What to expect from your early breastfeeding experiences First 24 hours Days two and three When your milk comes in and and how this affects breasts, nipples and milk supply Colostrum, breastmilk, sucking and breastfeeding How do breasts make milk? Back to the Getting ready page First 24 hours A baby may have had a short or long feed from the breast in the first hour or so after birth. Depending on how long the baby needs to recover from birth and what happened at that very first breastfeed a baby may either have a lovely long sleep, which gives a mother time to recover and catch up on lost sleep too, or wake to feed again in the next few hours. When babies are dressed within a few hours of birth so that a mother can transfer to a different maternity facility they often have the second breastfeed not long after admission to the postnatal stay facility. Remember that if a baby is not very interested in breastfeeding initially the best way to arouse their interest is to get right back to skin-to-skin contact as soon as possible. Research indicates that well breastfeeding babies may take between three to eight breastfeeds in the first twenty-four hours and consume in total between 7-123mls (Up to a maximum of four ounces in total only) of that early breastmilk called colostrum in the first twenty-four hours. A baby may not have very many breastfeeds in the first twenty-four hours but each time the baby does feed they are learning more about how to breastfeed and the sucking becomes more certain as the first day goes by. It’s also a time of learning for a new breastfeeding mother so they should ask for as much help as they need. Ask a midwife to check your breastfeeding position and baby’s latch at the breast and remember it's all about learning and practicing for both mother and baby. If anything about breastfeeding hurts in the first twenty-four hours, tell a midwife or other health worker and they will help sort out any challenges. Back to top Days two and three After the first twenty-four hours a new mother's breastfeeding life starts to get a bit busier as the baby warms up to the idea of this very pleasurable activity that gives them food as well. Babies don’t even know about all the protection they are getting through breastmilk or all the amazing health and developmental advantages mothers are bestowing on them but they certainly are programmed to breastfeed and very quickly love all the comfort and security that comes with sucking and being close to their mothers. Because the second day tends to become much busier than the first, it’s a good idea for mothers to try and rest as much as they can between breastfeeds – sleep when the baby sleeps whenever possible. Having a rest or a sleep whenever possible makes it easier to cope with birth recovery, the busy baby times and all the new things a mother has to learn about looking after a baby, including getting breastfeeding off to a good start. This may mean being careful about the number of visitors received either at home or during the short maternity facility stay. It may also be a good idea to get partners or other close support people to do what could be called ‘crowd control’! This can be either at home or in the maternity facility. A partner can take visitors to the lounge area of the maternity ward either when a mother is sleeping or needs to have a quiet space to learn about breastfeeding wih the baby. A partner can also encourage helpful and supportive visitors and discourage visitors who expect to be looked after. In a maternity facility place a ‘Do not disturb: Mother and baby sleeping’ notice on the room door. Most maternity wards have these signs for use. This does not mean a mother will not ring for midwife assistance with breastfeeding or anything else when needed but it gives the new mother a chance to snuggle down and either spend some quality time getting to know your baby, have some quiet learning to breastfeed times or catch up on rest and sleep. See also: Feeding cues How to breastfeed Back to top When your milk comes in and how affects breasts, nipples and milk supply Breasts may have changed in pregnancy but it is not until they start to make more breastmilk that a mother begins to notice a big difference in how the breasts feel. The early milk or colostrum that a baby gets in the first few days after birth is all a baby needs and if they are having long periods of sucking, breasts may feel full and different around day three after birth, but they will not become so full that a mother feesl engorged and uncomfortable. More information on engorgement is provided in the Potential problems and solutions page in the How to breastfeed section. Having breasts that feel heavy and full of milk is not a sign that something is wrong – many new mothers have heard about engorgement and worry that a full and slightly uncomfortable breast means they have become engorged. What can happen next is that the mother uses a breast pump to express milk from the breast, takes too much milk off and may then make TOO much milk for her baby’s needs which ends up creating an imbalance of supply. It's a good idea not to use a breast pump at all without a good indication. If the breasts feel so full they are starting to become painful the best thing to do is wake the baby and offer the breast – most babies will oblige and even a short feed can relieve that full to bursting feeling! If a baby is not interested in feeding a small amount of milk easily by gently hand expressing. Before a mother