk is always available, at the right temperature and with just the right ingredients
• There are no bottles or teats to sterilise

• Its free - mothers who breastfeed save money because they don’t have to pay for formula milk, teats, sterilising equipment, electricity for boiling water etc

How breastfeeding works

In pregnancy

As soon as you become pregnant your milk-producing cells and milk-collecting ducts get ready to produce milk. There is an increase in the blood supply to your breasts as well. This ‘activity’ inside sometimes makes the breast feel tense, extra sensitive and possibly large in size. You may need a larger bra.

From about the sixth or seventh week of pregnancy you may notice small raised ‘spots’ on each areola (the dark area surrounding the nipple). They are called Montgomery’s tubercules, and they secrete an oily substance that keeps your nipples and areolae supple and soft. 

From the middle of your pregnancy onwards, your breasts make concentrated milk (colostrum), which is a highly valuable, antibody-rich fluid. It is designed to meet your baby’s nutritional needs for the first few days after the birth until the mature milk is produced.

After the birth

Every woman makes breast milk at first, whether or not her baby ever comes to the breast.

The delivery of the placenta (afterbirth) sets up a hormonal response in your body, and prolactin, the hormone which stimulates milk production, starts acting on the breasts, ‘telling’ them to make milk.

At sometime between day two and day five after the birth, your baby is ready for more milk and your breasts start producing more breastmilk in response. You may feel your breasts heavier than usual. It’s not just the milk that makes them feel like this; there is a great increase in the amount of blood and fluid going to your breasts at this time. 

How you continue to make milk

You continue producing milk only if it taken from the breast. Normally this happens as a result of the baby feeding at the breast, so when your baby is feeding effectively you make milk in response, in the amount your baby needs in order to thrive. 

You can also encourage milk production by expressing your milk. You may need to do this if your baby is very sleepy and reluctant to feed in the early days, or if he is unable to breast feed directly from you, perhaps he is pre-term or ill.

If you don’t breastfeed, or express, your milk production gradually stops. It’s possible, even so, to start producing milk again if you express, or put your baby to the breast often enough.

 How do you know breastfeeding is going well?

 You and your baby are doing fine if:

•  Your baby appears content and satisfied after most feeds
• Your baby manages to attach to the breast without a fuss at most feeds
• Your baby is healthy, and gaining weight satisfactorily
• You feel confident, and your breasts and nipples aren’t sore

• Your baby has at least six wet nappies a day

How breastfeeding changes after the first days and weeks

At first, you may find your baby wants to feed very frequently: 8-10 times in 24 hours is normal, this is similar to a formula fed baby. A new baby needs to feed often because his stomach is very small, roughly the size of a walnut, and breast milk is very easily digested. 

But as your baby grows, he will probably need fewer feeds, though there will be occasional days when he wants to feed a lot. Some babies reach the stage of less frequent feeding later than others – all babies are different.

Breastfeeding and your life 

Most mums need practical help with starting breastfeeding, not least because breastfeeding is a completely new skill for them and they’re tired after the delivery. The midwife will help you position your baby properly so that he can attach well. The first few attempts may be tricky, but it will get easier as you get more experienced. Some babies take longer to get the hang of breastfeeding than others, but don’t worry- the baby wont starve or get dehydrated, because he’s born with stores of fat and fluid that will keep him going for several days.

Breastfeeding in front of others?

Some mothers can feed happily enough when family or friends are around but feel awkward when they are in a public place. Attitudes are changing and some shops and stores and public places now have supportive breastfeeding policies. Once you feel confident, you can breastfeed so that others are not aware of it. You don’t need to unbutton your top and expose your whole breast to feed your baby. If you wear something that lifts up from the waist like a t-shirt or jumper, rather than a shirt or blouse with buttons, you can breastfeed without any breast showing at all.

Getting support from family, friends or a partner?

Your relatives may be in favour of bottle feeding, or perhaps they know very little about breastfeeding as they haven’t done it themselves. It will help if you can explain about the health benefits of breastfeeding, which they may not know about, and remind them that all health professionals encourage it.

Feeling ‘tied’ to the baby? 

As you’re the only one who can feed the baby, you might feel you have less freedom to go out, to socialise or to share the care of your baby. There are ways of coping with this. You will find your baby’s needs are more predictable as he gets older, and he can be encouraged to be more flexible too, so he can feed at a time that suits you. You can also express milk for someone else to give it to your baby.

Further information

www.breastfeeding.nhs.uk 

NHS website with information about breastfeeding

www.nc.org.uk 

National Childbirth Trust’s consumer site, for parents and members.

Information adapted for use by Stoke-on-Trent NHS.

http://www.stokechs.co.uk/childrens/m2mwhatwedo

Thank you to Mum2Mum to providing us with this information. For more information, please telephone Mum2Mum on 01782 425894.