Breastfeeding in the first 14 days
Most Australians want to breastfeed their babies – the majority are doing so when they leave hospital. Yet these early weeks can be a huge challenge for many and around 30% of babies receive some formula in the first month. It can be hard to stay positive if you have needed to give formula as well as breastfeeds. You might feel like you have failed or let your baby down.
Nearly all breastfeeding problems can be fixed. But you need to find the right help when you need it and that can be hard. . It can feel like your calendar is filled with appointments with your child health nurse, local doctor, IBCLC lactation consultant and breastfeeding counsellor. Each will have different opinions and strategies for you to try. And then there are friends and family members whose own experience of breastfeeding might be limited. They might be more comfortable talking to you about formula feeding and seem unsupportive.
The reality is, most breastfeeding problems come down to the basics of getting babies to attach well so they feed well and establish a good milk supply. More complex issues are less likely.
So lets look at all those basics:
To Effectively Remove Milk, the Baby Must Be Attached Well
It seems so simple: mouth + nipple = breastfeed. Yet almost every breastfeeding challenge in the early months can be traced back to the baby not effectively feeding at the breast because they don’t have the breast tissue in their mouth well. Find out more