Breastfeeding: getting started

Breastfeeding is natural, but it’s also a learned skill — for you and your baby — and it doesn’t always click straight away. If the early days feel fumbling or tender, that’s normal, and it isn’t a sign you’re doing it wrong. Most challenges settle with time, a little know-how, and the right support.

The first feed often happens within the first hour after birth, during skin-to-skin contact, when babies are alert and instinctively root for the breast. That early closeness helps establish feeding and releases the hormones that get milk production going. Your first milk, colostrum, is small in volume but rich and concentrated — exactly what a newborn’s tiny tummy needs.

A good latch is the foundation. Bring your baby to the breast rather than leaning down to them, line their nose up with your nipple so they tilt their head back and open wide, and let them take a big mouthful — not just the nipple but a good portion of the areola underneath. Feeding shouldn’t be sharply painful; if it pinches, gently break the suction with a clean finger and try again.

Feed on demand. Newborns feed often — sometimes every couple of hours, and in clusters, especially in the evenings — and that frequency is exactly what builds your supply. Watch your baby, not the clock: rooting, hand-to-mouth movements and stirring are early hunger cues, while crying is a late one. Plenty of wet and dirty nappies and steady weight gain are the reassuring signs it’s working.

It’s also completely okay to find it hard, and to ask for help early. Australia has wonderful support: your midwife and child health nurse, and the Australian Breastfeeding Association’s free 24/7 helpline on 1800 686 268 (1800 mum 2 mum). If feeding is painful, your baby isn’t gaining, or you’re simply worried, reach out sooner rather than later — small adjustments often make a big difference.

It helps to know the rough shape of the first week. For the first couple of days your baby takes tiny amounts of colostrum and feeds very frequently — that’s normal, not a sign of low supply. Around day three or four your milk “comes in”, and your breasts may feel full, firm and warm for a day or two as supply and demand settle; frequent feeding is the best relief. Newborns also have cluster-feeding stretches (especially in the evenings) and growth spurts every few weeks where they suddenly want to feed constantly — this is simply how they tell your body to make more milk, and it passes in a day or two. None of it means you’re failing or running out; it’s the system working exactly as designed.

And if breastfeeding doesn’t work out, or you choose to combine or formula-feed, that’s okay too. A fed baby and a well, supported parent are what matter most.