Support your child’s feeding needs after separation or divorce.
If you’re separating and your child is still breastfeeding, you may be trying to work out what this means for your child’s care. It can feel complicated, especially when you’re balancing your child’s need for close relationships with both parents and their feeding needs.
This page shares general information about family law and breastfeeding, to help you think through what might work for your child. It isn’t legal advice. If you need advice for your situation, a lawyer can guide you.
Family law changed in Australia in May 2024 so it’s important to make sure you’re getting up to date information.
When parents separate
In Australia, parenting arrangements are covered by family law. If parents can’t agree, a court can decide things like where a child lives, how they spend time with each parent and who makes important long-term decisions.
The most important consideration is always your child’s best interests.
Where it’s safe to do so, many parents find a way to work out arrangements together. If it’s harder to agree, family dispute resolution may help before going to court.
If decisions need to be made by a court, it can make orders about where a child lives, how they spend time with each parent and how decisions are shared. Many factors are considered when deciding what is in a child’s best interests. This includes their age, needs, relationships and each parent’s ability to care for them.
What changed in the law?
In May 2024, the law changed. The presumption of equal shared parental responsibility was removed. There has never been a rule that children must spend equal time with each parent, although some families have understood it that way in the past.
This means there isn’t a fixed formula to follow. Instead, arrangements are shaped around what will best support your child.
Where breastfeeding fits in
Breastfeeding isn’t specifically mentioned in the law. However, the law requires the court to consider a child’s developmental, physical and emotional needs. For a breastfed child, these needs may include their feeding needs as well as their daily care, routines and relationship with their mother.
For many babies and young children, breastfeeding is about more than food. It can also be about comfort, connection, settling to sleep and feeling secure.
For many children, breastfeeding is also part of their relationship with their mother, not just how they are fed. Because of this, for some children, how and when they breastfeed may be one of the things you consider when working out care arrangements.
Information that supports continued breastfeeding
Care arrangements can look different for every family and often change over time. If your child is breastfed, the following information may help you think about what arrangements could support your child’s needs.
Breastmilk is uniquely suited to human babies and supports their growth and development. When babies are breastfed, especially exclusively and for longer durations, they have a lower risk of a range of health problems.
- Babies who are not breastfed have a higher risk of some health conditions, including gastrointestinal infections, respiratory infections, ear infections, sudden unexplained deaths in infancy (SUDI) and obesity.
- Exclusive breastfeeding – giving only breastmilk for around the first 6 months – provides the strongest level of protection. Continuing to breastfeed beyond this time supports your baby’s ongoing health.
Health authorities such as the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) recognise these benefits recommend that breastfeeding continues beyond the first year, for as long as mother and child wish.
For more detail and references about infant feeding and health outcomes, see: Breastfeeding – for a healthy baby and mum.
- The first 6 to 8 weeks are an important time for establishing breastfeeding. During this period, babies need frequent and flexible access to the breast to help build milk supply and learn the skills of breastfeeding.
- Babies learn to breastfeed by breastfeeding. In the early weeks, some babies may find it harder to switch between breast and other feeding methods. For some families, offering expressed milk, particularly by bottle, during this time can make establishing breastfeeding more challenging.
- Even after the early months, some babies may prefer one feeding method over another. For some, regular bottle use can lead to breast refusal or difficulty returning to the breast.
- Expressing breastmilk can be helpful in some situations, but it isn’t instinctive. It’s a skill that many mums learn over time, and it may take practice to become comfortable and effective.
Because of this, frequent contact with the breastfeeding mother is particularly important in the early months.
- Health authorities recommend exclusive breastfeeding for around the first 6 months. During this time, an exclusively breastfed baby relies on breastmilk for their nutritional needs.
- Breastmilk continues to be a main source of nutrition throughout the first year of life, even as other foods are introduced.
- After 12 months, breastfeeding is still an important part of a child’s diet and daily experience, supporting both their nutrition and emotional wellbeing.
- Health authorities support continued breastfeeding as children grow. For example, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that breastfeeding continues for 2 years of age or beyond.
- There is no set age for weaning. Deciding when to stop breastfeeding is a personal decision for each mother and child.
- There is no evidence that breastfeeding a child beyond infancy is harmful and ongoing breastfeeding continues to provide nutritional and developmental benefits.
For many babies and young children, breastfeeding is about more than food. It can also:
- help your child settle and sleep
- provide comfort and reassurance
- support connection between you and your child
These effects are well recognised in infant care and early parenting. Breastfeeding involves close physical contact, responsiveness and familiarity, which can help babies and young children feel safe and regulated.
Recent research suggests that breastfeeding is associated with better behavioural outcomes in childhood, although these outcomes are influenced by many factors, including family environment and caregiving relationships.1
This research also helps explain how breastfeeding may be connected to a child’s wellbeing. It has found that breastfeeding is associated with:
- lower levels of postnatal depression in parents, and
- stronger parent–child relationships
Both of these are known to support children’s emotional and behavioural development. In this way, breastfeeding may contribute to a child’s wellbeing by supporting your wellbeing and your relationship with your child. These factors may be especially important when a child is adjusting to changes in their family arrangements.
During times of change, such as separation, children often rely more on familiar routines and close contact with their caregivers. For some children, breastfeeding continues to play an important role in helping them feel secure and supported.
If your baby spends time away from you, you may also need to think about how breastfeeding will be supported during those times.
Breastfeeding works on a supply and demand basis and longer gaps between feeds can affect milk supply. This may involve expressing milk or planning how feeds will be managed. What is practical will be different for each family.
Putting this into context
When discussing care arrangements, it can help to describe breastfeeding in practical terms. You might think about how it fits into their daily life. For example:
- how often your child feeds
- whether they feed for comfort as well as nutrition
- how they manage longer periods away from you
- whether they take expressed milk, and how easily
These kinds of details can help others understand what supports your child’s needs.
Under family law, parenting arrangements are based on what is in the best interests of the child, rather than trying to divide time equally between parents.
Talking about breastfeeding in care arrangements
If you are having conversations with the other parent, a mediator or a lawyer, it can sometimes help to describe breastfeeding in practical, everyday terms.
You might explain things like:
- how often your child feeds
- what breastfeeding means for your child (for example, feeding, comfort, sleep)
- how your child manages separation
- what a typical day looks like for your child
Keeping the focus on your child’s needs and routine can help others understand what matters most to them.
Getting support
You don’t have to work this out on your own.
- A family lawyer or legal service can help you understand your options under the law and what arrangements might be considered in your child’s best interests.
- The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia has information for parents about parenting arrangements and the 2024 law changes.
- The Attorney-General’s Department – Children and family law explains how family law in Australia works, including what the law says about children’s needs and parenting arrangements.
- Family relationships online can help you find local services such as family dispute resolution, counselling, and parenting support.
- An ABA breastfeeding counsellor can help you with questions about breastfeeding and expressing to maintain supply.
Support can make a difference. Talking things through, whether that’s legal, practical or emotional, can help you feel more confident in finding a path that works for your child.
For references about infant feeding and health outcomes, see: Breastfeeding – for a healthy baby and mum.
- Turner S.E., Roos L., Nickel N., Pei J., Mandhane P.J., Moraes T.J., Turvey S.E., Simons E., Subbarao P., Azad M.B. (2024). Examining psychosocial pathways to explain the link between breastfeeding practices and child behaviour in a longitudinal cohort. BMC Public Health 24(1):675. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-17994-0
© Australian Breastfeeding Association June 2026
This information is as accurate as possible but is not intended to be relied on as legal advice.
