Bounty feature

Your breast bet

It’s National Breastfeeding Awareness Week from 13 to 19 May, and if you’re expecting your first baby, you may have lots to ask about breastfeeding. We pass on some practical advice, point you in the right direction to find out more and answer some of the questions you may have:

Why should I breastfeed my baby?
How long should I breastfeed my baby?
Is breastfeeding easy?
What can I do to prepare for breastfeeding?
Do most mums breastfeed their babies?
What if I can’t breastfeed?
Help with breastfeeding…

When you’re pregnant with your first baby, your thoughts are focused on each stage of your pregnancy and going into labour, and you probably can’t see much beyond the birth. So the way you’ll feed your baby may not be something you’re dwelling on. But the best time to start thinking about breastfeeding is now, when you’re not too tired from lack of sleep and adjusting to life with a newborn.

Why should I breastfeed my baby?
Breast milk is tailor-made for your baby. It’s jam-packed with all the nutrients they need and helps protect them against illnesses, infections and allergies. Breastfeeding is also good for you – it burns off up to 500 calories a day and helps you return to your pre-pregnancy figure more quickly, plus it may help protect you against breast and ovarian cancer and osteoporosis. Breastfeeding is free, instant, and for many mums and babies, a joyful experience.

How long should I breastfeed my baby?
The Department of Health recommends that mums breastfeed exclusively for their baby’s first six months. But the benefits to your baby of breastfeeding are there from day one. And once you’ve started, it’s easier to continue.

Is breastfeeding easy?
That’s a good question. Breastfeeding is the most natural thing in the world, but it doesn’t always come naturally to either mother or baby. Trying to get to grips with this new skill comes at a time when you’re exhausted from giving birth, so if it’s difficult for you at first, don’t lose heart. Like anything worth doing, it takes practice and patience, and crucially, lots of skilled help and encouragement from your midwife or a breastfeeding counsellor, and the reassurance and support of your partner and family.

What can I do to prepare for breastfeeding?

• One of the most useful things you can do is plan ahead to make sure you can concentrate on breastfeeding when your baby’s born. That means getting someone else to help out with cooking, washing, shopping and all the other household stuff so you don’t have to think about it. Talk to your partner or friends and family to ask them who can help with what after the baby is born. A few weeks before your baby is due, start buying (or making from scratch if you enjoy cooking) and freezing enough nutritious meals to keep you going for a couple of weeks, and get in some healthy snacks such as nuts and dried fruit so that you can cut down on shopping and cooking after your baby’s born. If you haven’t already tried online grocery shopping, an ideal time to start is those first few weeks with a new baby. Remember that, apart from meals, drinks, naps and going to the loo, absolutely everything else can wait when you have a new baby.
• Be prepared for a change in your eating and drinking habits – when you’re breastfeeding you need to drink lots of water and eat regular, well-balanced meals and nutritious snacks.
• Catch up on sleep. Breastfeeding a new baby can be tiring. You’ll take a while to adjust to your baby’s sleeping and feeding habits so get as much sleep as you can when your baby’s asleep.
• And get ready to do some serious bonding with your newborn. One breastfeeding counsellor suggests having a ‘babymoon’ to help with breastfeeding – spending a day in bed with your baby with lots of skin-to-skin contact, just getting to know each other.
• Breast buys – breast pads are essential to help prevent leaking milk getting on your tops, so stock up as you’ll get through loads.

– After a few weeks, you may want to express and freeze your milk so that your partner or a babysitter can feed your baby while you sleep or go out. Choose between manual and electric breast pumps from the wide range at www.kiddicare.com or www.mothercare.com
– To help soothe engorged breasts and help milk let down, try Oscar + Dehn’s Breast Feeding Bliss soothing gel pads www.mothercare.com that can be heated or frozen depending on what you need, or Auravita’s Soothing Gel Breast Pads www.kelkoo.com. For one mum, these were a godsend: ‘I had mastitis twice with my first baby, but with my second, buying the Oscar + Dehn gel pads was the best thing I did. They are blissfully soothing, and they definitely helped prevent me getting mastitis again.’

Do most mums breastfeed their babies?
They do in many parts of the world. In the UK, more than 70% of mums start out breastfeeding, but a third of us have stopped by the time our babies are six weeks old. However, the tide is starting to turn. According to a government survey, nine out of 10 mums would like to breastfeed for longer. Mums do best at breastfeeding when they have plenty of support, and enough time to relax and settle into breastfeeding. There’s now more and more help for mums to help our babies latch on and stay on – see below for links.

What if I can’t breastfeed?
Sometimes, things just don’t work out, or are such a struggle, both you and your baby are distraught. If this sounds like you, talk to your midwife and don’t be afraid to ask for more help from her or a breastfeeding counsellor. What is most important is that you are kind to yourself and that you and your baby are happy. More rarely, there may be medical reasons why you can’t breastfeed – talk to your GP, midwife or health visitor if you have any concerns.

