Breast feeding

Breast milk is the best food for your newborn baby. It contains just the right balance of nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates and fat, as well as antibodies that help your baby fight off illness and infection. Breast milk is also at exactly the right temperature for your baby.

breast feeding is much more convenient than bottle feeding, as you do not have to worry about cleaning bottles and teats, or storing formula.

breast feeding does not necessarily help you to lose weight, This helps you to regain your pre-pregnancy shape.

The size of your breasts does not affect how much milk you produce. The reason one woman has small breasts and another has large breasts has to do with the amount of fatty tissue in the breasts. The number of mammary (lacrimal) glands, which produce the milk, is generally the same from woman to woman.

If you have flat (retracted) nipples or nipples that go inward (inverted), your baby may have difficulty latching on to the nipple, so you may need to prepare your breasts beforehand. You might try massaging the area around the nipples, and use your forefinger and thumb to push the nipples out.

It is best to start breast feeding your baby immediately or shortly after birth, as this provides a vital re-connection between you and your child after the ‘separation’ of labour. It also helps your baby become used to using his or her senses to find your breast and to feed.

Again, each baby is different. The average feeding time is between 15 and 40 minutes, but let your baby decide how long he or she wants to feed.

Good nutrition is important not only for the quality of your milk, but also for your health and well being (which is important since you are going to be busy over the coming months). Eat well and regularly, bread, other cereals and potatoes; fruits and vegetables; milk and dairy foods (important sources of calcium); and meat, fish and alternatives (such as beans or lentils).

Any alcohol you drink is passed on to your baby through your milk. If you do drink, do so in moderation, choosing low-alcohol drinks and always eating first. Do not smoke, as there is evidence that nicotine is passed to the baby in breast milk. Babies whose parents smoke are also more likely to suffer from asthma and other respiratory diseases, and are subject to the risks of passive smoking.

That is for you, your partner and your baby to decide. Ideally, you may try to breast feed your baby exclusively for six months, you can supplement solid food with breast milk for up to a year or even longer if you want. No matter how long you breast feed.

breast feeding is natural, but that does not mean that it is easy or should ‘come naturally’ to you. Successful breast feeding takes determination, patience and persistence in the first few weeks of your baby’s life.

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