You've got the hang of breastfeeding...

Clare Byam-Cook on trying to have a life as well.

It can take at least three weeks to establish your milk supply and start getting your baby into a reasonably acceptable feeding pattern. During this period you’ll probably need to devote most of your time and attention to your baby.

Once your milk supply is well established and you’ve caught up on some sleep, you should find that you can get out and about a bit more and start resuming ‘normal life’. Occasionally, a mother will find that her milk supply decreases when she starts becoming more active. If this happens to you, you’ll need to take life easy for a while and make sure that you’re eating and drinking enough to help your breasts manufacture milk.

How long should I continue to breastfeed?

The short answer is, I don't know. The long answer is that there are so many different opinions on the subject that it’s difficult to give an answer that every expert would agree with.

As a general rule, most health professionals would say that a baby who is breastfed until the time he begins eating solids (at approximately four months) has been given a very good start in life. If there is a strong family history of allergies, try to breastfeed for at least six months to a year. On balance, unless there’s a medical reason involved, I would advise all mothers to breastfeed until they feel they want to stop.

Expressing milk

A mother who has to go back to work while she's still breastfeeding needs to decide whether she wants to:

  • Express milk that can be given to her baby while she’s at work.
  • Breastfeed before and after work and give formula the rest of the time
  • Give up breastfeeding completely.
Some mothers find it very easy to express milk, others find their supply dries up when a breast pump, rather than a baby, empties the breasts. It’s a question of trial and error. With a good breast pump, you may find that you can continue expressing milk for several months. Or, you may feel it’s too time-consuming and decide to call it a day.

Even if you don’t have to go back to work, you may still choose to express milk, either to give yourself a bit of freedom during the day or to allow someone else to give your baby a bottle while you catch up on some sleep. There’s no set time of day when it’s preferable to express milk so it’s really down to you to decide:

  • when you have milk to spare
  • when you have time to express.
Most mothers find that their milk supply is best during the morning and that this is the ideal time to express. It’s usually best to express milk after, rather than before a feed. Any milk that’s expressed can be stored in a sterile container in the fridge for up to 24 hours. It’s also fine to add expressed milk to milk that you have expressed earlier on in the day. Be careful not to extend the shelf life of any milk you express beyond 24 hours.

Should I breastfeed in public?

Many mothers consider that because breastfeeding is natural, it’s perfectly acceptable to breastfeed anywhere and at any time. However, I take the view that while it’s fine to breastfeed in most (but not all) public places, it should be done discreetly, with due consideration to other people’s feelings. Many people (especially men) simply don't know where to look if they’re suddenly confronted with a naked breast. I found that a strategically placed shawl allowed me to breastfeed in public without baring all.

For more information see Clare Byam-Cook’s book: ‘What to expect when you’re breastfeeding….and what if you can’t’ published by Vermilion £7.99.