NHS says that breast milk is best for babies, due to free nutrition. Plus it offers better protection from SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome), childhood diabetes and leukaemia. And it’s free!
All health professionals recommend breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life. There are also benefits to continue breastfeeding for 12 months, like helping babies to digest food, as they wean.
Breastfeeding is also far better for babies with Down Syndrome, as it offers better protection against infections and bowel problems.
For new mothers, breastfeeding helps bonding (also for dads feeding expressed milk), releases a calming hormone (oxytocin), helps your uterus to return it its normal size. And also helps lower risks of breast and ovarian cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes and heart disease.
The law is very clear that you are allowed to breastfeed in public areas, and employers must offer a resting space to breastfeed (any private room is good, but not public toilets.
The Art of Breastfeeding is by La Leche League, which has set the standard for breastfeeding for many years, and this includes up-to-date information, illustrations and stories from mothers, fathers and grandparents around the world.
Learn why breastfeeding matters and how to get started, and manage common challenges. Also learn how to express and store milk, plus there are tips on weaning.
Practical Breastfeeding is a fully illustrated guide by an Irish lactation consultant, which deals with key issues like frequency, latching, mastitis and cracked nipples.
Colostrum is the first milk your body produces. It can be clear, white, yellow orange (or for one vegan mum, bright green!)
It’s full of antibodies, proteins, vitamins, sugars and fats, as well as immune, growth and and tissue repair components which are crucial to building a child’s immune system.
It also helps flush out sticky poo that babies excrete in the first couple of days of life. Colostrum coats and protects your baby’s gut. Cordelia Uys (breastfeeding counsellor)
When Is It Not OK to Breastfeed?
Around 98% of new mums can breastfeed, though there are exceptions which your midwife will be aware of. This could be if you are taking certain medications.
Sometimes mums with premature babies can’t breastfeed, and in this case donated breast milk is the next best thing (see more below on human milk banks).
Most women manage to breastfeed without any problems. But if you experience any issues (or have extra needs like multiple babies, premature babies or cleft lip), there is free help available:
- Your GP and midwife should be able to help
- National Breastfeeding Helpline offers a free phone line
Foods to Avoid While Breastfeeding
As with pregnancy, there are certain foods and drinks it’s best to omit. These include:
Caffeine. To be safe, just leave it out. But if you drink it, no more than 300mg a day. This works out as 2 mild mugs of tea or coffee a day (chain store coffee tends to have more caffeine) and cut back on cola and chocolate.
Alcohol. Again it’s best to avoid entirely. If you do drink, then only 1 or 2 units a week (one unit is half a pint of beer, a single spirit serving or a small glass of wine). And allow a few hours after drinking, before breastfeeding. Or express milk beforehand, to feed later on.
Never share a bed (nor sleep on the sofa) with a baby if you (or anyone) has been drinking, this is linked to SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).
Limit (or omit) fish. No more than 2 weekly portions a week of oily fish (fresh tuna, salmon, trout, mackerel, herring, sardines, pilchards). Also no more than 1 weekly portion of swordfish, marlin or shark.
This is all due to risk of mercury levels. It’s perfectly possible to eat healthy without fish (omega oils are in other foods). So play it safe, and just avoid fish entirely.
Peanuts? Health experts say that there’s no evidence that you need to avoid peanuts or peanut butter, unless you’re allergic. But do choose organic brands free from palm oil.
Dairy milk? Many babies are allergic or intolerant to cow’s milk, and this can sometimes display as symptoms, through breast milk of mothers who drink dairy. Breastfeeding is also a good option here, to avoid formula that usually is made with dairy ingredients.
Symptoms of dairy allergies are skin reactions, swelling of the face, tummy ache, constipation, runny/blocked noses and eczema. Often this is due to lactose (the natural sugar in dairy milk).
Again, it’s perfectly possible to get all your nutrients from plant foods, so giving up dairy should not be an issue, as long as you eat a good balanced diet, and take a supplement if concerned.
How to Prevent & Treat Colic
Colic is a common condition for young babies, which usually remedies itself within a few months, usually recognised by crying for hours with clenched fists and arched backs (and knees pulling into tummy). It’s caused by windy tummies, being bored or being too hot or cold:
Crib death charities recommend removing extra clothing like hats when coming into warmer temperatures (inside, cars etc). The Lullaby Trust has more info on SIDS prevention.
Sometimes colic can be remedied by holding your baby upright when feeding, with regular ‘burping’ and having babies sleep on their backs (the safest way for them to sleep, to prevent SIDS). NHS says NOT to raise the head of your baby’s cot or Moses basket.
For warm baths to soothe colic, run cold water first (then add hot water), testing with wrist or elbow. Keep baby’s head clear of water. Don’t bathe after feeds, or if hungry/tired.
NHS has a good 2-minute video by a midwife, on how to safely bathe babies. Never leave babies alone for a second (even with older children). Do not use baby bath seats, these can quickly detach and drown babies, even in a few centimetres of water.
Why Less Breastfeeding in England?
The UK has some of the lowest rates of breastfeeding in Europe, which adds around £50 million a year to NHS budgets, for ear, chest and throat infections.
Despite the NHS and World Health Organisation recommending exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months, many women choose not to breastfeed, even if they can. Breastfeeding alongside weaning is also recommended for the first year of life.
It’s estimated that almost 98% of mothers can breastfeed. Yet at 6 months, around 70% of Norwegian babies are still breastfed, yet 30% of UK babies. At 12 months, hardly any UK babies are breastfed, compared to 99% of babies in Senegal.
Breastfeeding counsellor Cordelia Uys believes in a country with good maternity leave, this is simply due to the culture of formula (breastfeeding is ‘learned’).
