Essential Breastfeeding Tips for New Moms: A Comprehensive Guide

The image of a mother holding her baby to her breast is one of those quintessential pictures of motherhood. But being a mom means many things—and breastfeeding (like motherhood) is rarely ever so simple.

Though it’s one of the most beautiful ways to bond with your new child, breastfeeding tends to come with all sorts of complexities that can make it as challenging as it is rewarding. From problems with latching to simply putting sore nipples and breasts to rest, it involves a mix of both your and your baby’s evolutionary instincts and a dedicated, highly personal process of learning.

Every mom who chooses to nurse knows that breastfeeding can be an entirely individual experience, but understanding the universal issues that tend to crop up—and how to solve them—can help you get more comfortable in good company. To that end, we’re sharing our top five breastfeeding tips for new moms so that you can find the formula (no pun intended) that works for you.

Our Top Five Breastfeeding Tips

As natural as the process is, breastfeeding isn’t easy. Virtually every mom who chooses to nurse encounters challenges, among them:

• Pain and soreness
• Getting a newborn to latch
• Stalled infant weight gain
• Developing a feeding schedule
• Breast congestion or infections (e.g. mastitis)
• Difficulty getting comfortable while breastfeeding

For some women, breastfeeding is a breeze. For others, it can be a major challenge. Neither experience says anything about your ability or eligibility to be a nurturing parent. Rather, your dedication to the process reflects your willingness to nurture and care for your child.

Whether you’re planning ahead or currently looking for breastfeeding support, allowing yourself to relax, get curious, and keep a sense of humor never hurts to help you find your nursing flow. Below, find five helpful tips to facilitate and ease the journey along the way.

Tip 1: Start Breastfeeding Early

Breastfeeding starts the moment after your baby is born, often with a phenomenon known as the breast crawl. Just minutes after they enter the world, newborns placed on their mothers’ chests make swimming-like motions (call it the breaststroke, if you like!) in search of their mother’s nipple.

Knowing that, it’s important to communicate with your prenatal care team if you know you want to breastfeed before your baby is born. This way, your team can ensure that:

• Your baby is placed skin-to-skin with you after their arrival.
• A breastfeeding station is set up so you can nurse soon after they’re born.
• Nursing staff won’t give your baby pacifiers or formula (nipple-like objects can deter your baby from seeking out your breast)

Also, note that the Office on Women’s Health recommends avoiding artificial nipple use for the first 3 to 4 weeks after birth.

If breastfeeding is a paramount feature of your postpartum plan, you might even seek out Baby-Friendly Hospitals and Birth Centers in which to deliver your baby.

Tip 2: Learn the Universal Infant Hunger Cues

There are two things you can be certain of when it comes to newborns: they need to sleep, and they need to eat (a lot). You may notice your little one doesn’t seem to eat much at feeding sessions, but remember, their stomach is small and can fill up on a relatively modest amount of breast milk.

Newborns feed at least 12 times a day, though these sessions may not come at regular intervals. A good rule of thumb is to aim for a feeding every 3 hours, minimum, though you’ll want to learn your baby’s cues to understand when they’re hungry.

Babies typically express their hunger in several ways:

• Putting their hands in their mouth
• Producing sucking sounds
• Moving their head in search of a breast
• Crying (this usually signifies urgent hunger)

Additionally, newborn babies can sleep up to 19 hours a day. If your baby is a little sleeping champ, the mere fact of their being awake can denote a need to nurse.

Tip 3: Avoid Micromanaging Your Milk Supply

Your body is finely tuned for the feeding process, operating on what’s often called a “supply and demand principle.” As your little one grows, they’ll gradually get hungrier. And the more heartily they nurse, the more milk you make. What’s in breastmilk? The composition of breast milk is a dynamic interplay of nutrients, antibodies, and bioactive compounds that adapt to meet your baby’s changing needs.

While it’s important to nurse consistently, many moms can get caught up in sticking to a regular schedule to ensure their breast milk supply stays flowing. But it’s common for feeding schedules to get irregular as infants grow, whether your baby seems resistant to feeding or cluster feeds have taken over your schedule.

