Breast Feeding TechniquesShould you decide that you want to breast feed your baby, fortunately there is a lot of "after birth" care and advice available from your mid wife and birthing center. They are on hand to help with breast feeding techniques and give you pointers the first few times you try breast feeding your baby. Like everything in life, confidence is very important. Not all babies take to the breast immediately and not all mothers have perfect breast feeding techniques the first few times they try, so please do not lose heart. Before long you will have worked everything out and enjoying the sensation of feeding your baby in exactly the same way that Mother Nature intended. To give you a bit of a head start and some pointers, we've made a list below of the more frequently asked questions we receive about breast feeding techniques. When should I start breast feeding? If possible you should try breast feeding as quickly after the birth as possible, if this can not be achieved it is usually best to do so within the first few weeks of the arrival. Research has suggested that the first few weeks are the most critical in terms of women continuing to breast feed, this is due to difficulties with sore nipples, baby not taking to the breast properly or general tiredness. I've heard a lot about different breast feeding positions It is true that there are many different breast feeding techniques and positions. The more common and well known method is holding your baby to your breast in a cradle like position, making sure to support the baby's head. This is the idyllic way to breast feed, however many mothers will explain that it is not always the most practical, especially when you're exhausted, your arms ache and you have been sitting in the same position for two hours! So another position to try would be with you lying on your side and your baby lying on his/her side also. You might want to use additional support such as a pillow to protect the baby's head. This is probably one of the best breast feeding techniques as it there is little strain on any part of the body. This is particularly useful during the twilight feed.What is latching on and how do I do it? Latching on is the process of encouraging your baby to take you nipple in such a way that they can breathe and extract milk from the breast. Sometimes this can be very frustrating as the baby may not work it out immediately, don't worry too much if this happens to you. Just keep repeating the steps below and you'll pick up the knack in no time.
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