If you think you cant breast feed your premature baby you are wrong!  All it takes is patience and perseverance and a lot of hours of expressing but you can do it.  You will need to express your breasts at least 6 times a day to build up your milk supply.  At first it may be easier to use a syringe as you will not produce a lot to begin with but make sure you keep this  colostrum as this contains antibodies which are very rich in protein and is perfect for helping your baby to grow and develop their immunity.

Remember to eat lots and drink plenty of water.  As long as you are expressing at least 6 times a day you should keep up an adequate milk supply and expressing at night time is vital to maintain your supply.  The maximum time between expressing should be 4 hours initially.

If your milk supply decreases do not give up hope.  With perseverance and by expressing more frequently your milk supply will increase.  Hand expressing as a change form using a pump may provide your body with the tactile stimulation needed to stimulate the production of breast milk.  You also don’t have to experience the sensation of “let down” to successfully breast feed your baby.

Here are some other ways that may increase your milk supply:

- Placing hot face cloths on your breasts for a few minutes before you express can help stimulate the release of milk.

- Expressing after a shower of bath

- A herbal tea called Lactagogue tea made by Weleda also helps

- NaturoPharm also have tablets called “Milk Flow”

- Tigers Milk is also reputed to  increase breast milk.

The recipe for Tigers Milk is:  1 litre of milk, add 1 raw egg, 2 table spoons of honey, 1 mashed banana and 1 tablespoon of brewers yeast.  Mix well and keep in the fridge.  This milk shake will last one day.

If breast feeding doesn’t happen for you and your baby, don’t worry about it.  This is a very stressful time and trying to breast feed under such circumstances can sometimes be too much.  While breast milk is the best food for your baby breast feeding may not be the best for you.  If either you or your baby are not happy with breast feeding then the stress involved with persevering can be too much heartache for both of you.  Try not to let yourself feel guilty as a happy and contented environment is what is best for your baby and that means a happy mother.  Some people believe bonding only happens with breast fed babies but this is untrue, mothers bond beautifully with bottle-fed babies too.

Good luck and email me if you have any questions about this

Karlyn