“Many hospitals place the baby skin-to-skin on Mom’s chest at delivery and watch the baby find the nipple and start breastfeeding all on his own. He knows what to do!” says Kittie Frantz, RN, CPNP. “Ask the staff to do this when you deliver—you will be amazed.” The beauty of breastfeeding is, there are no bottles to prepare or wash and no formula to buy. Plus, you have a ready supply of milk all the time. Try these breastfeeding tips to make nursing trouble-free.
Do A Little Preparation
“You’re less likely to get sore, cracked nipples if you prepare in advance by rubbing your nipples daily with a terry cloth to ‘toughen’ them,” says Ellen Kamhi, PhD, RN. MORE: 10 Things Your Breasts Say About Your Health
Set Your Milk Supply
Get your baby used to nursing and establish your milk supply by breastfeeding exclusively for the first 6 weeks. Hold off on bottles, and don’t give your baby a pacifier unless you are sure he has nursed well beforehand. “This is the secret to a bountiful milk supply,” Frantz says.
Practice Good Nutrition
Although you’re no longer “eating for two,” some of what you eat does make it into your breast milk, and into your baby. “Plus, proper nutrition is essential to milk production,” adds Kamhi. She recommends eating plenty of protein, vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids. “Oats, sea vegetables, and green foods can help provide the extra nutrients needed at this cycle of life,” she says. “And this is a time to pay particular attention to organic food sources, because pesticides and herbicides come through the milk.”
Check Your Baby Position
Be sure your baby’s mouth is open wide before putting him to your breast; he should latch onto the areola (the darker area around your nipple), says Franz. You should see more areola above his top lip than below his bottom lip. “Sit reclined in a comfortable chair or couch, place the baby clad only in a diaper to your bare chest—this skin-to-skin triggers his search for the breast,” Frantz says. “He will scoot down and move to one side to try to get under the breast. Then, when his chin touches the breast, he will open his mouth wide, reach up, and attach himself. It really is wondrous to see babies do this,” she says. Once your baby does this at the hospital or at home, all you need to do is put him near your breast and he will take over.
Switch It Up
Leave the baby on your breast as long as he is swallowing every suck or two. If you see him drifting off to sleep or he lets go of the breast, burp him, and switch sides. Let him nurse on the second breast as long as he wants until he falls asleep or lets go again. In general, feeding time is a minimum of 20 to 30 minutes during the newborn period, and even longer is normal, Frantz says.
Don’t Show Favoritism
If either breast hurts from milk engorgement, make sure the baby nurses equally from both. “Usually, a baby will drink from one breast (say the right breast), drain that breast, and move to the other one,” says Donna Hallas, PhD, CPNP. “But the baby may get full halfway through the left breast and leave milk behind. To avoid milk buildup, start with the breast you ended with the time before, she says. As an easy reminder, put a safety pin on the side of the bra where you need to start the next feeding.
Nurse Often
“New mothers are often shocked at how often a baby wants to nurse. Well-meaning family and friends may offer advice more appropriate for bottle-feeding,” says Frantz. You’ll probably find yourself nursing 8 to 12 times each 24 hours in the early weeks.
Turn Into A Night Owl
“Babies are night people in the first 3 weeks—you will find that your newborn nurses more at night than in the morning,” Frantz says. You will also find she will be more awake and smile more at night. This is a normal rhythm for a newborn. “So nurse her a lot at night, nap or sleep later in the morning, and know that it will get better in a few weeks,” she says.
Get Comfortable
A horseshoe-shaped nursing pillow will make you and your baby more comfortable during nursing sessions. This cushion fits around your midriff and provides a convenient armrest. Two popular brands of nursing pillows are Boppy and My Brest Friend.
Don’t Get Too Comfortable
If your baby nods off at the breast but cries when you put him down, “you may have made him too cozy,” Frantz says. “Infants wrapped in blankets or swaddled in too many clothes often fall asleep before they are finished nursing—they feel like they are back in the womb,” she says. And be mindful that a baby warm to the point of sweating is more prone to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), Frantz says.
Forget The Soap
When you lather up, skip your nipples—soap dries them out. The little bumps around the areola are glands that produce an antiseptic oil, so there’s no need to wash, too. “We now know that this oil also helps your baby smell the nipple and he can find it faster,” Frantz says.
Be Sure To Air-Dry
Before you cover up after nursing make sure your nipples are dry, says Hallas. And don’t use breast pads that hold in moisture, particularly those made with plastic.
