Breastfeeding is a wonderfully intimate time with your baby and offers advantages to both of you, but it make take you a few days or even a couple of weeks before you both settle into it and find it comfortable.

If you've decided to breastfeed then bring your baby to your breast as soon as you can after birth as this may help to get breastfeeding settled more quickly. Your baby is born reflexes to root for the breast and to suck and will usually need little encouragement to start trying. The midwife should be able to help you find a position that suits both you and your baby and check that your baby is properly latched on. Here are some pointers to get you going.

What you will need

  • At least two good-quality feeding bras
  • Breast pads for when your breasts leek between feeds
  • A good and nutritious diet - you'll need to keep following more or less the same rules for nutrition as during pregnancy
  • A little patience and a comfortable place to feed

Setting
If at all possible find somewhere quiet and calm to feed your baby, if your first feeds are on a ward where it's noisy you can help introduce calm by looking down at your baby. If you're at home it's a good idea to remove other distractions at first by turning off the TV etc. so you can fully focus on your child.

You can feed in bed or in a comfortable chair, supporting yourself with cushions or pillows so you can really get comfy. Your comfort and maintaining good posture is one of the most important parts of successful feeding. The milk you produce for your baby in these first days is called colostrum. It's a yellowish clear liquid specifically designed for a newborn. After a few days, frequent suckling will encourage your mature milk to flow and help prevent your breasts becoming painfully engorged when your milk comes in.

Skin-to-skin contact with your baby is one of the advantages of breastfeeding that you can make the most of whenever its warm enough.

When and how long to feed
Breastfeeding is a question of supply and demand, when your baby suckles she prompts your body to produce more milk through the let-down reflex and the best way to make sure you produce the right amount of milk is to feed your baby when she's hungry - she'll let you know when that is - rather than by your watch. Small babies need to be fed more often than bigger babies as they have smaller stomachs. As your baby grows, and her stomach along with her, you'll need to feed her less often.

Babies can suckle for anything between ten minutes and an hour at a time but your baby will get 90% of her feed within the first five to ten minutes. The last 10% of the feed is fattier milk which provides important calories. When she's had enough she'll lose interest and let go of the breast or she may fall asleep and continue sucking: sometimes your baby will fall asleep before the end of a feed. If you stop the feed and she's still hungry she'll be sure to let you know.

In the first few days while you're getting used to feeding and your nipples are toughening up you'll need to build up the time spent on each breast gradually from just a few minutes at a time. Your baby might not be interested in the second breast, but offer it anyway as you both need to get used to feeding with both breasts.

Make sure to alternate the breast that you start a feed with so that you're feeding properly with both.

Positioning & latching on
For your baby to feed properly and to protect your nipples from damage she should only feed when properly latched on. It's not enough for your baby to take just the nipple into her mouth, she needs to have the whole of the nipple area in her mouth (including the areola around the nipple) with the nipple against the roof of her mouth and her tongue underneath it. In this position she should be able to press the top of her mouth against the milk reservoirs for a steady sucking motion.

When your milk first comes in and swells your breast it may be a little difficult for the baby to latch on, you can help by taking the area between your thumb (above) and your forefinger (below) so that the areola and nipple stick out a little more or express some milk to soften the areola.

To help successful latching on, bring your baby to your breast, rather than your breast to the baby, supporting her head with your hand and fingers - you can rest her in the crook of your arm when she's settled into the feed. Your baby's nose should be opposite your nipple and she should approach the breast with a wide-open mouth to enable her to latch on properly. You can encourage her to open her mouth by stroking her mouth or cheek with your finger or nipple. With a good latching on position your baby's nose should not be blocked by your breast, although it may touch slightly at the tip.

If your baby hasn't latched on properly then break the suction before removing her from your breast by putting your finger into the corner of her mouth and gently easing her away. If you don't break the suction first your nipples may become sore and cracked.

Your baby should be in a straight line and turned towards your breast when she feeds so that she doesn't have to turn her head towards the nipple and she should be right up close to the nipple so she doesn't have to reach for it.

There are several suitable positions for you to feed in, most important with all of them is that you maintain good posture and are comfortable as you may be there for some time.

Whether you feed upright in bed or in a chair you might want to use plenty of cushions or pillows for support and might find it helpful at first to bring your baby up to the right height with the help of pillows. If you're feeding sitting upright then keep your back straight: don't hunch over the baby or lean backwards as both will make it less easy for your baby to latch on properly.

You can also feed your baby when lying down, which is often the preferred option for mums who's given birth by caesarian.

Indicators that latching on is unsuccessful

  • Feeding is painful throughout the feed, not just slightly sore at the start
  • Your nipples are cracked and sore
  • You can't see the steady rhythmic sucking and swallowing movement in your baby's cheek
  • Your baby's cheeks are sucked inwards
  • You hear a clicking noise
  • Your baby's nose is blocked by your breast
  • Your baby is still hungry after a long feed or doesn't want to stop feeding after around forty minutes
  • Your breasts become engorged with milk
  • Your baby doesn't seem to be gaining weight as she should

Taking your baby off the breast
As you get to know your baby you'll be able to judge when a feed is at an end and see patterns emerging. Your baby may lose interest at the end of a feed and stop sucking, or she may fall asleep (she might also fall asleep before the end of a feed). Sometimes you might let her stay at your breast for a while after a normal feed length, and sometimes this won't be convenient.

If you need to break off the sucking then put your finger into the corner of her mouth to interrupt the suction before gently removing her from your breasts. If you pull her away without breaking the suction you will make your nipples sore.

Soreness
It will take your breasts a little while to get used to breastfeeding and your nipples will probably be a little bit sore until they toughen up a bit. You're also likely to have soreness when your milk comes in, engorging your breasts, after the first few days of colostrum, but your breasts should be back to normal by around the fifth day after the birth. You may at other times suffer from sore and/or cracked nipples. You can lessen your chances of this by:

  • Ensuring your baby is latching on properly
  • Making sure you're using a good position for both baby and you for feeding
  • Removing baby from your breast properly
  • Leaving your breasts out in the fresh air a little after a feed
  • Changing your breast pads as soon as they become wet