Breastfeeding Is Extraordinary. But Motherhood Is Not Measured in Mls.
Breastfeeding offers extraordinary benefits for babies and mothers but it should never become a test of maternal devotion, endurance or success.
World Breastfeeding Week is an opportunity to celebrate the remarkable biology of breast milk.
It is also an opportunity to say something equally important:
A well-fed baby and a supported mother are always the priority.
Some mothers breastfeed exclusively. Some express. Some combination-feed. Some use formula from the beginning, whether through necessity, circumstance or choice. Any amount of breast milk can be valuable, but the way a baby is fed is not a measure of how deeply that baby is loved.
Breast milk is much more than food
Breast milk provides the energy, protein, fats, vitamins and other nutrients a growing baby needs. But it is not simply nutrition delivered in liquid form.
It is a complex, biologically active substance containing antibodies, immune cells, enzymes, hormones, beneficial bacteria and specialised sugars that help support a baby’s developing immune and digestive systems. The World Health Organization also notes that breast milk contains antibodies that help protect babies against common childhood illnesses.
One particularly important antibody is secretory immunoglobulin A. It helps coat the delicate surfaces of a baby’s mouth, respiratory tract and intestines, forming part of the baby’s early defence against infection.
Breast milk also contains human milk oligosaccharides, usually known as HMOs. Babies don’t digest most HMOs directly. Instead, these complex sugars act as prebiotics, nourishing beneficial gut bacteria, particularly certain species of Bifidobacterium, and helping shape the infant gut microbiome. Current research continues to explore how HMOs influence the intestinal barrier, immune development and inflammatory responses.
It’s therefore more accurate to say that breast milk contains both beneficial bacteria and the prebiotic ingredients that help those bacteria flourish, rather than simply describing breast milk as a probiotic.
Immune protection while a baby’s defences develop
A newborn’s immune system is still learning about the world.
Breast milk provides an additional layer of protection during this vulnerable period. Breastfeeding is associated with a lower risk of several common infections, particularly gastrointestinal and respiratory infections, while the baby’s own immune system continues to mature.
Breast milk is also wonderfully dynamic. Its composition changes over the course of lactation and even during an individual feed to meet a baby’s evolving nutritional and developmental needs.
Colostrum, the concentrated early milk produced after birth, is particularly rich in immune components. Later milk continues to provide nutrition and immune support as the baby grows.
Benefits for mothers, too
Breastfeeding stimulates the release of oxytocin, which supports milk flow and helps the uterus contract following birth.
Over the longer term, breastfeeding is associated with a reduced maternal risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer and type 2 diabetes. Some evidence also links breastfeeding with lower rates of hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
These are meaningful benefits, but they should be presented as health information, not as ammunition for guilt.
Health advice should help mothers make informed decisions. It should not make them feel that their baby’s future depends on achieving a perfect feeding experience.
What about bonding?
Breastfeeding can provide beautiful opportunities for skin-to-skin contact, eye contact, comfort and closeness. The release of oxytocin may also contribute to feelings of calm and connection.
But bonding doesn’t belong exclusively to breastfeeding.
Bonding is built through hundreds of everyday interactions: holding, soothing, talking, responding, making eye contact, feeding attentively and helping a baby feel safe. A baby can be lovingly and responsively fed at the breast, with expressed milk, with formula or through a combination of approaches.
There are many ways to nourish a baby. There are equally many ways to build a secure and loving relationship.
Drop your shoulders
Breastfeeding is often described as natural.
That doesn’t mean it always comes naturally.
Attachment, positioning, milk transfer, nipple shape, a baby’s oral anatomy, premature birth, maternal illness, previous breast surgery, hormonal conditions and sheer exhaustion can all affect feeding.
Worrying about supply can also create a difficult cycle. Stress doesn’t switch milk production off, but anxiety, discomfort, pain and fatigue can temporarily interfere with the oxytocin-driven let-down reflex, making milk slower to flow.
That’s why one of our gentlest pieces of advice is:
Drop your shoulders.
Unclench your jaw.
Support your back and arms.
Bring your baby close rather than leaning towards your baby.
Place your feet somewhere comfortable.
Take a slow breath out.
Let feeding be a moment between you and your baby, not a performance being graded by an invisible panel.
You definitely don’t need to be perfectly relaxed for breastfeeding to work. But comfort, support and reassurance can make an enormous difference.
Pain is a reason to ask for help
Some nipple sensitivity can occur when breastfeeding begins, but significant or persistent pain shouldn’t be endured.
Pain can be related to attachment or positioning, nipple trauma, engorgement, mastitis, vasospasm, infection, oversupply, undersupply or difficulties with the baby’s feeding technique. Cracked or bleeding nipples, worsening breast pain, redness, fever, flu-like symptoms or concerns about your baby’s feeding and weight gain deserve assessment.
Low milk supply is also not a personal failure. Sometimes the issue is not milk production itself, but how frequently or effectively milk is being removed from the breast. Attachment problems, ineffective feeding and infrequent feeds are among the factors that can contribute.
A careful assessment can help determine what’s happening and what might improve it.
Breastfeeding support at Walker Street Doctors
If breastfeeding is painful, supply feels uncertain, your baby is unsettled at the breast or feeding isn’t going as you hoped, please ask for help early.
Some of the best doctors to see at Walker Street Doctors for breastfeeding and early infant-feeding concerns are:
Dr Michela Sorensen, who has additional qualifications in paediatrics and family medicine and a strong clinical interest in children’s and women’s health. As a mother of young children, she also understands the realities of feeding a baby while navigating recovery, sleep deprivation and family life.
Dr Josephine Pang, who has more than 20 years of general practice experience and a Diploma of Child Health, with particular expertise in child and adolescent health and four children of her own.
Dr Lena Thomas, whose clinical experience includes paediatrics, women’s health and GP antenatal shared care, supported by additional qualifications in sexual health and family planning. She has three children and has the life experience you just can’t get out of a text book.
All three bring clinical knowledge, practical judgement and valuable lived experience to these conversations.
They can assess both mother and baby, review attachment and feeding patterns, identify medical contributors, monitor growth and hydration, treat breast or nipple conditions and arrange additional lactation support where appropriate.
Most importantly, they’ll meet you without judgement.
Support, not pressure
Breastfeeding is extraordinary.
So is expressing.
So is combination-feeding.
So is recognising that a different feeding plan is what your baby, and you, need.
During World Breastfeeding Week, we celebrate the extraordinary nutrition, immunoglobulins, beneficial bacteria, prebiotic sugars and moments of closeness that breastfeeding can provide.
But we also celebrate the mothers who tried, adapted, persisted, changed direction or chose another path.
Because motherhood is not measured in ounces, minutes, feeds, or millilitres.
It is measured in care.
If feeding is painful, worrying or simply not working, our GPs are here to help you and your baby find a safe, sustainable and supported way forward.
