Here's our selection of tips to help you and your baby make a
success of breastfeeding right from the very start:
- Feed your baby as soon as you can - straight after the birth if
you and your baby are well.
- Get help with positioning - if it hurts, there's a problem.
Initial tenderness is normal. Soreness that gets worse is not.
Midwives in hospital, or community midwives who visit you at home,
can help you change things so they are not as painful. Creams and
other potions on your nipples won't help with soreness if the
underlying cause is poor positioning.
- Keep your baby close to you. When you can, skin to skin contact
- with your baby nestled against you - is soothing for your baby,
and helps you respond to signs she makes when she wants
feeding.
- Frequent feeding is normal in the early days - don't try to
make your baby go a set time between feeds.
- Offer both breasts at every feed. It doesn't matter if your
baby only takes one.
- Remember breastfeeding is something you and your baby have to
learn and it can take a little while for it to feel normal and
natural. What goes on in the first days and weeks changes as time
goes on.
- Don't give your baby bottles of anything while you're still
establishing breastfeeding. Even if you consider it later on, while
your baby's still learning, the use of the bottle and the teat can
affect her 'skill' at breastfeeding.
- Soreness later on, after a period of pain-free feeding? This
could be the result of thrush on your nipples. Both you and your
baby need treatment.
- Forget the clock when you're breastfeeding. The length of time
your baby is on the breast is irrelevant to success and doesn't
reflect the amount of milk she's getting, some babies get what they
need in a few minutes, whereas others take a lot longer. Most
babies have natural pauses in their feeds which are variable in
length, too….
- ...but long feeds (say, regularly over an hour) which fail to
keep your baby happy and leave him hard to settle, are a sign
something's not right. Check positioning, to ensure your baby's
able to take a more satisfying feed.
- Regularly change your breast pads. Damp breast pads quickly
develop bacteria.
- Gently remove your baby from the nipple by breaking the suction
seal they have created. Gently slide your finger into the corner of
your baby's mouth and pull baby off.
- Squeeze a little milk onto your nipple and massage this in. If
possible leave your nipples to dry in the open air.