Newborn life: Your questions answered by MAM’s midwives - prizes to be won

[LibbyMumsnet]

This Q&A is now closed. Thanks to everyone who shared a question for Midwives Angie & Zoe. You can see the answers here.

Life with a newborn can be a whirlwind - exhausting, overwhelming, and full of questions. Whether you’re running on zero sleep, figuring out the best way to feed your baby, or wondering if a dummy could be a lifesaver, you’re not alone.

MAM’s expert midwives, Zoe and Angie, will be joining us the week of 5th May to answer your questions on baby care - from newborn essentials to caring for older babies, including weaning and teething.

Post your question by 9th May for a chance to win a £100 VEX voucher. Plus, three runners-up will receive a MAM Welcome to the World Gift Set.

Got questions about…

• Infant feeding - breast, bottle, or a mix of both?
• Sleep and settling - what actually helps?
• Dummies - pros, cons, and whether they might work for your baby?

Ask away! Zoe and Angie are here to share expert advice and help you figure out what works best for you and your little one.
Terms and Conditions

Meet the midwives:
Midwife Zoe – A mum of three and experienced midwife with a background in homebirth, obstetric-led care, and community midwifery. With over 15 years of experience supporting families, Zoe shares practical, non-judgemental advice that supports families through pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood. She’s also a qualified hypnobirthing teacher, sleep practitioner, and infant feeding specialist, helping parents feel confident and informed every step of the way.

Midwife Angie – A mum, midwife and qualified Health Visitor with experience across birth centres, labour ward, community, maternity wards and specialist midwifery. Angie shares honest, practical advice with parents and professionals on everything from birth to caring for older babies, including weaning and teething. Angie is MAM Baby UK’s consultant midwife alongside her NHS role and social media work.

My sister is currently weaning her 9 month old and he seems to have a dairy allergy as he keeps getting rashes when he’s had it. She’s stopped giving it now and has been told to give milk powder in small doses to build it up. Is this common and is it something he will hopefully grow out of? Any tips around this would be hugely appreciated.

I’ve always been anti-dummy, but i was told that using one for sleep only is a good idea, as it can reduce the chance of sudden infant death? Is that true?

I'm currently pregnant with my 3rd child. I needed to go back to work relatively early (6m) with my second and wanted to combination feed. However the midwife told me not to introduce a bottle until 6m to avoid nipple/teat confusion.

I followed her advice and was left with a 6 month old who refused a bottle or anything to drink in nursery and ended up reverse cycling (sleeping through the day, feeding through the night). Dealing with this alongside going back to work was horrendous and nearly broke me! I'm in a similar situation again (returning to work when little one will be 8m); when is best to introduce a bottle and combination feeding? I really can't cope with another bottle-refuser!! 🙂

What are your thoughts on mixed feeding when breast feeding is just too exhausting.

What is the most recent evidence based advice on reflux please there is lots of conflicting information out there! Thank you

whats your thoughts on mixing breast & bottle feeds (using expressed milk) allowing others to support care of baby?

I’m due to give birth in a few months and plan to breastfeed if I can. How can I plan to do this successfully and do I need to buy breast pumps now for bottles if I need them? Or is that just for early colostrum

Any advice for reducing breast feeds during the night- baby is 15 months old and can go for long periods in the day without a feed but wakes constantly at night! Thank you

What's the biggest change going from 1 to 2 children? Especially if there's an age gap.

How would you deal with post partum cramping when breast feeding ?

I’m due in September and hoping to combi-feed from bottle and breast. Completely understand that that is entirely up to our baby but what’s the best way to approach it? Should we start with breast and then introduce the bottle once the milk comes in or aim to try both from the get go. First kid so no clue what we’re doing!

I had extreme morning sickeness with my first - could not even watch a bus go past me without feeling I was getting travel sick (mad I know) I could eat a small meal then it would make me sick - it was a horrible experience - what do you recommend to alleviate the symptoms (it did go after 5 months ish) but my midwife was concerned.

Best tip for back teeth teething, front ones seemed uneventful, back ones, not so much.

I was advised by a friend that when breastfeeding it's a good idea to put baby straight away on one breast then change their nappy and feed with the other side. This works for me, immediately soothing when the baby is distressed and it's a routine I like to follow - but is it something that is routinely recommended, because I think it should be!

My question is sleep - how can I achieve that blessed 'through the night' sleeper for a 9 mo who is not wanting food - or nappy just wakes after about 4 hours every night.

My first baby never took to dummies and sucked his thumb instead. Now he's older we are trying to get him to stop as it's impacting his teeth, no mean feat.. I've just had my second baby and is obviously finding sucking very soothing and is receptive to a dummy.

However, I've always been told to avoid them especially as I'm breastfeeding (1st was EBF for 6months and then til a 18months).

So my questions are do dummies impact breastfeeding? And if not should they be encouraged over thumb sucking as they are easier to wean the baby off?

What is your advice for managing after a c section?

My question: is this a promotional exercise for MAM products? How does that fit with your commitment as midwives to uphold the key principles of the international code of marketing of breastmilk substitutes?

Second question: do you think the large uptick in inductions is impacting on women's early breastfeeding experiences? Can you give some tips on how women can help establish breastfeeding after a difficult birth?

What's the best way to ensure that your iron/calcium levels stay up while breastfeeding? (Especially in the early weeks when your diet may not be as healthy as usual)

Also, is there any advice that you gave before you had your own babies but stopped giving after?

My eldest child will be 19 months old when our second is born and too young to understand the concept that the newborn will be his baby sister! How can I still make sure he feels loved and included during this newborn stage whilst he is still so little and won’t fully understand what is happening?

Why have you discontinued your glass bottle range? It was perfect and still look like new. I don’t want to use plastic and didn’t realise you had stopped selling it before I bought the next size up and now it’s sold out

What are your thoughts on baby sleeping bags - are they safe ? I've seen them but prefer to layer with baby blankets throughout the year.

Thanks for all your questions so far! Just a reminder that Angie and Zoe will be back next week to start answering them so do keep them coming 😊
Everyone who posts on the thread by 9th May will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 VEX voucher. Plus, three runners-up will each receive a MAM Welcome to the World Gift Set.

What essential items and how many calories should you be aiming for when breast feeding -if you intend to carry this out as long as possible.

Terrified of cutting newborns nails - any tips ?