Breastfeeding is still best for baby

IT protects babies from illness and meets their every need and yet Ireland has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world. This week is National Breastfeeding Week and as part of campaign to get more mothers to engage in the practice, Laura McHugh, the HSE’s National Breastfeeding Coordinator wants to bust some myths surrounding it.

‘Some mothers may find breast feeding daunting to begin with but there is help at hand,’ says Laura. ‘All mothers and babies are hardwired to breastfeed and even though we are naturally capable of doing that it still is a skill that needs to be learned.

‘Certainly some people will have concerns about their baby getting enough milk but breastfeeding is a supply and demand system so the more often you feed the more milk your produce. Size or shape of the breast doesn’t matter.

‘We live in a formula feeding culture in Ireland but all the research will tell you that no formula protects your baby from illness the way that breast milk does — the research is emphatic in that.

‘Your breast milk protects your baby against lots of illnesses and conditions. It’s designed to meet your baby’s every need. Breast

Breast milk changes as your baby grows

milk contains antibodies that can help fight infection. Your breast milk contains essential enzymes, hormones and antibodies. These are vital for your baby’s normal growth, development and good health.’

Breast milk is tailored for your baby and their stage of development. It changes as your baby grows to meet their needs and protects them from illness.

‘When you come into contact with a virus or bacteria, your body will make antibodies to protect itself. These antibodies are passed into your breast milk so your baby is protected too. Despite years of research, science still can’t replicate this,’ says Laura.

It is also good for the mother too as it helps the uterus contract after birth and also protects against some forms of cancers long term.

‘For mothers breast feeding reduces your risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer and diabetes,’ says Laura.

In these times too breastfeeding can also help save you time and money and Laura says the benefits of persevering with it are many.

‘Once people get the hang of it, breastfeeding shouldn’t hurt. If it is painful it could mean that how the baby is attached might need some tweaking or the mother might need some additional help to get the baby attached to the breast.

‘It’s convenient and produces mood boosting hormones for mothers,’ says Laura.

‘Some mothers feel self-conscious breastfeeding in public the first time, particularly when attaching the baby to the breast. This gets easier with time. Most people won’t notice you are breastfeeding, as it looks like you are cuddling your baby.’

Partners can also get involved if the mother wants to express milk they can feed the baby using a bottle.

‘There are lots of ways partners can be involved, bonding with your baby by doing skin to skin contact which we would encourage all parents to do,’ Laura says.

‘It really helps to regulate your baby’s temperature and helps you get to know the baby’s emotions.’

And once you have started, you can keep going even when the baby is weaned.

‘The recommendations are that you can continue breastfeeding up to two and over,’ says Laura. ‘If you are breastfeeding over a year, there are still nutritional benefits. Babies can get up to 40 per cent of their energy from breastfeeding at that age and it is an important source of fatty acids and vitamin A and so on.’

There are difficulties faced by many new mothers and breastfeeding for some can be tough. But Laura says help is available from a number of sources.

‘Minding a new baby in the early days is really challenging and breastfeeding is something that is a skill,’ says Laura. ‘It does take about a month or so to really get the hang of it. We would never say a mother should feel bad for giving up breastfeeding but there is support out there and we would encourage people to get in touch with their maternity hospital or their public health nurse orto link in with a breastfeeding support group or clinic.’

Hospital classes to help women learn how to breastfeed are also available online.

‘Get to know where these supports are before you have your baby because you do need a lot of guidance and support in the early days. There are groups and clinics and mychild.ie has a full list of all the counties where you can find your midwife, your public health nurse lactation consultant who are maybe providing a clinic or a group in your area,’ Laura says.

The HSE’s ‘Ask our breastfeeding expert’ service is available for free on mychild.ie. Talk to lactation consultants online for information and advice on any part of breastfeeding via email or live chat. The live chat service is available from Monday to Friday, 10am-3pm at mychild.ie.