Deciding how to feed your baby is an important and personal decision that parents make for their child, but this is not a choice you have to make until you’ve given birth.
Exclusive breastfeeding delivers many benefits including a significant reduction in gastrointestinal infections and a reduction in the risk of Sudden Infant Death.
Breastfeeding supports a close and loving relationship which help baby’s brain development and formation of a positive attachment. Breastfeeding also improves mental health and can reduce the risk of postnatal depression.
However you decide to feed your baby, 0 to 19 Torbay trained professionals will support your choice and will provide you with as much evidence-based information as you need to make your decision easier.
Knowing what to expect when breastfeeding should help you feel as confident as possible when you’ve just given birth and want to breastfeed your baby.
Your breast milk is uniquely made for your growing baby’s needs. Your breast milk can make a big difference to both you and your baby’s health. The longer you feed your baby breast milk, the more they benefit. Breast milk gives your baby all the nutrients your baby needs for around the first six months of life (and beyond). Breast milk may help protect your baby against infection, childhood illness and obesity. As a mum, breast feeding also reduces your chance of getting some illnesses later in life such as breast and ovarian cancer, and naturally uses approximately 500 calories a day. Plus, breast milk is free!
The skin to skin contact that breastfeeding naturally provides, enables a very special bonding experience for you and your baby. It will help to comfort you and your baby, helping baby to feel warm, calm and at ease. Being close to your baby also encourages your milk stimulation. Responsive feeding describes the sensitive, mutual nature of feeding when mother and baby respond to each other’s needs and cues. For example the mother can offer her breast if the baby appears unsettled or if the mother feels full and wants to sit down with her baby.
After a while you will be able to identify when your baby is hungry. Common signs are stirring, facial movements, eyes flickering, wriggling, moving head/mouth around, rooting for the breast, sucking fingers, crying.
What happens in your baby’s first years has a big effect on how healthy they will be in the future. Mum’s milk gives your baby all the nutrients they need for around the first 6 months of life and it remains important, along with solid food, beyond 6 months.
Breastfeeding delivers many benefits including supporting close and loving relationships, improving maternal mental health and can reduce the risk of postnatal depression.
However you decide to feed your baby, 0 to 19 Torbay trained professionals will support your choice and will provide you with as much evidence-based information as you need to make your decision easier.
What’s in breastmilk? The CHILD Cohort Study takes a look
Through these close relationships, breastfeeding helps baby’s brain development and formation of a positive attachment. Breastfeeding also has numerous physical health benefits. In addition breastfeeding is environmentally friendly and saves your family time and money.
Watch this video looking at the impact of infant feeding on the environment.
There’s lots of new research finding out more about the power of breastmilk – look at this fascinating insight into the baby’s microbiome.
Would you like more information about how to feed your baby? You can book onto our monthly Breastfeeding Masterclass – email tsdft.breastfeedingmasterclass@nhs.net for more information.
Babies have small tummies – only the size of a cherry when they are born! This means they will feed little, and VERY frequently in the first 6 weeks especially. Remember – responding to your babies cues will help you establish breastfeeding. Babies rarely need “extra” milk or additional feeds. Please speak to your health visitor if you are worried. The below signs reassure you that your baby IS getting enough milk.
If you are unsure or have worries about any of these, please get in touch with us.
If your baby is exclusively breastfed or is having less than 500mls of formula milk a day it is recommended for your baby to have a vitamin D supplement.
Babies from birth to 1 year of age who are being breastfed should be given a daily supplement containing 8.5 to 10 micrograms of vitamin D to make sure they get enough. This is whether or not you’re taking a supplement containing vitamin D yourself.
Babies fed infant formula should not be given a vitamin D supplement if they’re having more than 500ml (about a pint) of infant formula a day, because infant formula is fortified with vitamin D and other nutrients.
Your baby shows you signs to let you know when they are hungry. These are called feeding cues. These cues get stronger as your baby gets hungrier, until they cry as a last signal to you.
The more you get to know your baby, you’ll start to notice their personal feeding cues.
After a while you will be able to identify when your baby is hungry. Common signs are stirring, facial movements, eyes flickering, wriggling, moving head/mouth around, rooting for the breast, sucking fingers, crying.
If you notice these signs, try and feed your baby as soon as possible.
If your baby has started crying, they may be very upset which can be stressful and can make it more challenging to get them attached to the breast.
If this happens, take time to calm your baby down and then try again.
Breastfeeding in public can mean breastfeeding in front of a relative or friend in your own home, or in a public place, such as a cafe or shopping centre.
