Your body is amazing. After birth, your body provides all the nourishment your baby needs for the first few months of life.
Breastfeeding can be difficult—especially at first. If you run into challenges, our lactation experts are ready to help.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all babies exclusively breastfeed for six months and continue for at least one year.
The benefits of breastfeeding include:
No matter if you’re a new or experienced mom, our lactation specialists are there for you during your hospital stay and after you and your baby go home. They can help you with latch-on difficulties, milk supply, newborn weight gain, returning to work and any other breastfeeding questions you may have.
When you’re establishing your milk supply, you can feed on demand, which translates into eight to 12 feedings every 24 hours (or more if your baby is cluster feeding).
By day four or five, your milk should be in and your baby should be peeing five to eight times every 24 hours and having a three to four poopy diapers.
Watch for signs that your baby is latched deeply, including having a wide gape, lips flanged out, and vigorous suck.
You should feel strong tugs and hear your baby swallow. At the end of a successful breastfeeding session, your baby will come off the breast asleep or satisfied, and your breasts should feel softer.
This is entirely up to you for your needs and goals. We generally recommend that you start pumping by the time your baby is two weeks of age. Start by pumping two times per day after breastfeeding. The average amount of milk collected is 0.5 - 1 oz. per pumping session.
After one to two weeks, you can adjust your pumping frequency to meet your milk storage goals and your baby’s needs.
For example, some moms pump after a morning feeding and get 4 - 6 oz. so they decide pumping just once or twice a day is plenty. Other moms get 0.5 - 1 oz. and decide to pump three to four times a day. It’s really up to you!
Four weeks of age is a good time because breastfeeding is usually well-established by then. It’s very much OK to wait longer, but sometimes babies develop a very strong preference to the breast and refuse the bottle.
Try having a significant other introduce the bottle and consistently give one bottle to your baby a day.
Most breastfed babies do not sleep through the night for several months while others start sleeping through the night by a few months of age. It’s important to remember that babies will sleep for longer stretches at their own developmental pace.
Yes! However, pay attention to the preparation. Look for flash-frozen sushi and sushi made from fish that contain low levels of mercury.
The recommendation is to avoid alcohol while breastfeeding, but a drink once in a while can be OK. Here are the CDC guidelines about consuming drugs or alcohol while breastfeeding.
A plugged (or blocked) duct is an area of the breast where milk flow is obstructed.
You might notice a hard lump or wedge-shaped area of engorgement that feels tender or painful. Occasionally, you might only notice localized tenderness or pain, without an obvious lump or area of engorgement.
Nursing frequently and emptying the breast thoroughly is one way to prevent getting a blocked milk duct. But if you do get a blocked milk duct:
Milk supply from the affected breast might decrease temporarily. This is normal and extra nursing or pumping generally get things back to normal within a short time. You might occasionally express strings or grains of thickened milk.
