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Breastfeeding support from friends and family
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When you bring your new baby home, your partner, parents and friends will probably want to help, but perhaps won't know how. This page shows them how they can get involved and give you a much needed break!
Talk to friends and family about your decision to breastfeed
Breastfeeding is a normal, healthy way to feed your baby, but you still might have to explain to your family and friends why you want to do it.
- Talk to them about how much you want to do this for your baby
- Explain that although it may seem awkward to them at first, breastfeeding can be done very discreetly – there won't really be much to see!
- Show them this website and the breastfeeding book your midwife will give you during your pregnancy so they can read for themselves about how healthy it is to breastfeed.
How can friends help?
Becoming a mum is wonderful, but sometimes you might feel like you can't remember what you used to chat about before your little one came along! Your close friends probably know you better than anyone, which is why catching up with them will do wonders – making life feel a bit more normal again and chatting about other things can be a nice break to take your mind off any worries.
Some mums feel uncomfortable asking for help from family members, for example, because their family live too far away or they don't want to risk asking too much from older parents. That's where your friends can come in – listening to you have a good moan or talking about the things that you are worried about.
Some people are more comfortable talking about breastfeeding with their friends than with their family, especially a mum who has breastfed too. Go ahead and have a chat with a close friend, you'll feel much better and they'll want to know how they can help.
Here new mum Megan talks about how support from family and friends helped her carry on breastfeeding.
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