During your baby’s first few days, you may prefer to breastfeed only where you feel most comfortable. But, as you get more used to doing it, you’re likely to feel more confident about breastfeeding in front of other people when you’re out and about.
Most people support women breastfeeding in public. The more it’s done, the more normal it will become.
Here are some ideas to help you get started.
Know your rights. You should not ever be made to feel uncomfortable about breastfeeding in public. It is illegal for anyone to ask a breastfeeding woman to leave a public place, such as a cafe, shop or public transport.
Plan ahead. Before you go out, it can help to think about where you will feel comfortable breastfeeding when your baby gets hungry. Ask breastfeeding friends for recommendations.
A midwife, health visitor or peer supporters at a local breastfeeding drop-in will also know of good places in your area where you can feed your baby.
Clothes and bra. What you wear when you’re breastfeeding is a matter of personal taste and what you feel comfortable in. For example, some mums like to wear loose tops that can be lifted up.
Others, who prefer to keep their tummy covered, wear two stretchy tops, so that the top layer can be lifted up and the bottom layer can be pulled down. A soft, non-underwired bra can be easily pulled up or down when you want to feed your baby.
Baby slings, scarves and cloths. Some baby slings are designed so you can breastfeed while your baby is in the sling. Some mums feel more comfortable putting a scarf or muslin cloth over their chest while they’re breastfeeding.
Take someone with you. It can help to go with a friend who has an older baby and can take you to places that she already knows. You could go with someone else, such as your mum, partner, sister or friend, so that there’s always someone to talk to.
Avoid the loos. Do not feel that you should sit in a public toilet to breastfeed. You would not eat in there, so do not feel that your baby should be fed there. Breastfeeding in public – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Go to a local feeding group or baby group – look at our ‘What’s On’ section to see what’s available in Torbay currently.
If you’re planning on going back to work you can find some useful information on Start for Life and here Breastfeeding at study or work – Baby Friendly Initiative (unicef.org.uk).
Most babies go through several growth spurts (also called frequency days or wonder weeks) during the first 12 months. It’s important to be aware of these so you understand and don’t doubt yourself (or your milk supply) when you experience them.
What is a growth spurt?
During a growth spurt, breastfed babies feed much more often than they may have been (sometimes as often as every hour or what feels like constant feeding) and often act fussier or grumpier than usual. You may feel like baby is suddenly “attached” to you, is really fussy, not sleeping as well and hard to settle or you suddenly feel like you don’t have enough milk.
Baby is actually working to increase the amount of milk (because of their own growth) and the content of the milk also changes! Just as babies grow and change, so does our breastmilk to adapt to them- another huge benefit of breastfeeding as formula can not do this!
Physical growth is not the only reason that babies may have a temporary need for increased breastfeeding. Babies often exhibit the same type of behavior (increased breastfeeding with or without increased fussiness) when they are working on developmental advances such as rolling over, crawling, walking or talking. Breast milk is for growing the brain as well as the body!
When do babies have growth spurts?
Common times for growth spurts are 2-5 days old and around 2-3 weeks, 4-6 weeks, 3 months, 4 months, 6 months and 9 months (more or less). Babies don’t read calendars, however, so your baby may do things differently.
How long do growth spurts last?
Growth spurts usually last 3-5 days, but sometimes last a week or so.
What is the best way to handle a growth spurt?
Follow your child’s lead. Baby will automatically get more milk by breastfeeding more frequently, and your milk supply will increase due to the increased breastfeeding.
It is not necessary (or advised) to supplement your baby with formula or expressed milk during a growth spurt. Supplementing (and/or scheduling feeds) interferes with the natural supply and demand of milk production and will prevent your body from getting the message to make more milk and change the content during the growth spurt.
Some breastfeeding mums feel more hungry or thirsty when baby is going through a growth spurt. Listen to your body — you may need to eat or drink more during the time that baby is nursing more often.
Top tip
- Your baby takes plenty of milk and grows
- You make plenty of milk
- You don’t develop problems such as sore nipples, blocked ducts or mastitis
There are lots of different positions for breastfeeding, you just need to check the following:
Take a look at Unicef’s Baby Friendly video – Positioning and attachment:
or this video from Global Health Media
Good attachment really is the key to successful breastfeeding! It’s important to get this right so that:
Responsive breastfeeding means feeding is not timed and is not just for nutrition, but also for love, comfort and reassurance between both baby and mother. If you need to, feed your baby for whatever reason; for example, if you would like to reconnect with your baby or them with you, if your breasts are full or you need to pop out and you would not be able to feed whilst you are out.
Your baby needs you to respond to their feeding cues. Waiting until they cry for food will make it more difficult to breastfeed them.
