by Kathleen Richardson

Created on: January 09, 2009

Nursing a baby for the first time comes with its own set of stresses, so it's important to do everything possible to ensure that baby is receiving adequate amounts of mother's milk and that mother is feeling no discomfort.

Positioning is the key to successful breastfeeding.

Some mothers hold their babies in a position that guarantees successful breastfeeding without even thinking about it. This particularly applies when a mother is nursing a second or third baby. Sometimes a first time mother, lacking experience and never having seen breastfeeding modeled, will have no idea how to correctly hold a tiny breastfeeding baby.

The basic position

A right-handed mother might prefer to hold the baby on her left arm in order to keep the left hand free for whatever else needs to be done. The following guide will assume the baby is being held with the left arm.

1. Sit in a comfortable chair or on a couch, surrounded with pillows, positioned upright without leaning forward. After gaining some experience, leaning back slightly will come easily, but for now upright is better.

2. Allow the left arm to rest in a natural, downward position with the forearm placed almost across the front of the (mother's) body. A pillow can be tucked under the forearm for added support and comfort.

3. Place the infant on the arm with his or her head on the forearm near the crook of the arm and baby's bottom resting on or near mother's left hand.

4. Lift the arm holding the baby upward so that the baby's mouth is directly in front of the nipple. If baby's mouth is not aligned with the nipple, use the right arm to help slide the baby to the right (down further on the forearm toward the hand) until they are in line. Don't move the left arm to the right to bring the baby into position; this will eventually be too tiring for the mother.

5. With the right hand, cup the breast behind the areola (the dark area surrounding the nipple. The four fingers will be under the breast and the thumb above. Without squeezing the breast, the areola or the nipple, use the hand to gently move breast in an up-and-down motion on the lower lip. This motion is designed to "tease" the lower lip and jaw into dropping down. This opens the mouth wide enough to allow the insertion of the nipple and a large portion of the areola. Remember, if only the nipple and/or a tiny bit of the areola goes into the mouth, there will be pain.

6. If the baby is being held correctly as explained in Steps (1) through (5), all is going smoothly. If

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>