The key to breastfeeding success is to know why you are doing it. If you understand in your heart and mind why breastfeeding is best for your body and breast milk is best for your baby, then you will be motivated to persevere through challenges.

Breast milk is a living fluid containing organisms and proteins that offer protection against bacteria and viruses: breastfeeding reduces the risks of your baby suffering from acute diarrhoea; respiratory, urinary tract and ear infections; asthma and allergies; coeliac disease, ulcerative colitis, insulin dependent diabetes and childhood lymphomas. Breastfeeding also aids your baby's speech, eyesight and intelligence and promotes a special bond between you and your baby.

As your baby's cries escalate, you can be sure to hear well meant enquiries of, "are you sure you have enough milk?" or "maybe your milk isn't strong enough?" (By the way this second proposition is NEVER true, even though it was a common belief in your mother's day).

It is much more likely that your baby is simply hungry: it is perfectly normal for a breastfed baby to need feeding every two hours - and that means to hours from the beginning of one feed, to the beginning of the next - not two hours between feeds. In the early weeks, babies' tiny tummies are only the size of their tiny fists, so simply don't hold enough food to go long between feeds, day or night.

Feeling 'fluey' any time when you are breastfeeding is a warning sign that you could be coming down with mastitis, an inflammation of the breast that may or may not also be infected. Symptoms of mastitis can hit suddenly and hard: one minute you feel just fine and the next you feel shattered and aching all over with chills and a fever. Sometimes flu-like symptoms come on even before you get a fever or notice breast tenderness. Mastitis can affect you emotionally too - it is common to feel 'just awful' and teary.

Another sign that mastitis may be rearing its ugly head is an intensely painful breast. Your whole breast may feel tender and 'tight' and be swollen, red and hot or you may present with a red, sore, lumpy patch on one area of your breast only. A sore, lumpy breast may also be caused by a blocked duct or, in the early days of breastfeeding can be due to engorgement (full breasts). A blocked duct or mastitis without infection will start to feel better with simple measures such as rest and emptying the breast but if you feel increasingly unwell, you will need to seek medical treatment – the sooner the better!

I have a newborn and as this is the first Christmas season since I have had my baby, I am wondering, what is a safe alcohol level while breastfeeding?

The National Health and Medical Research Council are currently revising safe drinking guidelines and it looks as though pregnant and breastfeeding women will be advised not to drink alcohol at all. This is because, in light of worldwide research, a safe limit of alcohol consumption can't be determined during pregnancy and breastfeeding – there are potential risks to babies whose immature livers aren't able to process the alcohol transmitted through the placenta or their mother's milk.

Daily consumption of alcohol by breastfeeding mothers has been shown to affect baby's sleep patterns (with babies falling asleep more quickly but waking more often), increases the risk of slow weight gain and slows gross motor development.

Breastfeeding has been going well: your baby is thriving and happy. But now you are returning to work and feel sad at the prospect of weaning. Take heart - returning to paid work doesn't mean you have to stop breastfeeding. Your baby can enjoy the health and nutritional benefits and you will still have that unique connection through the one thing that only you can do for your little one - snuggling him close as he drinks your milk.

To make breastfeeding and working possible from a practical perspective, it is important to choose a carer who is breastfeeding friendly: your carer will need to be motivated to implicitly follow your instructions to store and thaw (if necessary) and feed your milk to your baby. Also, there is nothing worse than arriving with full breasts to pick up your baby, only to find she has just been fed, so do request that your carer considers this. She can either help your baby wait (as long as he isn't upset) or offer a small amount of milk to 'tide him over' (rather than a full feed) if you are on your way home. This will also require close communication on your part – perhaps a call as you leave work with an estimated arrival time.