Your choice to breastfeed your baby is a great one, get your wee one his or her first or first

first several
it is the biological norm for human babies to be fed latches and feedings.
human milk, and your and your baby’s long-term
It’s really important to let your baby determine her
health will be greatly benefited by your choice. Here
or his feeding schedule. The baby’s tummy is tiny at
you will find some tips to help you and your baby get
birth, about the size of a cherry. Your first milk,
a good start.
colostrum is made to be both nourishing and very
easily digestible. So your baby will need to feed
Skin-to-skin
frequently. You’ll learn to pick up her or his cues,
The first, and perhaps most important thing you
and you’ll know when to bring your little one to your
need to do is establish skin-to-skin contact with your
nipple for latch and feeding.
baby as soon as he or she is born. More and more
facilities are supporting the evidence based practice
Speaking of cues…
of having babies chest to chest with their parents as
When your baby is red in the face, mouth wide
quickly as possible after birth. This is a norm in most
open, hollering in distress, you’ve missed the early
midwifery practices, and is extending even into
cues of his or her need to feed. Don’t sweat it,
hospitals, even when there has been a Cesarean
you’ll get the hang of this!
delivery.
One of the first signs your baby is ready to latch
Your baby is born with an innate ability to get to
and suckle is squirming. That may seem a tough
your breast, to latch on, and to suckle. And in the
one; what do babies do but squirm, right? But in
first hour after birth, your baby’s sucking reflexes
truth, when a baby is full or at least not hungry,
are at their very strongest, and your baby’s sense of
they will likely be at rest; mostly still, maybe
touch and smell are very acute, and the scents from
asleep, maybe alert, and his or her movements will
your skin, particularly around your areola and nipple
be in more of a little-here-little-there mode. When
are designed to encourage your baby to crawl, root
your baby starts actively squirming around, it’s a
and suck. And the baby positioned chest to chest
good bet that she or he is getting hungry. Another
with his or her parent is in an ideal position to
give away sign is when his or her mouth becomes
maintain body temperature. The importance of
active, or baby starts moving fingers or fist to
immediate skin-to-skin for baby and parent cannot
mouth. In this instance, if you brush baby’s check,
be overstated.
he or she will turn their head toward your hand,
and “root” for something to latch their mouth on.
Early and often
Breastfeeding should be initiated within the first By the time baby is fussing and crying, you may find
hour after birth. All the measurements and stats it difficult to achieve a good latch. Very often when
taking and especially bathing can wait for an hour or baby is already crying their tongue will be on the
so, so you and baby can connect, begin bonding and roof of their mouth, blocking latching. Soothe her
or him before you try latching. It’ll be easier for you
both.

Make yourself comfortable
So we know that the baby’s position on the parent is
important, skin-to-skin, chest-to-chest. What about
your position? It is ideal for you to be semi reclining as
you and your baby get to know one another and your
little one gets his first latch opportunity. But if you’re
not comfortable in the position you’re in, your tension
and discomfort will communicate to your baby, and
your discomfort could cloud your enjoyment of these
precious first moments. Ask for help if you need it, get
all the pillows and cushions you want and get comfy.
For goodness sake, you’ve worked hard, you deserve
to be a comfortable as you can! Too, you might want
to get or have a u-shaped pillow for nursing, one brand
name for these is a “Boppy,” and they’re very handy
for supporting baby and your arm if you find you
prefer a cradle hold Get yourself settled and then
encourage baby to your nipple to latch and feed.
To latch and un-latch
First of all, a little honesty doesn’t hurt, but poor
latching can. Especially if the latch isn’t a “good” latch.
Breastfeeding can feel “weird” at first, and it isn’t
surprising if it isn’t absolutely comfortable at the
outset, but if baby’s suckling is sharply painful, it’s time
to stop, slip your finger in baby’s mouth at the corner,
and break the latch. Ask your midwife or other
provider for help.
It’s important to keep in mind that your little one
knows how much he or she needs to eat. When baby
seeks the nipple, and you provide them the
opportunity to latch they will suckle until they are full.
So long as they are producing wet diapers and stool
color changes from black to yellow-ish in the first few
days, you can rest assured they are getting enough to
eat. If they aren’t, they are well equipped to let you
know. Do keep in mind though that not every cry or
fuss from a baby is hunger.
There’s all kind of advice about proper latching and
how-to’s are not in short supply. Some would suggest
you let the baby take the lead. This is pretty good
advice. A few tips to consider are:
 As baby’s mouth is gaping open, your areola
should be at baby’s chin with your nipple
pointed to the roof of his or her mouth. This
can help the nipple “roll” into the baby’s
mouth as they close over the nipple
 Many women find it useful to compress the
breast in an ovular shape to help baby get as
much of the nipple and areola in her or his
mouth as possible. This may be especially
useful for people with larger breasts.
 Don’t be worried about breaking the latch and
trying again to get a more comfortable latch.
Try to stay calm yourself as your baby can
sense if you get frustrated or desperate.
The next you should note is that baby should be the
one to determine the end of feeding from each breast.
You may find it difficult or overwhelming at first, but
let baby suckle until he or she either goes slack-mouth
or releases the nipple on their own. From here, it’s a
good idea to stimulate baby a little, examine those
amazing fingers and toes, stroke that precious face,
wake the baby if they’ve dozed off, and then bring
them to the other breast and encourage them to latch.
They may not need to feed at that moment, but it is
good to get them to both breasts in each feeding. For
the next feeding, start with the breast you finished
with; this will encourage balanced milk production in
both breasts. Also, babies need time for non-nutritive
suckling. It is worlds better to encourage their
attachment to your breasts than it is to pop a pacifier
in their mouths. Even if you’re sure your breast is
empty, let baby suckle as it increases their bond with
you and yours with them.
These are just a few ideas to help you get off on the
right foot. If you want or need further information, just
ask, and we’ll be happy to provide you with referrals
or recommendations.
Suggested reading:
 Ina May’s Guide to Breastfeeding, Ina May Gaskin
 Latch: A Handbook for Breastfeeding with
Confidence at Every Stage, Robin Kaplan
 La Leche League International,
https://www.llli.org/
 References

Smith, L. J., & Kroeger, M. (2010). Impact of birthing practices on breastfeeding (2nd ed.). Sudbury,

MA: Jones and Bartlett.

Wambach, K., & Riordan, J. (2016). Breastfeeding and human lactation (5th ed.). Burlington, MA:

Jones and Bartlett Learning.

Widström, A., Lilja, G., Aaltomaa-Michalias, P., Dahllöf, A., Lintula, M., & Nissen, E. (2010). Newborn

behaviour to locate the breast when skin-to-skin: a possible method for enabling early self-

regulation. Acta Paediatrica, 100(1), 79-85. doi:10.1111/j.1651-2227.2010.01983.x