- Hands to mouth
- Turning head
- Licking lips
- Mouthing
- Squeaking noises
- Light fussing
- Rooting (moving mouth and head as if looking for a feed)
For successful breastfeeding, you need to feed your baby whenever they ask, and for as long as they want at each feed. In the first few weeks you will get to know your baby and settle into a feeding pattern. This becomes easier over time.
Have a look at this lovely video on Baby Led Feeding, from The Unicef Baby Friendly Initiative website.
Safer sleep for babies – Breastfeeding. Find out more about the benefits of breastfeeding watch this video from The Lullaby Trust.
There is also great information in this leaflet from Unicef.
Caring for your baby at night and when sleeping.
However you plan to feed your baby, skin to skin after birth is a really good way for you to start to get to know each other.
In the first few hours after birth, having uninterrupted skin to skin with your baby will help them to go through some important developmental stages.
Research has shown that skin to skin at birth with both parents is important. This is your opportunity to begin a bond with your child. Research studies have shown that even 30 minutes of skin-to-skin increases dopamine and oxytocin and lowers testosterone, ensuring that you will have an automatic positive association from close contact with their baby.
It’s not just for the first few hours though – whether you choose to breast or bottle feed, skin to skin has important functions for parent and baby throughout baby’s first year and beyond.
Skin to skin – i.e. baby stripped down to nappy and held against mum or dads bare chest, has been found to be very important for baby in:
- Regulating their heartbeat – calming them down and soothing them
- Regulating their temperature – skin to skin is an excellent way of keeping a baby nice and warm
- Regulating their breathing – again calming and settling them
- Encouraging feeding – skin to skin stimulates a baby’s natural urge to feed, whether breast or bottle fed
- Feeling safe, secure and close to their parent – with the smells, sounds and sensations they’re familiar with
- Reducing stress – releasing calming hormones and comforting them when they’re upset
- Being contented – a baby held and cuddled often tends to be more settled and less “clingy”, rather than becoming “spoilt” as some people fear
It’s also important for mother too, in that it:
- Regulates a mothers heartbeat and breathing
- Develops the relationship between mother and baby and increases a mothers resilience to cope with the challenges the early days can bring
- Encourages the release of hormones related to breastmilk supply and breastfeeding
- It has also been found to have some pain-relieving properties for mother too, as she focuses on her baby held close to her face
For dad and other family members:
- Skin to skin is good for other family members and baby too – calming them both, promoting bonding and giving other family members a really good way of comforting and soothing baby whilst mother rests
- Amazingly, skin to skin with people other than mother can still stimulate a baby’s natural urge to feed, whether breast or bottle fed
For more information about the value of skin to skin go to the Baby Friendly Initiative’s webpage, or ask your midwife
Carry on with skin-to-skin (baby can wear a nappy) when you get home; your baby is never too old for this! Skin-to-skin helps you and baby to feel calm and also aid with feeding through tuning-in to baby’s cues and increasing your milk supply. Your baby will be happier if you keep them near you and feed them whenever they are hungry. This will remind your body to produce plenty of milk. It is fine to feed your baby when they need comforting, when your breasts feel full or when you just want to sit down and have a rest. It is not possible to overfeed a breastfed baby. This is called responsive breastfeeding – feeds are not just for nutrition, but also for love, comfort and reassurance between both baby and mother.
Take a look at Unicef’s Baby Friendly video – Breastfeeding and early relationships:
The skin to skin contact that breastfeeding naturally provides, enables a very special bonding experience for you and your baby. It will help to comfort you and your baby, helping baby to feel warm, calm and at ease. Being close to your baby also encourages your milk stimulation. Responsive feeding describes the sensitive, mutual nature of feeding when mother and baby respond to each other’s needs and cues. For example the mother can offer her breast if the baby appears unsettled or if the mother feels full and wants to sit down with her baby.
Expressing milk is when you take milk from your breasts so you can feed it to your baby straight away, or store it in the fridge or freezer to use at a later time. You can express breastmilk by hand or with an electric or manual pump, whichever you feel more comfortable using.
There are various reasons why you may need or choose to express milk:
- If your baby is premature or needs extra help after birth and cannot be with you
- If you’re returning to work or are planning on being apart from your baby
- If your breasts feel uncomfortably full, or you have mastitis
- If you would like to boost your milk supply
- Or this is your preferred method of feeding.
Dependent on why you want to express your milk it may be best to wait until you and your baby feel confident with breastfeeding.
Remember, practice makes perfect. It can take time to learn how to express milk. In the beginning milk can come out in all directions. Relax and don’t worry!
