So, you've chosen to be one of the 77% of new mothers (latest UK Stats, 2008) who intend to breastfeed their babies - well done. Obviously you've done your reading and understand what a huge benefit breastfeeding will be to your baby, and want to know how to go about it.

You may have heard that breastfeeding can be tricky, or difficult to establish, or had friends or relatives tell you that it didn't work out for them, or it was painful. Reading up on it before the birth, and making sure that everyone knows you plan to breastfeed, as well as knowing where to get help, advice and support should you need it, are crucial in your success.

One really important thing to say, before we go any further is, breastfeeding should NOT HURT

If it's hurting, there's something amiss - and speaking to someone trained in BF support could quickly turn a painful experience into a beautiful, happy and bonding experience for you.

Immediately after the birth, assuming that things go normally, baby will be given to you - often baby can be delivered onto Mum's stomach after a vaginal delivery, or will be checked over, wrapped up and then brought to Mum and birth partner after a caesarian section. As soon as you are ready, and as soon as baby starts to nuzzle into you, you can begin feeding your baby: they will be able to SMELL that you are their mother, and will instinctively be searching for the nipple. Interestingly, if a newborn baby is delivered onto Mum's tummy, and left there for long enough, they will CLIMB to the left breast, presumably following the sound of mum's heartbeat, and LATCH THEMSELVES ON!!!

The midwife will help you to position yourself so that you can feed comfortably - post c/section this will likely be flat on your back with baby lying face down across your body, face to your breast, but unless you ahve had a spinal block or epidural which immobilises you, then after a natural delivery you should be more mobile more quickly and so may have a choice of feeding positions for that first feed. How you position yourself, and how close you hold your newborn baby as you feed, can make a difference to how well things go. Sometimes a little difference in how the baby is feeding can make a big difference to how comfortable it is for you -and how easily your baby gets the milk.

Changing how you hold your baby and how she starts to feed can sometimes make a difference to how she settles after feeds.

How you hold your baby is frequently called positioning. How your baby takes the breast is sometimes called latching, attaching or fixing.

If you want to read about positioning and attaching in more detail, then you can click on the link HERE or you could phone the Deptartment of Health National Breastfeeding Helpline to speak to a Registered Breastfeeding Supporter for information on how this works. This service is available from 9:30 am to 9:30 pm, 365 days a year, on 0844 20 909 20 .

Here are some links to external breastfeeding websites with line drawings and images that give tips on how to get your baby to the breast correctly.

Jack Newman, a Canadian Paediatrician & Anne Barnes:
http://www.bflrc.com/newman/handouts/0501-HO_A-When_latching.htm

http://www.thebirthden.com/Newman.html

Photos and information from the Scottish Health Education Board (HEBS) site. There is some information and photos of hand expressing on this site too:
http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/breastfeed/BabyLed/index.html

NHS breastfeeding website:
http://www.breastfeeding.nhs.uk/index.asp

Information booklets (with images) to download from UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative:
http://www.babyfriendly.org.uk/page.asp?page=95