For more help and advice on breastfeeding
•See the Bounty You and Your Newborn guide – print or download it here
•Ask your midwife or health visitor about breastfeeding counsellors in your area
•See www.breastfeeding.nhs.uk
•Or contact the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers www.abm.me.uk, La Leche league .laleche.org.uk or The National Childbirth Trust www.nct.org.uk/breastfeeding
It’s National Breastfeeding Awareness Week from 13 to 19 May, and if you’re expecting your first baby, you may have lots to ask about breastfeeding. We pass on some practical advice, point you in the right direction to find out more and answer some of the questions you may have:

Why should I breastfeed my baby?
How long should I breastfeed my baby?
Is breastfeeding easy?
What can I do to prepare for breastfeeding?
Do most mums breastfeed their babies?
What if I can’t breastfeed?
Help with breastfeeding…

When you’re pregnant with your first baby, your thoughts are focused on each stage of your pregnancy and going into labour, and you probably can’t see much beyond the birth. So the way you’ll feed your baby may not be something you’re dwelling on. But the best time to start thinking about breastfeeding is now, when you’re not too tired from lack of sleep and adjusting to life with a newborn.

Why should I breastfeed my baby?
Breast milk is tailor-made for your baby. It’s jam-packed with all the nutrients they need and helps protect them against illnesses, infections and allergies. Breastfeeding is also good for you – it burns off up to 500 calories a day and helps you return to your pre-pregnancy figure more quickly, plus it may help protect you against breast and ovarian cancer and osteoporosis. Breastfeeding is free, instant, and for many mums and babies, a joyful experience.

How long should I breastfeed my baby?
The Department of Health recommends that mums breastfeed exclusively for their baby’s first six months. But the benefits to your baby of breastfeeding are there from day one. And once you’ve started, it’s easier to continue.

Is breastfeeding easy?
That’s a good question. Breastfeeding is the most natural thing in the world, but it doesn’t always come naturally to either mother or baby. Trying to get to grips with this new skill comes at a time when you’re exhausted from giving birth, so if it’s difficult for you at first, don’t lose heart. Like anything worth doing, it takes practice and patience, and crucially, lots of skilled help and encouragement from your midwife or a breastfeeding counsellor, and the reassurance and support of your partner and family.

What can I do to prepare for breastfeeding?

• One of the most useful things you can do is plan ahead to make sure you can concentrate on breastfeeding when your baby’s born. That means getting someone else to help out with cooking, washing, shopping and all the other household stuff so you don’t have to think about it. Talk to your partner or friends and family to ask them who can help with what after the baby is born. A few weeks before your baby is due, start buying (or making from scratch if you enjoy cooking) and freezing enough nutritious meals to keep you going for a couple of weeks, and get in some healthy snacks such as nuts and dried fruit so that you can cut down on shopping and cooking after your baby’s born. If you haven’t already tried online grocery shopping, an ideal time to start is those first few weeks with a new baby. Remember that, apart from meals, drinks, naps and going to the loo, absolutely everything else can wait when you have a new baby.
• Be prepared for a change in your eating and drinking habits – when you’re breastfeeding you need to drink lots of water and eat regular, well-balanced meals and nutritious snacks.
• Catch up on sleep. Breastfeeding a new baby can be tiring. You’ll take a while to adjust to your baby’s sleeping and feeding habits so get as much sleep as you can when your baby’s asleep.
• And get ready to do some serious bonding with your newborn. One breastfeeding counsellor suggests having a ‘babymoon’ to help with breastfeeding – spending a day in bed with your baby with lots of skin-to-skin contact, just getting to know each other.
• Breast buys – breast pads are essential to help prevent leaking milk getting on your tops, so stock up as you’ll get through loads.

– After a few weeks, you may want to express and freeze your milk so that your partner or a babysitter can feed your baby while you sleep or go out. Choose between manual and electric breast pumps from the wide range at www.kiddicare.com or www.mothercare.com
– To help soothe engorged breasts and help milk let down, try Oscar + Dehn’s Breast Feeding Bliss soothing gel pads www.mothercare.com that can be heated or frozen depending on what you need, or Auravita’s Soothing Gel Breast Pads www.kelkoo.com. For one mum, these were a godsend: ‘I had mastitis twice with my first baby, but with my second, buying the Oscar + Dehn gel pads was the best thing I did. They are blissfully soothing, and they definitely helped prevent me getting mastitis again.’

Do most mums breastfeed their babies?
They do in many parts of the world. In the UK, more than 70% of mums start out breastfeeding, but a third of us have stopped by the time our babies are six weeks old. However, the tide is starting to turn. According to a government survey, nine out of 10 mums would like to breastfeed for longer. Mums do best at breastfeeding when they have plenty of support, and enough time to relax and settle into breastfeeding. There’s now more and more help for mums to help our babies latch on and stay on – see below for links.

What if I can’t breastfeed?
Sometimes, things just don’t work out, or are such a struggle, both you and your baby are distraught. If this sounds like you, talk to your midwife and don’t be afraid to ask for more help from her or a breastfeeding counsellor. What is most important is that you are kind to yourself and that you and your baby are happy. More rarely, there may be medical reasons why you can’t breastfeed – talk to your GP, midwife or health visitor if you have any concerns.

For more help and advice on breastfeeding
•See the Bounty You and Your Newborn guide – print or download it here
•Ask your midwife or health visitor about breastfeeding counsellors in your area
•See www.breastfeeding.nhs.uk
•Or contact the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers www.abm.me.uk, La Leche league .laleche.org.uk or The National Childbirth Trust www.nct.org.uk/breastfeeding