What it is
Feeding prep is the part of pregnancy classes skip. What to know before breastfeeding is not technique. It is the shape of the first week, and the phone number of a person who can help. The same prep serves a mother who plans to pump, to use formula, or to combine. About 8 in 10 mothers in the United States start out breastfeeding. By 6 months about 1 in 4 breastfeed only, which means most families end up mixing. Planning for a mix is not giving up. It is reading the numbers.
A prenatal lactation visit is a meeting with a lactation consultant before the birth. It covers your history, your breasts, your plan, and your questions. Many plans cover it. It is most useful if you had breast surgery, PCOS, flat or inverted nipples, low supply before, or a cesarean planned.
What's typical
The first 3 to 5 days are colostrum, thick and small, teaspoons at a time, and enough. Milk comes in between day 2 and day 5, later after a cesarean or a hard birth. Newborns eat 8 to 12 times a day and more at night. Night two is famous for nonstop feeding. Some nipple tenderness in week one is common. Pain through the whole feed, or cracks, is not, and is the first reason to call. Pumps are covered by insurance under the Affordable Care Act; order in the third trimester. Flange size matters more than brand. WIC offers free pumps and peer counselors. Formula prep means choosing one, learning safe mixing, and setting up a night station.
What's known
The AAP and WHO recommend breastfeeding, and they also say support is what makes it possible, not willpower. The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine says a lactation visit on day one and again before discharge is standard, so ask for it. Studies of prenatal lactation education find mothers who had it breastfed longer. Hand expression learned in pregnancy makes the first days easier. Collecting colostrum from 36 or 37 weeks is now encouraged by many providers for mothers with diabetes. Ask yours first.
What helps
- Find a lactation consultant now and put her number on the fridge. The call you make on day 3 is easier if you have met.
- Take a feeding class with your partner. The partner who knows what a cluster feed is does not panic at 2 a.m.
- Learn hand expression from a video or your midwife. It serves every feeding plan.
- If formula is in your plan, pick one and learn safe prep. You still get skin to skin and the first hour.
- Write your feeding goal in pencil. The first two weeks will tell you more than any plan.
When to call someone
- Nowcollecting colostrum in pregnancy, contractions that start and keep going before 37 weeks. Stop and call.
- Today, after the birth: the baby has not latched or taken anything by 12 to 24 hours, has fewer wet diapers than days old, or you have pain through every feed. Ask the hospital for lactation today.
- At your next prenatal visit: breast surgery, PCOS, thyroid disease, inverted nipples, or low supply with a prior baby. Ask for a prenatal lactation referral.
Who helps
Tools: Feeding Prep · Birthworker Directory · My Birth Team
Related
- How breastfeeding works: supply and demandFeeding Your Baby
- Colostrum and the first days before milk comes inFeeding Your Baby
- Hand expression and collecting colostrum before birthFeeding Your Baby
- Choosing a pump (and getting it through insurance)Feeding Your Baby
- Formula feeding: choosing, preparing, and doing it wellFeeding Your Baby
- Combo feeding: breast and formulaFeeding Your Baby
What mothers here say
No one has posted under this topic yet. The first experience here will help the next mother who searches for it at 2 a.m.
Experiences and questions are their authors' own, not reviewed advice. The topic's steward lists the ones that help most in a credited digest once there is one. Unusual experiences stay, with a note.
Sources
- CDC — Breastfeeding Report Card
- Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine — Clinical protocol on breastfeeding promotion in the prenatal setting
- American Academy of Pediatrics — Policy statement on breastfeeding and the use of human milk
- La Leche League International — Preparing to breastfeed
Sources are named, not yet linked. The steward verifies each one and adds the link.
Steward this topic
Birthworkers listed in our directory can claim a topic, verify its sources, and curate what mothers share here. Your name and credential go at the top of the page. Takes about an hour the first time.
Find your directory page