Early pregnancy is a great time to start thinking about how to feed your baby.

Most women want to breast feed.

If breast feeding is not what you want to do, then formula feeding is just fine too.

You should feel equally confident and supported in your decision.

The trick with breast feeding is to trust your body, your baby and your educated health professionals.  The Australian Breastfeeding Association is a fantastic resource and I strongly recommend that you start looking at their website right now! Family and friends are usually very supportive but are not always helpful.

When your baby is first born the best thing you can do to get breast feeding started is to have baby nestled on your bare chest.  Sometimes baby will suckle straight away, and we know that a breast feed within 1 hour of birth provides a great start. This very early breast feeding also helps your uterus to contract.

In the first few days after baby is born it is important to put them to the breast often. Baby has a tiny stomach capacity so just a few drops of milk satisfies them. But they need those few drops every hour or two at first.  It can feel like you are breast feeding non-stop and the baby is never satisfied. Remember to trust your baby and your body to make the right amount of milk each day. Frequently suckling stimulates your breasts to make more milk which in turn starts to stretch baby’s stomach. Most baby’s do not need any formula “top ups” but an occasional bottle will not reduce your chances of successful breast feeding and might just give you a little rest. Rest is also important to making breast feeding work. This is when listening to trained midwives and lactation consultants can build your confidence in breast feeding.

Too many visitors can play havoc with breast feeding. Baby gets handed around for cuddles and gets tired and grumpy. Mum doesn’t get to rest or to snuggle with her own baby. Mum might not feel relaxed or happy to expose her breasts or to learn feeding techniques with a room full of visitors. Part of your birth and breast feeding planning might include how to manage visitors. Many women these days let all but their closest family know that they are not accepting visitors in hospital.

Please have a look at the Breastfeeding Association website.  It is an invaluable resource & great to get some tools in your toolkit during pregnancy.

This article has been written by Dr Liz Tompkins