Find out more from the NHS website on Expressing and storing breast milk and Start for Life.
Download this helpful leaflet from the Breastfeeding Network
Breast Pump Hire
Torbay children’s centres loan out electronic breast pumps free to low income parents or £30 per month including a £10 refundable deposit.
Breast pumps can:
- Support and sustain breastfeeding.
- Encourage breastfeeding for more than 6 months.
- Support bonding between infants and mothers.
- Improve the health of mothers and infants.
Loaning out the breast pumps; includes pump and a non-returnable collection set. Each pump is cleaned after each hire to prevent cross contamination. Registration is completed (if required) before each hire. Liability form is completed for each hire, to cover non-returned or damaged pumps.
Call 01803 210200 or email torbayChildrensCentres@actionforchildren.org.uk
Although we would recommend breastfeeding as the best option for you and your baby, we know that there are many reasons why a mum may give their baby formula instead of breast milk. If you choose to do this we won’t treat you any differently and will give you the same support as a breastfeeding mum. This includes advice on:
- making up formula feeds
- cleaning and sterilising bottles
- how to bottle feed
- knowing how much to feed your baby
- knowing when your baby is full
The Start for life website contains lots of useful information about how to prepare infant formula and sterilise feeding equipment to minimise the risk to your baby.
Infant formula is usually made from cow’s milk and has been treated to make it suitable for babies. There are many types of formula so always check the label before giving to your baby. However it is recommended to always use first stage milks until at least twelve months when it is recommended that your baby moves on to full fat cow’s milk. Your baby can stay on first stage milk whilst you are introducing them to solids at around six months. Vitamins are added to formula milk. If your baby is taking 500ml or more a day then additional vitamins should not be given.
Formula comes in two forms; ready-made formulas which are sterile and sold in cartons, and powered infant formula which is not sterile and must be made up safely. Instructions for doing this can be found here: Guide to bottle feeding leaflet
You and your partner should feed your baby to build up a close and loving bond between yourselves.
- Make sure that you are sitting comfortably , always hold your baby close to you and look into their eyes when feeding. This helps the baby feel safe and loved.
- Hold your baby fairly upright for feeds, with their head supported so that they can breathe and swallow comfortably.
- Brush the teat against your babies lips, and when your baby opens their mouth wide, allow them to draw in the teat.
- Gently insert the teat into your baby’s mouth, keeping the bottle in a horizontal position (just slightly tipped), to prevent milk from flowing too fast.
- Allow just enough milk to cover teat and pace the feed to meet babies’ needs, gently removing it if baby appears to want a break and may need to burp.
- If the teat becomes flattened while you are feeding, pull gently on the corner of your baby’s mouth to release the vacuum.
- Your baby will know how much milk they need. Forcing your baby to finish a feed will be distressing, and can mean your baby is overfed.
Useful video demonstrating responsive bottle feeding https://www.midyorks.nhs.uk/responsive-bottle-feeding/
Skin to skin contact whilst bottle feeding, enables a special bonding experience for you and your baby.
After a while you will be able to identify when your baby is hungry. Common signs are stirring, facial movements, eyes flickering, wriggling, moving head/mouth around, rooting/sucking fingers, crying.
Healthy Start vouchers – If you are pregnant or have a child under four years old you could get Healthy Start vouchers to help buy some basic foods. This important means-tested scheme provides vouchers to spend with local retailers. Pregnant women and children over one and under four years old can get one voucher per week. Children under one year old can get two vouchers per week.
The vouchers can be spent on:
- plain cow’s milk – whole, semi-skimmed or skimmed. It can be pasteurised, sterilised, long life or UHT
- fresh, frozen and tinned fruit and vegetables including loose, pre-packed, whole, sliced, chopped or mixed fruit or vegetables, fruit in fruit juice, or fruit or vegetables in water, but not those to which fat, salt, sugar or flavouring have been added
- fresh, dried and tinned pulses, including but not limited to lentils, beans, peas and chickpeas but not those to which fat, salt, sugar or flavouring have been added
- infant formula milk that says it can be used from birth and is based on cow’s milk.
You’ll get:
£4.25 each week of your pregnancy from the 10th week
£8.50 each week for children from birth to 1 year old
£4.25 each week for children between 1 and 4 years old
Your money will stop when your child is 4 years old, or if you do not get benefits that make you eligible.
You can also get free vitamins from your local children’s centre.