Find The Right Position
Most of the time nipple soreness comes when the baby attaches and sucks from the wrong angle, says Hallas. “If you hear a clicking or popping sound as your baby sucks, he’s not latched on properly,” she says. “Gently put your finger in the baby’s mouth and take him away, then adjust him so his mouth is on the nipple properly.” Rawness stops after you correct the position, though you may take a day or two to heal. To speed healing, air-dry your nipples when you finish a feeding, express a little milk, and rub it on your sore nipple. Milk left at the end of the feeding is high in lubricants and contains a natural antibiotic, she says. Can’t pump milk successfully? You can also rub vitamin E, avocado, or almond oil on sore nipples for a soothing effect, adds Kamhi.
Wear The Right Nursing Bra
“For comfort and body tone, a good supportive nursing bra is important,” Hallas says. Resist the urge to overbuy bras in the beginning, because your breasts will change, she says. Instead, wait until a few days after your milk has come in. “To find a nursing bra, I recommend going to someone who really knows how to measure women,” she adds. Here are tips for selecting a good nursing bra. Choose all-cotton versus nylon. Make sure the cup opening is big enough and doesn’t compress the breasts, which could lead to clogged milk ducts. Check for ease in opening and closing the bra with one hand. This will help you be discreet. Be sure straps are comfortable and the bra isn’t tight across the chest.
Stay Alert For Plugged Ducts
Binding clothes, your own anatomy, fatigue, or prolonged periods without nursing can cause clogged milk ducts. “This can cause areas of the breast to get hot, red, and sometimes hard or swollen,” Kamhi says. A plugged duct can lead to an infection if ignored. “In most cases, you can treat this problem by applying hot compresses to the reddened area, and by expressing milk manually and allowing the baby to nurse,” she says.
Try Warm Compresses To Help With Overproduction
If you have more milk than your baby can drink and your breasts are full and painful, apply warm, wet compresses, says Frantz. This opens the ducts so milk flows more freely. Nurse the baby more often and longer, and take in enough fluids so that you urinate more often.
Control Leaking
To stop leaking, press the heel of your hand down on the nipple into the chest. Or buy reusable breast pads that you can launder. All-cotton pads work well.
Fill Up On Fenugreek
Much like oxytocin, a naturally occurring hormone, fenugreek seeds help stimulate milk production in nursing mothers. The recommended dosage is 1/2 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of seeds a day, or capsules of 600 to 700 milligrams a day. Start with a low dose and slowly increase it if necessary. “Fenugreek may give the urine a maple syrup aroma, and in rare cases, this may lead to a misdiagnosis of maple urine disease in an infant,” adds Kamhi. MORE: 6 Reasons Your Breasts Hurt
Increase Flow With Galactagogues.
“These herbs have traditionally been used to increase the flow of milk,” Kamhi says. In addition to fenugreek, galactagogues include blessed thistle, chaste berry, fennel seed, dill, black cohosh, milk thistle, nettles, and hops. “You can start any one of these in small amounts (1 cup of tea or 10 drops of tincture a day) and then increase them once it is determined that neither mother nor baby experiences any ill effects,” she says.
Mastitis Symptoms And Treatment
If your breast feels inflamed, you’re running a fever, or you have flulike symptoms, call your doctor. You could have mastitis, a breast infection. Mastitis is usually treated with 10 days of antibiotics. If that’s what your doctor prescribes, be sure to finish all the medication even if symptoms have already disappeared. This helps prevent recurrent infections. Meanwhile, you can help speed healing on your own by going to bed, drinking lots of clear fluids, and nursing more frequently, says Carolyn Rawlins, MD. Don’t stop nursing. The milk isn’t infected, and if you stop nursing while you have mastitis, it could trigger a breast abscess.
Panel Of Advisors
Kittie Frantz, RN, CPNP, is director of the breast-feeding infant clinic at the University of Southern California Medical Center in Los Angeles and a pediatric nurse practitioner. She has been working with nursing mothers since 1963. She also spent 20 years as a leader for La Leche League International. Donna Hallas, PhD, CPNP, is a pediatric nurse practitioner and pediatric nursing teacher at New York University College of Nursing. Ellen Kamhi, PhD, RN, is the natural nurse, clinical instructor in the department of family medicine at Stony Brook University in New York, and author of The Natural Medicine Chest, Arthritis: the Alternative Medicine Definitive Guide, and Cycles of Life: Herbs for Women. Carolyn Rawlins, MD, is an obstetrician in Munster, Indiana, and a former member of La Leche League International Board of Directors.