leaves a maternity facility that has Baby Friendly designation she will have been taught how to hand express breastmilk for exactly this reason. If a mother has not been taught how to do this ask a midwife how to do it as it is a very useful skill for a breastfeeding woman to learn. View more information about hand expressing breastmilk on the Lactation Institute website. Nipples may also start to feel a little tender with all that feeding initially but if the baby is latching on to the breast the right way there should be no pain or damage during a breastfeed. On day two or three after the birth a mother may notice a little bit of a tender ‘ouch’ as the baby takes the nipple and areola into her/his mouth but this fifteen to thirty second tenderness should wear off and the breastfeed become comfortable. If the breastfeed is painful then this is a good reason to ask a midwife straight away to check the position and latch of the baby. View more information on sore nipples and what to do about this on the Potential problems and solutions page in the How to breastfeed section. See also: How to breastfeed Question and Answer index Back to top Colostrum, breastmilk, sucking and breastfeeding Remember that breastfeeding is much more than breastmilk alone. Breastmilk is an amazing liquid that is not only the perfect food made especially for human babies but it also gives your baby’s digestive tract protection from infection and give it time to start working properly after birth in the new and foreign environment. Colostrum, the early thick yellow milk that your baby gets, gives a baby their first immunisation against many bacteria and viruses because it contains millions of special living cells which are there to do the very important job of protecting a baby. Even when the thick yellow colostrum starts to increase in amounts and becomes paler in colour and starts to look more milk like, this precious liquid continues to give a baby not only food but protection from infection for as long as a mother continues to breastfeed. Another aspect of breastfeeding which is often forgotten is the pleasure and feeling of 'rightness' that a baby gets from being close to her/his mother and the fact that sucking at the breast makes a baby feel secure, less anxious and more settled and happy in the world. Sucking is rhythmic and comforting and very good for development of the baby’s brain and nervous system. Sucking is also very dynamic and not just because of the strength of a baby’s suck! It changes from fast sucking when the baby first goes on the breast, to slower more rhythmical sucking when your milk flow starts with some brief pauses to start with and then longer pauses at other stages of the same breastfeed. A mother will have more than one let-down of milk in a feed. Watch the baby feeding and observe the changes in sucking patterns. It’s completely different to the sucking pattern of a bottle-fed baby so don’t try and measure breastfeeding using a bottle-feeding model as they are worlds apart. As the first let down of milk starts to slow down a little the baby may change the sucking pattern and have more pauses or longer pauses and even do some funny little ‘flutters’ during the feed that do not feel like sucking at all. Mothers can somtimes be given poor but well meaning advice, for example, sometimes mothers are told that this is no longer part of the breastfeed and advised to take the baby off the breast as they are ‘using you as a pacifier’. In reality the baby is being ‘pacified’ or comforted for the whole of the breastfeed and that is just part of the breastfeeding experience of course. When a baby does the funny little flutter sucks this can give the lactating mother's breast signals that make your brain release more of that hormone oxytocin which gives a mother yet another let-down of milk. Then a mother will see and feel the baby changing back to the long drawing rhythmic sucking again. When a baby is feeling nice and full they may even release the nipple and come off the breast in the middle of a let-down. Babies have an internal mechanism which tells them when they are full so they may not keep sucking even if a mother's milk is letting down and flowing. Back to top How do breasts make milk? It’s important to remember that breast size does not determine the amount of milk a woman can make. Small breasts or large breasts all work in the same way – the amount that is removed by a baby sets up a milk making programme that becomes synchronised with what a baby needs. The glandular structures inside the breast where milk is secreted look like hundreds of small grape like sacs inside each breast. Lots of networks of channels (like tree branches) allow the milk to flow down to the nipple. When a baby suckles the breast it triggers the release of the hormones oxytoxin and prolactin which cause the structures to produce and release milk. For more detailed information about how milk is made, breastfeeding hormones and breast anatomy visit the kellymom.com website - How does milk production work?. To see another diagram of the inside of a lactating breast visit the University of Western Australia's Biochemistry and Molecular Biology website - Anatomy of the human breast. Back to top Back to the Getting ready page Website feedback We welcome your feedback on this page.

Where to get help Midwives Healthline - 0800 611 116 Well Child La Leche League More information on these and other breastfeeding help providers...

Page last reviewed: 31 July 2009