The first few days after the birth of your baby are really important for making sure you have a successful breastfeeding experience. The following tips are to help you get off to a good start:
Early skin to skin contact with your baby.The perfect way to say “Hello!”
Skin to skin contact helps your baby let your body know that it’s time to make milk! Placing the baby skin to skin also helps to regulate the baby’s heartbeat and breathing, it keeps baby warm, reduces mum and baby’s stress levels and helps you to stimulate breastmilk supply.
Skin to skin info here
Early Feed – baby will receive vital colostrum often called natures first vaccine. Colostrum is the first milk you will make, it is a very special milk that looks thick, sticky and yellowish. This special milk contains large quantities of important antibodies and growth hormones. Colostrum assists with the development of the baby’s gastro-intestinal tract and its anti-infective agents act like a first immunisation.
More about what breastmilk gives you and your baby here
Baby Led Feeding – let your baby lead the feeding, feed them whenever they ask. This will tell your body when and how much milk is needed. Your baby may feed furiously and often, this is ok, just feed as often as required and your milk will come in to meet demand. Hungry feeding at this stage isn’t a lack of milk on your part it is just the way babies let mums to know how much milk they need.
“Growth Spurts” explained here
Attach your baby well! This is so important and poor attachment is often the root cause of later problems. If breastfeeding is uncomfortable or painful then make sure you get support as quickly as possible. Trained supporters will be able to help you get the knack of attaching your baby!
Visit our attachment page here
Search for support here
Learn how milk is made – if you understand what your body is actually doing and how it is doing this amazing thing, then you are much more likely to be able to recognise the subtle changes that occur.
Visit our “Making Milk” page here