Food & nutrition

Breastmilk is the perfect food for your baby and provides them with all the nutrition they need for healthy growth and development for the first 6 months.

Breastmilk is still important even once your baby has started on solid food at around 6 months. It's a great idea to breastfeed until your baby is 1 year or older.

Breastmilk provides optimum nutrition for your baby, is easily digested, is at the right temperature, adapts to your baby's needs - and it's free.

Research shows that women who breastfeed are less likely to develop breast and ovarian cancer.

Breastmilk:

• helps with physical and emotional development and is a means for mother and baby to get to know each other and build a loving relationship
• reduces the occurence and severity of infections such as diarrhoea, ear infections, respiratory infections
• reduces the risk of food allergies (for families with a history of food allergies), eczema, asthma, reflux, some bowel diseases, some childhood cancers, overweight, obesity, type 2 diabetes later in life

How breasts produce milk

The breast is divided into sections that contain bundles of milk-producing glands.

The first milk is colostrum. It may be a small amount but it contains large amounts of proteins and antibodies to protect your baby from infections and promote cell growth. It also helps your baby to pass meconium, the first dark-green poos. Over the first days the milk increases in amount and changes to a watery blue and creamy yellow colour (the colour of the milk changes throughout the feed).

Read more about why breastmilk is the perfect food for your baby on the Why Breastfeed? page of the Raising Children In New Zealand website.

Wind (burping) & hiccups

Some babies don’t need to be winded (burped) after feeds, while others become unsettled with wind and need winding at every feed. When winding, it helps to keep your baby upright to your shoulder or sitting on your knee with their back straight. Some people believe that wind is caused by food you've eaten.

Many babies hiccup after feeds and winding. This is normal, and does not need any attention.

Weight loss

Babies may lose up to 10 per cent of their birth weight in the first few days, but should get back to what they weighed at birth within 2 weeks.

Growth spurts when breastfeeding

At times (often around 2, 4, 6 and 12 weeks) your baby may want to breastfeed more often. These times of extra feeding usually last 2 or 3 days and are due to your baby’s increased growth. This is normal and is how your baby increases the milk supply. As your baby takes more milk through extra feeds, they will soon settle. This increased feeding should bring in an abundant milk supply.

Spicy or ‘gassy’ foods

Spicy or gas-producing foods eaten by breastfeeding mothers do not bother most babies. A few babies will develop gas or become colicky when their mothers eat certain foods. However, there are no definite foods that create problems for all babies. Unless Mum notices that the baby becomes unsettled every time she eats a certain food, there is no need to avoid any particular foods.

Breastfeeding & vegetarian mothers

If you are a vegetarian, you may like to discuss your diet with your midwife or Plunket staff, or think about seeing a dietician to ensure you are getting enough vitamins and minerals. As long as vegetarian women eat well-balanced diets, their intake is likely to be adequate for maintaining infant and maternal health.

Women eating vegan or macrobiotic diets may not have enough vitamin B12 and may require supplements.