by Lokemun Magar

Created on: September 22, 2008

Breastfeeding positions are as many as our creative minds can come up with. The greatest tip on the best position for both you and your baby is that the position must be most comfortable for both you and your baby.

Breastfeeding can be looked upon as one of the world's most controversial human activities on Earth. When we see piglets suckling at a sow's nipples, or a calf at her mother's udder, we say 'So cute!' and point them out to our kids. But when we see a mother and her hungry baby on a public park bench, even when the mother is discretely covering as much of the baby and her bare breast as possible, we cringe and walk away quickly, pulling our staring children along. Many a time we would be caught in positions that are uncomfortable and revealing.

I breastfed my son since he was a few hours old and as soon as I was off the catheter after birth by caesarean. I tried force-weaning him off my breast once or twice when he was in kindergarten and paid dearly for those attempts, both with my physical health and my son's emotional stability. So the best position I would recommend that you think about right now is not the physical but the psychological and emotional positions that you are about to place yourself in should you decide to breastfeed, if you have not already decided to. Are you, for example, prepared to be a human cow for at least a month? Are you prepared to bear the pain of engorged breasts and chewed nipples, and the stares of passersby at your milk-stained blouse? If your answer to the questions is a brave resounding yes', then welcome to the world of breastfeeding mothers and read on. If your answer is a maybe' or no', read on as well, for you may learn from the experiences shared below that breastfeeding is not as cumbersome as milk-bottle feeding and that it is indeed Nature's best providence for your baby.

The first person who taught me about breastfeeding comfortably after undergoing caesarean birth was my gynecologist, who though unwed, had delivered more babies than the number of cows I, a beef lover, would have eaten in a lifetime!

Lying down on your side:
This position is great for those with back ache or gave birth via Caesarean method. The baby need not rest on your belly and cause you further displeasure. Lie on your preferred side, with the arm on the chosen side on a pillow and your head on it. Prop a pillow or two under your back for support. Let the breast on the same side fall to level with your baby's mouth. Your baby is similarly

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