Tips & Advice on Breastfeeding

• The milk production is most efficient if the breasts have been emptied during feeds. Hence it is advisable to feed your baby from both breasts at one sitting or alternately at successive feedings.
  
  
• You can usually tell your baby is done feeding when he pulls off the breast.
  
  
• Avoid feeding from a bottle even for water or using a pacifier in the first few weeks, as that will discourage the learning process of breastfeeding. Do not complement breastmilk and infant formula together in the bottle. Give infant formula or water from a spoon instead.
  
  
• Get optimum nutrition and rest. Breastfeeding requires an additional 500 calories a day, so eat a balanced, nutritious diet and drink enough fluids. Stress and interrupted sleep can lead to fatigue and decreased milk supply, hence it is vital to get as much rest as possible.
  
  
• Avoid smoking and alcohol, as nicotine or alcohol can pass into your breast milk and may affect your baby. Also, because some medications can be passed to your baby in the breast milk, remember to let your doctor know that you are breastfeeding.
  
  
• It is important to treat sore or cracked nipples to prevent infections such as mastitis (an inflammation caused by bacterial infection) or even worse, a breast abscess. Sore nipples should be "air-dried". Avoid feeding from the affected breast. See your doctor if you develop red blotches on your breast and have a fever.
  
  

Weaning the baby

There is no "right" time to wean. Weaning is an individual decision, though a general advice would be to breastfeed until at least six months of age and thereafter for as long as mutually desired.

You should start to introduce small amounts of semi solids when your baby reaches 6 months, as he will need other foods besides milk to meet his rapid growth needs.

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