Give your baby the breast start in life!

Breastfeeding is a subject that any new mum will think about – often well before your hungry baby has even arrived. What the benefits are and things like breastfeeding in public pop up in conversations between new mums and mums-to-be up and down the country on a daily basis. So what better time to encourage everyone to join in and embrace the natural goodness of breastfeeding than during National Breastfeeding Awareness Week? Here are a few questions you may be mulling over and few of my suggestions in answer to them.

Why should mums breastfeed? Is it better for baby?
Breast milk is packed with essential nutrients for your baby; it’s easy to digest and provides a number of long-term health benefits such as strengthening your baby’s immune system. The Department Of Health and the WHO recommend exclusive breastfeeding for your baby’s first six months, and that breastfeeding continues supplemented with solid food after six months. Breastfeeding is also good for mums too as it can aid weight loss after the birth and can help protect against some conditions such as osteoporosis, breast, uterine and ovarian cancer.

I would like to go out with my baby as much as possible. Is it really acceptable to breastfeed in public?
It absolutely is acceptable to breastfeed your baby when you’re outside the home and one of the many advantages is that the feed is always ready. Breastfeeding when you’re out is convenient, hygienic and the most natural and healthy way for your baby to feed – so be proud of what you’re doing! There are also ways to feed more discreetly if it makes you feel more comfortable.

Many mums find that quite often people are not even aware they’re breastfeeding and think you and your baby are just having a cuddle! It may help you to feel more confident about feeding in public if you master your technique at home first. Practise using a shawl or scarf as a cover up if you like and if you feel self-conscious, choose your seating position or table carefully e.g. with your back to the majority of people in a restaurant or cafe. A scarf, pashmina, shawl or muslin square placed over any exposed skin once your baby is latched-on can make you feel more comfortable

It’s also increasingly easy now to find somewhere a little more private to feed your baby while you’re out if you prefer. Many shopping centres, department stores, baby shops and supermarkets have special feeding rooms where you can breast and bottle feed, and change your baby’s nappy.

I believe that the more often mums are seen breastfeeding outside the home, the more part of everyday life it will become and mums won’t need to feel uncertain or uncomfortable as they sometimes do at the moment.

I would like to breastfeed for as long as possible, is there any way to make it more flexible? What if I want to go out? And what about going back to work?
Expressing is a convenient way of ensuring that your baby still receives all of the benefits of your breast milk when you can’t be there to give the feed. It can also help mums to continue to breastfeed for longer as expressing enables you to juggle your busy life and still breastfeed. You can express your breast milk straight into a bottle and give it to your baby that way. If you are thinking about expressing your breast milk, it’s best to wait 4-6 weeks until breastfeeding is fully established, unless a healthcare professional recommends otherwise.