Why Breastfeed?
Breast milk is the perfect food for babies. It’s easily digestible and provides everything your baby needs for the first six months of life including important antibodies which help fight infection. It also helps protect babies against middle ear infections, gastroenteritis, asthma and eczema. And there are benefits for mums too. Mothers who breastfeed are less likely to develop breast cancer, ovarian cancer and osteoporosis later in life – and breastfeeding helps mother and baby to get to know each other and build a loving relationship. If that’s not enough, it’s also free, instant and environmentally friendly!
Getting baby on the breast
Although natural, breastfeeding is a learned art. To be successful you have to take the time to master it and surround yourself with friends and whanau who support your decision to breastfeed. Research tells us that the people who have the most impact on our breastfeeding success are our partners and mothers so make sure you’ve got them onside.
Establishing breastfeeding
Once you have baby on the breast, you’ll have questions like ‘How often?’, ‘How much?’ and ‘How do I know if I’m getting it right?’