A new mum has been exclusively breastfeeding but wants her partner to do some feeds and doesn’t know how best to do this

You are likely to meet parents who have such issues in the pharmacy. It can be difficult for mothers to exclusively breastfeed all the time, day and night, and they may want the other parent to have the opportunity to feed the baby. Think about:

• How you would approach this scenario
• What options the mother has for expressing breast milk.

To help improve the advice that you offer, think about what might be involved for the parents. Consider the following:

• What additional equipment might be required? It might be useful to have a checklist in the pharmacy to refer to
• What concerns might a mum have about both expressing and breastfeeding?
• What concerns might the parent(s) have about someone else doing the feeds?

Consider what advice you would give on both expressing milk and then storing the expressed milk:

• Does she need to warm the expressed milk, and if so, how should that be done?
• Are there any tips to give her to help her maintain her milk supply – such as the best time to start trying combination feeding, dietary advice and when to express the milk for the feeds?

As part of the discussion, the mum may raise the question about using formula for the first time rather than expressed milk. In this situation, she should be referred to a healthcare professional such as a pharmacist, pharmacy technician or health visitor.