Feeding your baby

Both hospitals have a dedicated infant feeding team available to you whilst you are on the postnatal ward, they can offer support and advice to help you feel confident in feeding your new baby.

Values of breastfeeding

At Frimley Health Trust around 80% of our mothers choose to breastfeed, here are some of the reasons why:

• your breast milk is perfectly designed for your baby
• breast milk protects your baby from infections and diseases
• breastfeeding provides health benefits for you
• breast milk is available for your baby whenever your baby needs it
• breastfeeding builds a strong and emotional bond between you and your baby which will last beyond the period of breastfeeding
• breastfeeding requires little equipment and can be undertaken anywhere
• Formula milk does not provide protection from illnesses and does not give you any health benefits.

Health benefits of breastfeeding

Breastfeeding has long-term benefits for your baby, lasting right into adulthood. Any amount of breast milk has a positive effect. The longer you breastfeed, the longer the protection lasts and the greater the benefits. Giving nothing but breast milk is recommended for the first six months of your baby's life. After that, giving your baby breast milk alongside family foods for as long as you and your baby want will help them grow and develop healthily. Breast milk adapts as your baby grows to meet your baby's changing needs.

Breastfeeding reduces your baby's risk of:

• infections, such as chest and ear infections, with fewer visits to the GP and hospital as a result
• diarrhoea and vomiting, with fewer visits to hospital as a result
• developing asthma and eczema
• sudden infant death syndrome(SIDS)
• developing childhood diabetes
• Necrotising Enterocolitis (NEC), which is a life threatening condition, occurring mainly in premature babies, and is much less frequent if the baby is given only breast milk
• childhood leukaemia
• obesity
• cardiovascular disease in adulthood

Giving nothing but breast milk is recommended for the first six months of your baby's life. After that, giving your baby breast milk alongside family foods for as long as you and your baby want.

Further sources of information