Breastfeeding should be the only source of your baby’s nutrition immediately after childbirth and up to six months of age, as recommended by the World Health Organization. If it is an instinctive reaction for the child to seek the mother’s breast and stick to the nipple, it may not be so immediate for the mother to learn to breastfeed properly. What are the best positions to do this? Dr. Suzanne Veehof, a neonatologist of the Humanitas San Pio X hospital, spoke about this in Ok Salute e Benessere.

The mother should be ready to give the milk to her baby whenever he needs to eat. The child will begin to show signs for breastfeeding such as opening the mouth, pulling out the tongue, and turning his head left and right in search of the breast; he may also put his hands in his mouth and use his fingers as a dummy. Finally, it will draw attention with crying.

Positions during breastfeeding should be comfortable

“Two main positions are adopted by most mothers. The first is the one in which the child is held in the arms, with his face facing his mother. You can use pillows on the chair or bed to make it comfortable. Breastfeeding can take up to an hour and it won’t be easy to do so if you’re in an uncomfortable position,” says Dr. Veehof for Ok Salute e Benessere.

“The second one – continues the specialist – is a position in which the woman is lying on her side, with the child in front, without the need to hold the baby long”. Even the end of feeding will be signaled by some gestures of the child who will relax, stop sucking, and finally fall asleep.