Overview | How to start | Benefits | Signs of good breast-feeding | Positions

Storing of Breast-milk | Combating problems | Drugs and Breast-Milk

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Helpful Hints:

• Drink plenty of fluids - at least 48 ounces of water a day should be consumed.
• Eat a well-balanced diet. A breast-feeding mother will typically need five to six hundred calories more than the pre-pregnancy diet.
• Continue taking prenatal vitamins throughout breast-feeding.
• Try any food. Many mothers will withhold certain foods for fear that they will cause stomach upset in the baby through the breast-milk. It is not necessary to avoid any food unless you notice that a particular food causes fussiness in the baby after the next feeding. In that case, stop the food for a week and then try it again. If fussiness ensues, then avoid that food. The most common culprits are milk, eggs, citrus foods, peanuts, corn, wheat and fish.
• NO SMOKING! Smoke gets into your skin, hair, clothes, furniture and ultimately the baby's body. This is not healthy. Smoking can also cause decreased milk production. Now is a good time to quit. No excuses.
• Avoid alcohol, caffeine and never use harmful drugs.
• At four weeks of age, try to introduce a bottle of breast-milk. It can be very helpful for the mother, and very satisfying for others to be able to feed the baby. Be patient - experiment with different nipples if one doesn't work, and have someone other than the mother give the bottle, as the baby may refuse the bottle if the mother is available.

Overview | How to start | Benefits | Signs of good breast-feeding | Positions

Storing of Breast-milk | Combating problems | Drugs and Breast-Milk

Helpful hints | Resources | Organizations & Websites

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