Supporting a partner who’s breastfeeding with My Expert Midwife
Does your partner know how they can provide practical support for you during breastfeeding?
Preparing for breastfeeding yourself is invaluable but if those around you are not well-informed and educated on the subject, you may find that their help and advice is at best lacking and, at worst, counterproductive.
So, if possible, attend breastfeeding classes/webinars with your partner or main support person, give your loved ones reading material that is short and sweet (so they actually read it!), share videos and social media posts that help normalise breastfeeding and newborn baby behaviour, and ask that, unless you specifically request it, they keep their personal views and advice to themselves.
Your breastfeeding journey may not always be a smooth ride, so having a supportive network of close family and friends who understand how breastfeeding works, can effectively address potential problems, and know how to support you is worth its weight in gold.
You can be the best support possible to a loved one who wants to breastfeed by:
◾️ Learning more about breastfeeding so you can understand what to expect but also how best to help and support them
◾️ Understanding that breastfeeding is a learnt skill – even if she has done it before
◾️ Accessing support for her if she needs it – this could be online, by attending a baby café/peer support group, or via her midwife of health visitor
◾️ Reassuring her that she is doing an amazing job feeding her baby. Words of support and encouragement really help when she is tired and fed up
◾️ Getting stuck into the household chores. It all needs doing, and the more partners, friends and family do, the more she can focus on just feeding baby
◾️ Ensuring she gets good nutritious food and is well hydrated
◾️Massaging her neck, shoulders, head, legs, feet or anywhere she chooses! Breastfeeding for hours on end can result in many aches and pains.
Do you want to know more about breastfeeding? Click here
If you liked this blog, check out some of our others here