Find out more at: healthystart.nhs.uk/healthy-start-vouchers/how-to-apply
Introducing your baby to solid foods (often called weaning onto foods) should start around six months of age (26 weeks). Before introducing solid foods your baby must show three clear developmental signs; stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady, co-ordinate their eyes, hands and mouth, and swallow food rather than pushing most of it back out with their tongue. There are many myths around signs of ready such as; chewing fists, watching you eat, requiring extra feeds and waking during the night. These are not necessarily signs of being ready for solids and some extra breast or first stage milk will help until they are ready for food.
Eating solid foods is a significant developmental milestone and babies enjoy exploring new flavours and textures. To begin with solid food is complimentary to baby’s milk and therefore it is less important how much they eat which can vary greatly day today, and more about getting used to the idea and enjoying eating.
Babies don’t need three meals a day to start with, so you can start by offering foods at a time that suits you both.
Gradually you can increase solid food and introduce more varieties and textures, whilst slowly reducing baby’s milk intake.
Eating solid foods should be a pleasurable and exciting learning experience for your baby. Baby-led weaning can be messy but that is all part of the fun. Your baby can feed themselves using their own fingers, but if you are using a spoon wait for your baby to open their mouth before offering the food.
Always stay with your baby when they are eating in case they choke.
- First Steps Nutrition – Baby’s and new mums
- First Steps Nutrition – Eating well early years
- Introducing solid foods
- The NHS website – Food allergy
- The NHS website – Foods to avoid giving babies and young children
- The NHS website – How to help a choking child
- The NHS website – Your baby’s first solid foods
- StartforLife – Weaning
Once they’re old enough, you can start encouraging your baby to drink from a cup or beaker.
Dieticians and dentists recommend babies start to learn to drink water from a cup from six months old. They can start drinking water from this age whether they’re breastfed, formula fed or fed a combination.
- Starting with a cup with two handles to help them hold it. Once they’re confident with this, introduce a cup with handle and eventually a beaker they need to hold with both hands
- Filling the cup half way with thick drinks, e.g. smoothies, milkshakes and yoghurt drinks, to give them more time to practice their lip seal around the cup
- Slowly helping them lift the cup to drink from. Once they’re confident, start giving them less and less help
Find out more about drinks and cups for babies and young children from the NHS here.
There are a number of techniques you can use to help your child develop cutlery skills, including:
- Eating at the same time as them so they can copy you
- Using the right sized cutlery, e.g. child-sized cutlery or chunky cutlery for a better grip
- Making sure they’re sat high enough that they can comfortably prop their elbows on the table, their feet are supported and their bowl or plate is on a non-slip mat
- Introducing a child sized spoon between nine and 12 months old and letting them play with it and get used to the motions of eating by feeding their toys. When they’re confident, let them use the spoons during meal times and using your hands to support their elbow and guide their hand
- Introducing a child sized fork once they’re confident using a spoon. Start by loading the fork for them and using your hands to guide them
- Giving them foods that will stick to the spoon, e.g. porridge, mashed potato and puddings, or are easy to stab with a fork, e.g. fruit or cooked vegetables
- Giving them a fork and a spoon at once to practice with a piece of cutlery in both hands.
- Infant Feeding phone: 07500 952216
- Social media, just search NHS Infant Feeding Torbay
- Download the Breastfeeding Hub app
- Infant Feeding clinic – every Wednesdays at the Beehive and Thursday at Zig Zags; book through Admin Hub or you can book directly on the N drive
- Baby Feeding Group – Wednesdays 10.30-12, drop in, Beehive
Peer supporters
Peer supporters are mums who have themselves breastfed and have trained as volunteers to help other mums. Ask your midwife, health practitioner or family hub practitioner about your local peer supporter.
Breastfeeding support groups and pump hire
The infant feeding specialist midwife can be contacted on 01803 656275.
Facebook – NHS Breast Feeding Torbay
We offer support with breastfeeding and infant feeding to make healthy eating choices. Understanding of attachment and bonding. Contact our advice line or our Facebook page Torbay Infant Feeding
Start for Life – Breastfeeding
Lots of helpful information and advice on breastfeeding.
Breast Pump Hire
Torbay children’s centres loan out electronic breast pumps free to low income parents or £30 per month including a £10 refundable deposit.
Breast pumps can:
- Support and sustain breastfeeding.
- Encourage breastfeeding for more than 6 months.
- Support bonding between infants and mothers.
- Improve the health of mothers and infants.
Loaning out the breast pumps; includes pump and a non-returnable collection set. Each pump is cleaned after each hire to prevent cross contamination. Registration is completed (if required) before each hire. Liability form is completed for each hire, to cover non-returned or damaged pumps.
Call 01803 210200 or email torbayChildrensCentres@actionforchildren.org.uk
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