How soon after delivery do I start breastfeeding?
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You want to offer your breast as soon as possible after the birth, even after a cesarean birth, but it’s up to your baby to decide when to start feeding. After your baby is born and dried, place your baby skin to skin against your chest. This means that baby has nothing on but a diaper and is lying against your bare chest between your breasts.
Placing baby close to you creates the best opportunity for the first breastfeeding to be successful. Another name for skin to skin is Kangaroo Mother Care. It will help keep your baby warm and secure. Babies who are separated from their mothers after the birth cry more and are more likely to get cold (hypothermia) or have low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). And most mothers love having their baby close to them. In this position, babies use their natural instincts to find the nipple and latch on with little help from mother.
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Comment by Alex on Jul 29 2009 07:09:00:
I tried immediately after the baby’s birth, but the flow didn’t begin till Day 5. And even then, it was so little it wasn’t enough to give a goldfish a good filling. Don’t worry. It will kick in and the quantity will increase with time.
Comment by Janet on Jun 10 2010 06:52:33:
I had a quick and relatively easy birth with my first born, and as soon as he came out and the nurses cut the cord they lay him on my chest, and he was able to latch on almost immediately. He was always good at nursing (in one fell swoop till he was full) until he stopped on his own at around 10 months. My second baby had a slightly more complicated birth, and it was about an hour after birth before they were able to get him ready for me to hold across my chest. He wasn’t able to latch on right away, and although he had a greater birth weight than my first son, because his feeding instincts weren’t as strong as my first son’s, he ended up being a smaller baby, and never as good at nursing… lots of little breaks, and seemingly not as much ingested overall…
Comment by Shandra on Apr 11 2011 03:42:23:
I had a Lactation Consultation help me immediately after my daughter was born. She learned how to latch very quickly and we have been feeding for 4 months straight without issues. I think getting good help early on made a big difference. I also had them help once we had settled in our room. You can request help any time. Do it before you go home! It is expensive once you are out of the hospital and there is more to it than you might think…or at least more than I realized:-)
Comment by Ashley Malloy on Mar 30 2012 03:59:07:
They will have you start as soon as you give birth, after they clean the baby up as long as the baby starts crying right away, and you don't need to be stitched up.