The sad story of a zoo gorilla proves this. Her baby died, as she had no wild gorillas to teach her how to breastfeed.
When her second baby was born, local mothers visited, and breastfed in front of her. She copied them, and her second baby survived.
Many human babies are not trained to breastfeed correctly, so it becomes uncomfortable for mothers (who also live in a society where breasts are more for ‘lads’ mags’ magazines). So some mothers also feel uncomfortable about feeding in public, even if legal to do so.
All formula companies have to legally state they agree with breastmilk as the first choice, but then promote formula, when it’s not usually needed. The two main brands (Cow & Gate and SMA) are respectively owned by Danone (a massive plastic pollutor) and Nestlé (one of the world’s most boycotted companies).
Getting breastfeeding advice from formula companies, is like chickens getting advice from foxes. La Leche League International
Expressing & Storing Breast Milk
Whether you are expressing milk in advance (or for dad to join in feeding), BPA (a chemical) is now banned for plastic bottles, when it was found leaching into milk.
Dr Brown’s Glass Baby Bottles feature award-winning vent systems to reduce colic, spit-up, burping and gas by eliminating air bubbles. They are heat-resistant, with silicone covers to keep hands cool.
Despite saying the bottles are microwave-safe, never microwave baby milk (or pet food). As it heats differently, and causes ‘hot spots’ that could scald the mouth and throat.
MyMilk Breast Milk Trays (US) were created by a mum and her engineer husband (sold in Lakeland stores). This brand began as a way to freeze leftover soup in small portions, then they realised the same idea could apply to breast milk.
Made from pure platinum silicone in three colours (mint, pink or grey), each pack includes 2 reusable trays to freeze breast milk, with a storage guideline magnet.
Just pour the breast milk into the tray, close the latching lid, then store in the back/bottom of the freeze (not the door, due to variable temperatures) with the date.
When you need milk, drop the required cubes in your baby bottle, and thaw overnight in the fridge or place in warm (not hot) water, ready to use. You can sanitise the tray in boiling water.
And once your baby has weaned, use to freeze baby meals or even frozen minced garlic or ginger (for your own recipes).
Donate to a Human Milk Bank
Most breast milk is on ‘supply and demand’, so it’s rare to run out. And for preemies (premature babies with delicate guts), breast milk from another mother is the next best thing, if the biological mother is not able to feed herself, for medical reasons.
Donated (frozen) breast milk is screened like blood (AIDs, hepatitis, syphilis etc) then collected from your home. Just a few ounces can often save the lives of premature babies.
Although milk banks recommend breastfeeding for most mothers, there are strict rules on donating. You cannot donate breast milk if you (or someone you live with) is a smoker or vaper, and you must inform of medications.
On acceptance, you are sent a pack with a thermometer to ensure your freezer is the correct temperature. Find your local milk bank.
Do You Need ‘Maternity Clothing?’
No, you can get by simply by wearing loose comfortable clothing. However there are brands that offer tops with discreet breastfeeding panels that open up easily. Which some mums prefer, in public places.
Due to some having a little elastane for comfort, launder in a microfiber filter.
Frugi is one brand, designed in Cornwall and made ethically in India (everything is sent in compostable packaging, made from potatoes!) Available in many styles and designs.
The Milky Tee offers organic and cotton t-shirts with discreet breastfeeding flaps:
Boycott Brands That Market Formula Abroad
Some companies market ‘free formula’ to mothers in developing countries. Then when they return home from hospital, the formula is sometimes (due to poverty) watered down (so not enough nutrition) or mixed with dirty water.
World Health Organisation estimates a shocking 800,000 babies die worldwide each year, due to not being breastfed.
Niftycup could be used instead to feed babies with cleft lip, who need to ‘lap milk’. Easy to use and clean, this costs $1, and has a reservoir to ensure babies don’t drink too much at once. The soft silicone cup can also be boiled.
Watch Tigers, the true documentary film of a a former pharmaceutical salesman, who watched an infant die in a hospital due to diarrhoea and acute dehydration. The baby had been switched from breastfeeding to formula, on marketing advice.
With a child and pregnant wife, he resigned from his good job. And took on a global giant, to ask it to change policy. You can imagine the resistance he met. This film is his story.
If Used, Which Baby Formula to Trust?
If you are going to use baby formula, choose a better brand. And (like pet food) transition gradually, to avoid upsetting delicate tums.
There are plant-based versions around, but at present only abroad. So in case of being vegan or dairy allergies, talk to your midwife.
Else Nutrition (US) is approved by doctors, and was created to help a child with serious allergies, and to shake up a ‘stagnant industry that’s over 140 years old’, and resistant to change.
The Toddler Formula is an expertly-formulated buckwheat-almond mix that’s rich in fatty and amino acids, and contains:
- As much vitamin D as 12oz of cow’s milk
- As much protein as 3/4 cup of yoghurt
- As much vitamin B12 as 1 egg
- As much magnesium as 2 medium bananas
- As much iron as 1 medium baked potato
- As much calcium as 3oz of canned salmon
- 1 tablespoon of safflower oil (for fat)
Sprout Organic (Australia) again was created out of necessity, when a mother with severe mastitis had to give up breastfeeding, but could not find an organic plant-based formula. This brand again has doctor approval, and includes a range for babies, toddlers and kid shakes.
It recommends to use with NUK baby bottles (which offers glass bottles with silicone covers, and teats for cleft lip).
Mixed with warm water, it’s made in a facility that processes dairy soy, so not for allergies.
For dairy formula, Kendamilk is made with organic milk from the Lake District, run by a family firm and formulated by expert nutritionists. It’s also free from palm oil, fish oil and cheap fillers.
This brand features a tamper-proof clip, so snap open and dispose of safely and immediately, away from children.
