Not only is breast milk an excellent choice for your baby but there are some benefits for the mother too. One of the main benefits is the reduced risk of developing breast cancer. The hormone oestrogen is thought to play a major part in the development of breast cancers. When you are pregnant and lactating your body is exposed to less oestrogen and this reduction is thought to offer some protection against breast cancer. Other contributing factors to this reduced risk is a lactating breast stores less pollutants and cancer causing agents.

Some experts believe that women who ovulate less often have a reduced risk of developing ovarian cancer. Ovulation stops or occurs less often when you lactate and breast feed therefore your risk of developing ovarian cancer is reduced. Also during lactation there is less stimulus of the endometrial wall (lining of the womb) thus reducing the risk of developing endometrial cancer.

When you breast feed or express milk you release the hormone oxytocin. Oxytocin is a “feel good” hormone and helps a mother relax. This relaxed state can help you cope with the stresses of being a new mother and having a baby in the neonatal unit.

Effective attachment will help a baby get the milk they need, stay latched and make breastfeeding more comfortable. Watch the video below to learn why effective attachment is so important to breastfeeding and how to attach baby to the breast.

If you are experiencing challenges (i.e. painful feeding, difficulties with latching) you may also find this video helpful in understanding how to exaggerate baby’s latch as much as possible (no sound).

If baby is not latching well at the breast, ask our staff to support you with expressing milk and giving this by syringe or cup (research shows that avoiding bottles in the early days makes it more likely that baby will go home breastfeeding).

Uninterrupted skin to skin contact for at least an hour, or until after the first breastfeed, gets breastfeeding off to the best start.  Skin to skin contact is very important for every baby regardless of how they are fed – it helps your baby adapt to outside life by helping to stabilise their heart rate, temperature and breathing.  Skin-to-skin also triggers oxytocin (the love hormone) which helps you both relax after the birth and stimulates your milk production.

If your baby is too sleepy or not able to breastfeed after the birth, we encourage you to hand express your milk as soon as possible.  If your baby is still not interested in feeding, keep them in skin-to-skin contact and continue to express 8 times in 24 hours (including at night) to stimulate and maintain your supply while your baby is learning.  Our maternity staff can help you with this.  Expressed colostrum (your first milk) can be given to baby via syringe or cup feed.  We would advise avoiding bottles during the early days of establishing breastfeeding, as these can interfere with baby learning to latch at the breast.   

We normally think of milk as food but colostrum is different to milk that comes later. Colostrum has very little milk protein or lactose (sugars) but it is very rich in the protective, anti-infective agents [secretory immunoglobulin (Ig)A, lactoferrin and leukocytes] and developmental factors such as epidermal growth factor (EGF) which help baby’s gut to develop and grow. These components of colostrum show that its main function is immunological (protective) rather than nutritional (food).