5 Things to Do in Your Baby's First 24 Hours to Help Ensure Breastfeeding Success

The first day of life for your baby – and for you as a new mom – is exciting, thrilling, wonderful and terrifically overwhelming. Unfortunately, for many women it is a time of anxiety-provoking questions and feelings of doubt. This list is an attempt to make you feel rock-solid about your decision and ability to breastfeed your baby; I want to help you get off to a strong start. I worked on a postpartum (mother/baby) hospital unit for almost seven years: I know the first-day questions that new moms often have.

Breastfeeding is the normal way to feed an infant. We all want to see ourselves as Mother Earth…the baby comes out, you and your partner exchange loving glances, the baby latches without any effort, you make tons of milk and nobody around you has any question that everything is going exactly as it should.

Perhaps, for some people, this is exactly how things go. But for so many families I had the opportunity to care for, this lovely vision remains a bit elusive. For those of you for whom everything may not easily fall into place, here are five important things a new mom can do in the first 24 hours after delivery to help ensure breastfeeding success.

Look for your baby's hunger cues.

Get Skin-to-Skin

Your baby is most alert in the first 24 hours after delivery. Use this invaluable time to observe your baby's cues for feeding: lip smacking, putting hands to mouth, tongue thrusting and wobbling head back and forth. These are signs of rooting that happen during the quiet alert state. It is paramount during this alert period to give your baby the opportunity to learn and practice a strong latch. Babies get progressively sleepier after a few hours, so this crucial moment can be missed if others are passing your baby around or the baby is in the bassinet. There will be plenty of time later for family and friends to hold the baby! 

Having your baby directly against your body also makes the transition to life outside the womb far easier for both mother and baby. Nature's cool balancing act: your baby’s temperature is maintained by you: when your baby is cold, your body automatically warms up; when your baby is hot, your body cools down. Closeness = success.

Avoid Pacifiers and Formula

Introducing supplemental soothing techniques or probably unnecessary food sources in early infant life discourages your baby from making use of his/her mom as the normal source of comfort and food. Since sucking soothes infants and because stimulation of the breast encourages milk production, supplemental anything can interfere with this perfect system.

Latch Early and Often

Many breastfeeding specialists believe that early and frequent stimulation of breasts helps to develop prolactin receptors in the breasts; this can ultimately lead to an increased supply of milk and a longer duration of breastfeeding.

Practice a Good Latch

I can’t say enough about the importance of a good latch early on. Many infants can be uncoordinated at the breast. If you had a long period with anesthesia during labor, your baby's lack of coordination can be profound. Clicking sounds, cheeks that pucker or a pinching sensation in the nipple are just a few signs that the latch should be discontinued and readjusted. Ask for help. If you need more help, keep asking for help! If you're delivering in a hospital, make use of the nurses and lactation consultants on staff: they are the extra hands you might need to coordinate those good first latches and avoid any tissue damage to the nipple. And make sure your husband or partner watches as you get this professional guidance, so he or she can help you once you get home!

Keeping your baby near is good for both of you!

Keep your Baby in your Room

Much like the skin-to-skin suggestion, rooming-in with your new baby is a time for both mom and babe to learn from each other. It is an opportunity to learn your baby’s cues. Frequently, moms are encouraged by family and friends (or sometimes even hospital staffers that aren't educated about breastfeeding) to have their baby go to the nursery so the mom can “get a good night's sleep” – this doesn’t really work. Studies have shown that mothers who send their babies to the nursery are the moms that then need sleep aids in order to rest; moms who keep their babies skin-to-skin or right next to them can rest comfortably, waking when their babies root and having the opportunity to feed when baby is quiet but alert. The calming effect of your baby’s presence can also reduce stress hormones, the presence of which may interfere with milk production.

Happy, resting baby!

BONUS TIP: Surround Yourself with Supportive People

The effects of surrounding yourself with people who believe in breastfeeding, who believe in the natural system of the mother/baby unit, and who believe in YOU is wildly important. Everyone should know that feeding the new baby the most perfect food he or she can eat is something only you can do. Those who visit are being introduced not to the new baby, but rather to the mother/baby unit that you and your baby have become. You don’t function independently from your newborn and he or she is not independent of you. This early period is the time when two separate beings learn to function in sync. The system is as fragile as it is resilient and should be respected by those around you.


Note: Regarding the last picture in this post, I don't have recommendations either way regarding the "family bed" since for many cultures it is the preferred and traditional way to sleep. The baby in the photo was born a few hours prior; we were all around her watching her sleep soundly. Technically, no blankets and flat on her back is the recommended way to go for optimal safety.