Breastfeeding/chestfeeding basics

Your own milk provides nutrients to help your baby grow and antibodies to protect your baby from infections and diseases.

Breast/Chest milk is:

• Easy for your baby to digest
• Always at the right temperature
• Easy to provide
• Always handy
• Adaptable and changes as your baby grows
• Free

The World Health Organization recommends that no other foods besides breast/chest milk be given to your baby until approximately six months of age.

With the addition of nutritious, complementary table foods, continue to breastfeed/chestfeed until your baby is two years old and beyond.

Breastfeeding/Chestfeeding is natural but not always easy at first.

• Get skin-to-skin soon after birth. Most babies will show readiness to breastfeed/chestfeed within the first 60 minutes after birth.
• Later on, have baby dressed only in a diaper, skin-to-skin and place between breasts/chest.
• Give baby time to find your breast/chest. Help by keeping baby tucked in close to you.
• If you wish, help the baby to your breast/chest, skin-to-skin, tummy-to-mommy, nose-to-nipple (babies smell their way onto the breast). Pillows may help.
• Support baby’s shoulders and neck. The lower cheek can rest on your fingers.
• Support your breast/chest. Keep fingers behind areola (the round, darker area around your nipple) and thumb across from baby’s nose.
• Have baby’s lips and chin touching breast/chest below nipple. In this position, baby should tilt their head back in drinking position.
• Wait for baby to open mouth wide, like a yawn.
• Bring baby close to you onto your breast/chest. Use your thumb to guide your nipple deep into the back of your baby’s mouth where milk will flow more easily.
• Have baby's chin buried in breast/chest.
• Make sure you are in a comfortable position and your baby has a good latch on your breast/chest.

A good latch is important for successful breastfeeding/chestfeeding. A poor latch can cause sore nipples, a hungry baby and a smaller milk supply. Remove baby from the breast/chest by gently placing a finger in the corner of your baby’s mouth to break the suction and start again. Watch a video on getting a good latch and signs of a well-latched baby.

Finding an easy, relaxed position for you and your baby is important. It might take some time for you to get comfortable trying different ways to breastfeed/chestfeed. See a video and diagrams of different positions.

• Review breastfeeding/chestfeeding with your nurse in the hospital and then with your public health nurse within 24-48 hours after arriving home (call sooner if problems occur).
• Listen for sounds of your baby swallowing (a soft “kaah” sound after sucking).
• Watch your baby for feeding cues. They may put a hand to their mouth, lick their lips, move their head back and forth or suck their fingers. Eventually they might cry. Crying is a late feeding cue so try to feed your baby before they get upset. If you are not confident about watching your baby’s cues at first, follow the general guidelines below.
• Keep track of diaper changes and feedings (at least eight or more times a day).
• Actively feeding until satiated can take 20-50 minutes.
• Try compressing (gently squeezing and milking) your breast/chest while feeding, to keep the baby sucking.
• If your baby is alert for feeds, let baby stay on one side until breast/chest feels “drained” before switching to the other side. As milk increases, a baby may just need one breast/chest.
• If baby is sleepy, try to rouse by removing from the breast/chest, talking to the baby, stroking the baby or changing the diaper. Try skin-to-skin, return to the breast/chest and use breast/chest compressions.
• Breastfeeding/Chestfeeding patterns and breast/chest fullness change over time - this is normal.