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My baby is due on the 13th March and I intend to breastfeed and I would like to know if it is safe to use the merina coil while breastfeeding and also do I have to wait until my 6 week check up to have it put in?

Hello Nicola

Thanks for your email. I hope I can help you.

Different women react differently to different contraceptives - as I'm sure you know - and your birth experience may also effect what contraceptive may work best for you in the short term. Some women do feel their contraception affects their breastfeeding, so it may take some adjustment before you find the solution which works best for you.

So it's not really possible for anyone to give you a definitive answer now - although it makes a lot fo sense to think through the options. Some women do combine types of coil with breastfeeding - your midwife or health professional will be able to help you consider our own medical history in deciding whether this would be an option for you to consider. After the birth your midwife or another member of staff will talk to you about contraception before you are discharged. They will be better placed to help you take into account factors such as the type of birth you have had and whether this needs to be taken into account.

After the birth it can take some weeks for a number of natural stages to be achieved (such as postnatal bleeding to cease, your uterus to return to a smaller size, your body's hormonal balance to change and the breastfeeding hormones to become settled and established). Some contraceptives may affect these natural processes, or may be less reliable because of them, and so your health professional may suggest waiting if required. Again your midwife or health professional should be able to talk to you about this in more detail and help you time decisions based upon your own situation.

Nicola, I'm sorry I can't give you a more specific answer, but I hope that you can find some solutions to match your personal circumstances.

Kind regards

Kirsty Nicol

Breastfeeding Counsellor

 

 

I am currently expressing bm for my partner to give to our baby each evening which works really well.
I am due to go out next week and wish to express for the lunchtime feed. However, my partner is going out for the day and wishes to feed whilst out and about. How does he carry/store the milk until he needs it. We are probably only talking about a few hours but I obviously want my milk to be ok to use.
Tks

Hello Donna. If your partner leaves the milk in the fridge as long as possible and only takes it out as he is leaving, a cool bag, which you can get in outdoor shops, will keep it fresh for some time.

Good luck going back to work.

See the and the NCT leaflet and the BfN leaflet  about expressing and storing.

Eithne Murray, breastfeeding counsellor.

 

Eithne Murray, breastfeeding counsellor

I have been exclusively Breast Feeding my baby boy for 13 weeks now and all of a sudden he is only feeding for 10 minuites at a time then he pops off and winges until I give him back breast then same again after about 1 minuite, I am now sitting trying to feed him for 2 hours out of every three please help?? I have tried changing positions, changing breasts changing enviroment and still the same ??

Hell o Sara and thanks for contacting us.

It’s so frustrating, isn’t it, when things have been going swimmingly for so long, and then they appear to go pear-shaped.  It is difficult to tell from here what exactly is happening – there are lots of things which might be happening. Of course it could always be that there is nothing much going on, and that he is getting what he wants quicker. Without knowing more though Sara, i could not say for certain.

You will probably find it easier to talk it though with one of us in person. Call us on the breastfeeding line, 0300 330 0771 and you might be able to get a clearer picture of what is happening.

Best of luck Sara, and i hope things work out for you soon.

 

Eithne Murray, breastfeeding counsellor

I had my baby by cesarian section on 10th December 09. How soon can I attend a yoga class?

Hi Janine,

Thank you for contacting the NCT and many congratulations on the arrival of your baby.

You may want to discuss this with your GP when you have your 6-8 week postnatal check and  with the yoga teacher who may have experience of mothers starting yoga after a caesarean birth and will want to know that you are a new Mum. 

Start gently after your 6-8 week check and listen to your body, don't try and overdo it.  It takes everyone some time, months, to get back to normal. 

Best wishes

Clare Charlton, Antenatal teacher

i have a 14 week old baby and she has started to refuse feeds, opting more for water. eventually she will take the bottled milk, but is still only taking 5fl.oz, any suggestions? her weight gin has been fine up until this week, when she only gained 2 & 1/2oz in 2 weeks???

Hi, Elaine. Thanks for posting your query.

I can see this is concerning for you. 

 

Have you spoken with your health visitor about this? It's good your baby's weight gain has been fine, and the fact she has put on a smaller amount than usual at the last weighing would not normally be thought of as significant, unless there were other signs your baby was ill. 

Some babies experience a temporary drop in appetite, too, and again it's not a worry unless there are other indications. 

We can't give medical advice, sorry, so it's a question of you seeking out some information and assessment from the HV - perhaps explain how worried you are, so she knows she has to give you a good and detailed response. 

 

I hope all is well. 

 

Heather Neil 

Hi, I have been breastfeeding my daughter for the past 27 weeks and as I am due to go back to work soon, I want to move her onto formula and bottles. What is the best way to do this without just stopping.

Thanks

Hi Laura,

There are various ways of doing this but some mothers have said that it tends to be harder the older the baby is to accept the botle! The great thing about the six month mark is that they are open to new ways of eating and drinking and so offering the cup may be your best bet especially as she may not be requiring the milk as exclusively as she was. Some mums find that getting somebody else to wean to the bottle/cup is more helpful so that they understand that it is different and not part of mum, also some who have had problems with getting the milk into the baby have tried making mealtimes more milk based to help get the right amount into them. 

Of course you will need to wean slowly off the breast in any case and I suspect that she has dropped some feeds already, try just expressing a little every time your breasts feel full so that the message gets through that you don't want to make milk just get rid of what is there and calm down the supply, additionally it may be helpful to keep the morning and evening feeds going in the meantime until she is ready to wean, obviously I don't know what your work hours are so it may work out easier for you than you think it will now.

