One of the best things you can do for your baby is to breastfeed him. There is absolutely no question that breastfeeding is best for babies. Breast milk is food designed by nature for human babies. It is easily digested and helps protect babies from some infections including diarrhea, earaches and fever. It can also reduce the risk of allergies. The National Health and Medical Research Council, UNICEF and the World Health Organization recommend that you should breast feed for at least the first six months for your baby’s life, because your breast milk will provide all the nutrition that your baby needs.

Why breast is best

Studies have shown that breastfeeding can have a wide range of positive effects on your baby:

• Reduces the risk of obesity in your child. Breastmilk also may offer some protection against allergies, inflammatory bowel disease, juvenile diabetes and some childhood cancers.

• Research has shown that you are less likely to suffer osteoporosis or heart disease later in life if you breastfeed. It may also reduce the risk of cancer of the cervix and breast.

• Increases the chances of having a higher IQ

• Breastfeeding can help you lose the weight you may have put on while you were pregnant. While breastfeeding you burn 600 calories a day.

• It helps your uterus contact to normal after childbirth quickly

• It helps the mother and baby bonding process.

• Breast milk id good for baby’s eyesight, speech and brain development.

• The sucking motion helps prepare the baby’s jaw for future speech development.

The World Health Organization recommends strict breastfeeding for at least the first six months of a baby’s life and also encourages continued breastfeeding after the introduction of solids up to the baby’s second birthday.

Expressing breast milk

Expressing breastmilk is the only alternative to directly breastfeeding your baby breast milk. If you have to leave your baby behind in someone else’s care, you can express breast milk manually, or using a pump beforehand and store it. This way your baby can get all the benefits of breast milk, though she is being fed by someone else. Expressing may also be necessary for reasons such as engorged breasts or to build up your milk supply.

Expressing by hand

If you only need to express breast milk once in a while, expressing with your hand would be the better choice; it is the cheapest way and requires no equipment, only a sterilized container. You may think its hard, but guess what, some women find expressing milk with their hand is better than using a pump. Make sure you have washed you hand before you express milk.

• Place a towel under your breast and hold a sterilized plastic container in one hand to catch the milk.

• Grasp the outer edge of nipple with your thumb and forefinger, and gently squeeze breast inwards.

• Repeat in a rhythmical pumping action. Also move fingers around nipple to make sure all ducts are emptied.

• Continue until flow stops or slows. Depending on when you need to express, you may choose to empty on breast, or go back and forth until you have collected sufficient milk.

Using a breast pump

Breast pumps range from an inexpensive plastic cylindrical hand pump to the larger electrical models which are quite expensive. You can also hire electric breast pumps from the chemist.

Make sure you sterilize all parts of the breast pump before you begin to sterilise. To use an electric pump, you put a suction cup over your breast, turn the machine on, and let it do the work of extracting milk into an attached container. Good breast pumps try to mimic the sucking action of a baby, stimulating your let down reflex, and don't cause pain. A manual pump also has a suction cup, but to make it express you will need to manually squeeze the handle for milk to come out.

Most women prefer electric pumps as they are easy and painless and there’s no need to put in much effort. It is the best choice if you have a very busy schedule or are working.

Storing breast milk

• Fresh breast milk should be refrigerated immediately if not being fed. It can be kept in the centre-back of your fridge for 3-4 days. (Do not put breast milk or prepared formula in the door of the fridge). If you decide to freeze it later, ensure you freeze it within two days.

• Freeze breast milk in pre-sterilized plastic milk bags, in a sterilized plastic bottle with a lid in a sterilised ice-cube tray placed in a freezer bag.

• Ensure that you have not filled a bottle more than ¾ full before freezing.

• Label the container with the amount of milk and date. Use the oldest milk first.

• If you are willing to add fresh breast milk to frozen breast milk, cool the milk in refrigerator first. By adding fresh milk to frozen milk, the top layer of the frozen milk will thaw.

• Keep frozen milk in the back of the freezer compartment of the fridge so that the milk can last longer – up to 3 months. If you keep the milk in a deep freezer, the milk can last for up to 6-12 months.

Thawing breast milk

• If you wish to thaw breast milk urgently, thaw quickly by holding under warm running water. Do keep in mind, if you thaw breast milk this way, it will only last for up to 4 hours.

• If you are willing to thaw with lots of time on hand, you can thaw it slowly in the refrigerator. This way the milk will last for up to 24 hours.

• DO NOT ever microwave breast milk, as this will change the composition of the milk.

• DO NOT refreeze milk once it has been thawed.