Breastfeeding in the First Week: 4 Things You Will Be Glad You Knew – Pregnant Chicken

If you are expecting a new baby, your preparation list probably includes buying onesies, scanning Pinterest for baby announcement ideas, and educating yourself about labour and delivery. But have you prepared for feeding your baby?

You might be wondering, “What is there to learn? Breastfeeding is natural; just give baby your breast and they nurse, right?” We wish we could say that is always the case. Over the last 20 years, we have certainly seen some struggles getting started with breastfeeding. Some of these problems were quick fixes while others were more challenging. A recent study backs up our observations. It found that 92% of mothers with 3 day old babies had at least 1 breastfeeding problem. See that study here.

While breastfeeding may be “natural” it does take some time to learn. Many women have never been around someone who is breastfeeding. Breastfeeding their own baby will be their very first experience. We want to tell you 4 important things that will make the first week of breastfeeding easier for you.