Hope this helps

Best regards

Jane Saville, Breastfeeding Counsellor

My twin girls are 11 months (10 months if you take are the month prem). They are feeding solids relatively well and take three milk feeds from the bottle a day. One morning, one afternoon, one evening before bed. They take in about 16 oz a day. I need advise on when I can drop the afternoon or morning feed. They take it but really are not that intrested. I am so confused with the whole pint of milk before they are one and my health visitor is not very helpful.. please help on this stage of getting them more onto solids. Thnaks

Hi Tracy,

I am really sorry to hear that you are clearly confused by this situation and I understand why. One clue that you have given me is that they do not seem interested in the day feeds and from experience of talking to women about this and of course my own experience is that by about a year alot of babies only have a morning and an evening feed; a pint at a year is a generic guide and it is useful to bear in mind that all babies are different. Additionally, you can make some of their meals sloppier by adding more milk to them.

So at the moment they are having about a pint a day and if they are still willing to take it then all well and good, especially if you would feel happier waiting another month or so. It also sounds like you are keen to up their solids soon as well. Weaning is a process that should be as natural as possible and it would be really helpful to respond directly to what the girls are indicating to you on a daily basis and judge it accordingly, you are their mum and you know them better than anybody, experimenting at this stage is what it is all about, not really about right or wrong.

Hope that helps you to gain a little more clarity of this issue, if you wish to talk it through further, please feel free to talk to our helpline on 0300 330 0771 open 8am-10pm daily.

Best wishes

Jane Saville

Breastfeeding Counsellor 

I am returning to work in six weeks time and i cannot get my breast fed baby to take a bottle at all. I have tried several different teats both formula and expressed breast milk with no success. Any advise much appreciated

Hi Sarah,

So you are returning to work in six weeks time and you are struggling to get your breast fed baby  to take anything in a bottle. You don't say how old the baby is but it sounds like you have tried a number of things. If the baby still needs milk and is not old enough to wean on to solids, (the Department of Health recommends six months of exclusive breastfeeding before trying solids).I imagine that this is of great concern to you. If the baby is already on solids and requiring less milk then you may be able to time it so that when you are not there they can have extra milk mixed into porridge or sauces to help boost the overall intake until you are home again, would it work to just give feeds morning and night or is the baby still too young? If they are then have you tried going out for a while and allowing somebody else to give feeds? Some mothers report that if this works better as the baby can smell them when they are trying to give a bottle then it can be confusing, additionally, the older they get the more opinionated they become and as you are experiencing it becomes harder to get them to change their minds! As I am not sure of alot of the facts surrounding this situation it may help you to talk it through with our helpline so they can talk through some other strategies but I didn't want to leave you with nothing so it may be useful to think about what I have suggested above as a start. You still have time on your side to really persevere with giving a bottle daily to maximise your chances and I am sorry that I can't be of any more help.The helpline number is 0300 330 0771 open 8am - 10pm daily.

Good luck

Best wishes

Jane Saville, Breastfeeding Counsellor

Hi - my 9 week old son (5th baby)has very gritty nappies i.e. visible and tangible crystals in the poo, he is totally breast-fed. I mentioned this to the health visitor but she had not come across it before. he seems to eat well, is gaining weight and only slightly less happy to settle than I would expect. His poos are quite explosive. I don't recall this with any of my other children, certainly not to the same extent. The oldest is 7yrs so it is not a very distant memory! I have tried doing some research on the web but haven't found anything helpful yet - have you heard of this and do you know what might cause it? I have gone over to washable nappies to make sure it wasn't the disposables leaking crystals and the grittiness persists. yours in hope, Anne

Hi, Anne. Thanks for posting.

 

I can understand your concern about this, and the usual thing we would suggest in something like this is 'ask the health visitor' which you have already done!

 

It's likely she has checked your baby over for any signs that there might be a health issue and found all is well. I have to say I can't really suggest anything - it doesn't sound to me like urates in the urine, and in any case this is something that appears in the first week or so (sometimes an indication the baby needs more feeding).  You would know if it was the nappy splitting and causing crystals to appear because the nappy material was somehow reacting to wee and poo....and in any case you've ruled this out with your switch to washables.  

 

I am drawing a blank here, sorry - perhaps your HV could ask a colleague?

 

all best wishes

 

Heather Neil

 

 

Hi there, I have always dreaded these words - Control Crying - as even 5 mins of my baby crying breaks my heart but at 6 and a bit months old he's started wanting feeding more (rather than less) regularly in the night. He used to go anything between 4 to 6 hours, now it's every 3. Nothing else - dummy, water, a cuddle - does the job. I'm going to leave it a few days to see if it's just a hungry phase but if this becomes a regular pattern then I will have to resort to drastic action. What are your thoughts on this and can tell me how to or have you any helpful tips for me?

Thanks,
Ruth

Hello Ruth

Thanks for your email. You might think – from the way some people talk – that Controlled Crying was an unavoidable part of bringing up every child, like teething or toilet training. But it’s not. It’s just one of many options available to parents. Controlled Crying simply isn’t right for many families, and there’s plenty of evidence that other solutions may be better for children in the long-term.

Here’s an option with ideas – and real success stories – from parents who have learnt to settle their wakeful babies without ever leaving them to cry. Elizabeth Pantley’s No-Cry Sleep Solution says it all in the title. Tried and tested ideas from a Mum of four who has helped families worldwide achieve similar results. If you do an internet search you can find more info and even support groups for mums using her ideas.

Ruth, this is just one of many alternatives out there. I hope you don’t feel you ever have to follow a particular parenting path when all your instincts are telling you otherwise. Do feel free to get back in touch and we’ll do our best to support you.

Kind regards

Kirsty Nicol

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