Breastfeeding is a new skill that takes time and patience. It’s likely to be one of the first nurturing acts you’ll do as a new mother.

As natural as breastfeeding is, you may still worry and stress about providing the proper nutrients for your baby. And you probably have a million questions about how it all works and how to do it correctly.

Remember we are only human we all need help from others at times so if you are finding this part of your journey difficult reach out, get some practical advice from a Midwife, PHN or lactation consultant, we are all here to help you and nobody expects you to go it alone

We’ve put together our best advice for new mothers to help ease the process:  

• Relax: You and your baby will get the hang of it eventually. Before you start a feed, make yourself comfortable first, sit on a comfy chair with support, have a glass of water next to you and your phone or book to read
• Tummy to mummy: Babies stomach no matter what position you use should be facing their mummy
• Nose to nipple: Your baby’s nose should be in line with the nipple for a good latch
• Wide-open mouth: Baby needs to have a wide-open mouth to be able to latch effectively onto the breast, a narrow mouth will mean you have a shallow latch and that is not sustainable for you or your milk supply
• The latch is key: If it feels wrong or sore it’s not correct, take baby off and try to relatch baby 
• Lips flanged out: Babies’ lips need to be flanged out ie top lip up and bottom lip down.

We know breastfeeding can be overwhelming at times, but putting the tips above into practice will help you make the most of your time with your little one while breastfeeding. So pay close attention to your little one’s needs, get comfortable, and relax. Evaluate the signs that breastfeeding is going well, and make sure you’re staying hydrated.

How We Can Help

We have a range of live online classes which you can attend from the comfort of your own home where you will get the chance to ask a midwife any questions you have throughout the class making you well-prepared for labour birth and more. You can see our range of available classes by clicking the button below.

Your breast milk contains essential enzymes, hormones and antibodies. These are vital for your baby’s normal growth, development and good health. Storing it safely makes sure those immune properties also help protect the milk from bacteria growth while it is being stored.

Written by our Expert Midwives, we wish to help advise all you superstar mums on how to minimise waste when storing expressed breast milk:

Our top tips on how to safely store breastmilk to reduce waste:

• To minimise waste, store expressed breast milk in small amounts.
This way, if your baby only takes a small amount, there won’t be as much waste. Storing in smaller amounts also means quicker defrosting time if your baby wants more.

• Use a clean container.
Any container will do as long as it has an airtight seal and can be sterilised and labeled easily. You may also choose to use disposable single-use breast milk storage bags.

• Breast milk storage bags.
These are very handy for storing small amounts of milk. You may need to double bag to protect the bag from ripping and to prevent freezer burn. You can also place the bags inside a container in your freezer to protect them.
Plastic bags take up less room in the freezer and are single-use items, so there is no washing involved. However, filling them and pouring milk out of them can be awkward.
You don’t need to sterilise milk storage bags before use.

• Hard containers.
Hard containers are made of plastic or glass. You lose fewer milk fats and antibacterial cells when you use a hard plastic or glass container. The drawback for this is that they can take up a lot of space in your freezer.

NOTE: Wash, rinse and sterilise all containers before using them for milk storage. Using a non-chemical sterilising method is best. This could include a steam steriliser or microwave steriliser.

• Safely storing breast milk
Always leave about an inch of space at the top of the container to allow for expansion. Just like water for ice cubes, human milk expands when you freeze it. Hard containers can pop open as the milk expands and bags can break.