Using a breast pump can help maintain your supply during these periods, as well as:

• Cuddling, snuggling, and increasing skin-to-skin contact time with your child
• Compressing your breast to encourage your baby to nurse during feeding time
• Switching up which breast they nurse from (this can also help to alleviate milk duct and nipple soreness, as well as manage breast milk supply)

Tip 4: Learn How to Spot a Proper Latch

Getting your baby to latch properly is one of the hallmark obstacles when it comes to breastfeeding. A proper latch means:

• Your baby’s mouth surrounds your whole nipple and most of your areola, depending on your nipple circumference.
• Your baby’s lips lie flat against your breast, and both their chin and nose are touching your chest.
• The sounds they’re making seem full and satisfied—the sound of hollow sucking or smacking can signify too much air, and not enough milk being swallowed.

To master this position, your baby will need to open their mouth to the size of a little yawn before they can clamp down on your nipple. To help them get a grip, you can:

• Brush your nipple against their nose to encourage latching.
• Ensure the baby’s head is propped up and tilted up and back to make latching, breathing, and swallowing easier.

Attaining a proper latch is no easy feat, and it can be tremendously frustrating for many moms. Revisiting tip #1—nursing a few hours after your baby is born—can significantly encourage your baby’s ability to latch properly.

Additionally, achieving a satisfactory latch supports that fundamental “supply and demand” dynamic that undergirds successful breastfeeding, and reduces your chances of nipple soreness and pain. Many experts consider nipple pain to be an indicator of poor latching, contributing to congested milk duct and even infection.

Tip 5: Make Peace with Cluster Feedings

It may feel like all those breastfeeding workshops and lactation tips go out the window when your baby’s sudden feeding frenzy breaks your every-three-hour feeding schedule. But ravenous newborns are fairly run-of-the-mill in a phenomenon known as cluster feeding.

Cluster feeding is most likely to occur if:

• Your baby is days or weeks old
• Your baby is crying frequently
• Your baby seems to get satisfied more quickly
• Your baby is still passing regular amounts of urine and stool (around 6 diapers of urine and 3 stools daily)

When babies cluster feed, they typically nurse for 10 to 30 minutes, take a break, then feel hungry again for intervals lasting several hours. It can be immensely frustrating for new moms—particularly if these spells occur late at night—but it’s a normal infant behavior and usually abates as your baby grows and gradually self-regulates.

To help yourself stay regulated during cluster feeds, it can help to switch up your breastfeeding position with each feeding session. You might find your baby tends to cluster feed fairly regularly, so keeping a nursing station stocked with some self-soothing resources—nipple balm, your favorite herbal tea, or your favorite streaming series cued up—can help you find calm even if your baby’s going through a restless phase.

Reaching Out to a Lactation Consultant

All sorts of challenges can arise during breastfeeding, from maintaining an adequate (and not over-abundant) milk supply to dealing with newborns on “nursing strike.” No matter what obstacles you’re contending with, a lactation consultant is trained to help you and your baby feel comfortable and nourished by the breastfeeding process.

Lactation consultants should be certified by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE), and trained professionals will use an IBCLC or RLC after completing their training. Lactation consultants can help with:

• Milk supply maintenance
• Establishing a workable nursing schedule
• Tackling latching challenges
• Facilitating infant weight gain
• Understanding how your baby communicates with you
• Helping you find comfort (from sore nipples, breast engorgement, breastfeeding positions, etc.)

If you’re juggling the responsibilities of breastfeeding and family planning, a common question may arise: “Can you get pregnant while breastfeeding?” While lactation can serve as a natural form of contraception to some extent, it is not foolproof. Understanding the nuances of fertility during breastfeeding is crucial, and a lactation consultant can provide valuable information about your unique circumstances. They can also offer insights into managing breastfeeding alongside family planning. Furthermore, most hospitals will be happy to put you in touch with a lactation consultant, and many can help coordinate one in advance of your baby’s birth.

Whether you decide to reach out to a professional or work through the unique challenges that can come with breastfeeding on your own, remember that plenty of moms need time to perfect their unique approach to nursing—but, more often than not, the bond they share with their newborns outweighs the challenges in the end.

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This post has been reviewed for accuracy by:

Haley Milot

Haley Milot, a highly skilled laboratory professional, currently serves as the Associate Director of Lab Operations at Gateway Genomics, the parent company of SneakPeek. Her extensive experience in laboratory management, spanning over seven years with Gateway Genomics, showcases her expertise in quality assurance, quality control, and the development of laboratory procedures. Haley's background includes pivotal roles in DNA extraction and purification, real-time qPCR, and specimen accessioning, underscoring her comprehensive understanding of laboratory operations and diagnostics. Her adeptness in managing complex laboratory functions and her deep knowledge of medical diagnostics make her a vital contributor to SneakPeek's innovative approach to prenatal testing.

Sources:

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