Arrange breastfeeding your baby

Breastfeeding a newborn is a natural, wonderful and bonding experience for mother and child. Breastmilk is the food designed by nature for human babies. It’s the perfect food to start your baby out on.

Breast milk really is a wonder – a complete meal, ready whenever and wherever you and your baby are.

Breast milk can protect your baby against infection and some chronic diseases. It will help your child stay healthy and grow strong. It’s also an important part of creating a bond and relationship between mother and child. 

Here are some reasons why experts say that breastmilk is the natural food for your baby:

• Breastmilk has developed over millions of years to be exactly suited to your baby’s needs. Although formula manufacturers try to copy breastmilk as closely as they can, formula won’t ever be exactly the same as breastmilk.
• Breastmilk contains all the nutrients your baby needs for the first six months of life. Exclusive breastfeeding is perfectly suitable for your baby - this means for these six months, no other food is required besides breast milk.
• Breastmilk is easy for your baby to digest, and it’s easy for them to absorb all the nutrients.
• Both colostrum and mature breast milk contain antibodies and other agents that protect your baby from infection and disease, including gastroenteritis, respiratory tract and ear infections and type-1 diabetes.
• Breastmilk is a living fluid with fatty acids that are best for baby brain development.
• Breastfeeding is important for baby’s eyesight, speech, jaw and mouth development.
• Babies who are breastfed have a lower risk of sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI), a term which includes sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and fatal sleeping accidents.
• Breastmilk adapts to your baby’s changing needs as they get older and has fewer feeds. It even changes during a feed – the first milk is thirst-quenching, and the later milk is rich, creamy and full of good and healthy fats.
• The taste of breastmilk changes with whatever you’ve eaten, which means that a breastfed baby is likely to enjoy news flavors when they start eating solids.
• The skin-to-skin contact during breastfeeds gives you a physical connection with your baby and stimulates hormones that help with breastfeeding. It also provides security and comfort for babies and toddlers.

Breastfeeding: why it’s good for mothers

• Breastfeeding is convenient. You don’t have to sterilised bottles, scrub teats, lug around bottles and sterile water, mix powder, keep formula chilled or warm formula for feeds. Have baby and breast, will travel!
• Even if you’re feeding your baby with expressed breast milk, you still don’t need to sterilise or disinfect equipment. All you do is thoroughly wash the parts of the pumping kit once every 24 hours. In between expressing sessions, store the kit covered in the fridge.
• Mothers who breastfeed have lower rates of breast cancer, osteoporosis and type-2 diabetes. Breastfeeding can help some women lose weight after the birth.
• Breastfeeding mothers get back to sleep more easily than formula-feeding mothers, and their sleep cycles are more in tune with their babies’ cycles.
• Last but not least, breastmilk is free – and unless you’re expressing, you don’t need time and equipment for cleaning and preparation.

Make photos with you breastfeeding your little one and upload to the App. How often does your newborn ask to breastfeed?