What is the best way to prepare for breastfeeding a baby?

Answer 1

Sign up for a lactation class, or a private lactation consultant. Another good hint I just learned in one of my childbirth classes: when the baby is born, all the fluid and stuff all over the baby has a similar scent as the breast does. In your birthing plan you can sometimes request that the baby be placed on your chest right away after birth before being cleaned off, for up to 2 hours. This allows the baby to get used to your scent and can help the baby latch on.

Answer 2

There are some breastfeeding support groups out there which can be very helpful. Some of them are a bit narrowminded, but it's still helpful if you can wade through some of the issues they have. If you can take a class, that would help (I think many hospitals offer them), but I think the best way to prepare is to spend time with a nursing mom, ask her for tips and tricks and see how she does it :) Once you have your baby, I would also recommend asking for the lactation consultant to come and help you out in your room for the first few feedings. They can be a huge help and most hospitals have them on staff. It can take some work getting used to it all and getting through the initial few weeks for some, but it is very very worth it! Good luck!

Answer 3

I would suggest taking a breastfeeding class offered through the hospital you'll be delivering at. There is nothing you need to do to physically to prepare. Some may say you need to condition your nipples, but this is not necessary. I breast fed all 4 of my babies. My oldest daughter is a new mom and she is breast feeding our 1 month old grandson. She says the best thing she did was take the breast feeding class. She had a couple weeks of problems and her instructor from the breast feeding class was very helpful to get her through those difficult times.

Answer 4

What a terrific question! Many women think they just have to plop the baby to their breast on the birth day and that is it. Not so! I suggest you call your hospital and see if they have a breast feeding class. Also, most hospitals now have breast feeding nurses who specialize in teaching women how to breast feed. Meet with them or attend meetings. Have the nurse examine you (you would be amazed at how many women have inverted nipples and find out they cannot breast feed!). If you do, the nurse will suggest a special cup to wear that will help your nipples be prepared for breast feeding. Something so simple but it messes us up if we're not prepared.

Most importantly, you need to know that it takes time and patience but is so worth the rewards. Some babies just clamp right on like they already knew how. Others take a lot of time to train. Either way, it is worth it for you and for the baby. You will feel like the baby is starving, but they are not.
Also - be sure to be diligently firm with the nursing staff in the nursery. Tell them you are breast feeding and NOT to feed the baby anything with a bottle. Babies get used to bottle nipples very fast, they are so much easier. Once they do, they will fight the breast. Tell the nurses to bring you the baby every two hours, or keep the baby in the room with you the whole time you are there.

I wish you much luck - God bless you and your baby!

Answer 5

Check out a local La Leche League meeting in your area. This will help you meet other breastfeeding Moms, and find out abot local resources and breastfeeding friendly pediatricians. (With as much as we know about breastfeeding being best, there are so many doctors who don't know that supplementing is not necessary most of the time, or who encourage early weaning, and so on.) Read "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding." Check out the website Kellymom.com. Find out who the best local lactation consultants in your area are, and meet with them, find out who you can work with when it's time and arrange for a hospital visit with one if you're having a hospital birth.

Good for you for deciding to go with breastfeeding.

Answer 6

SEEING women breastfeeding, and having knowledgable women to call on for support is the best predictor of success.

Other good things are to put the baby to breast immediately after delivery and do not allow them to take the baby away for several hours OR until the baby has fed whatever is later.

Join La Leche League to meet tonnes of breastfeeding women:
http://www.llli.org/WebUS.html (Change the country in the upper right if you are not American)

Answer 7

Buy breastpads and a few good nursing bras! Make sure before you leave that hospital that you understand how to tell if the baby is properly latched on and how to make him/her latch on. Improper latch-on is one of the top reasons for women to give up breastfeeding early because their nipples become VERY sore, they become engorged, and their baby doesn't receive enough milk. Keep in mind that it is a huge committment, but it will totally pay off in the long run. Good Luck!

Answer 8

Learn as much as you can about breasfeeding in advance. Read books like "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding." Go to some La Leche League meetings. Check out http://www.lalecheleague.org and http://www.kellymom.com

Answer 9

If you decide to breastfeed, you will definitely want to have a couple of burpees on hand. A burpee is called Handy Burpee and it is a burp cloth that you wear on your hand and it catches any leakage or milk your baby does not catch so you and your baby do not become STICKY. These things are GREAT! Bottle or breastfed. Check them out at http://www.LovePrints.net
They do have testimonials and sample pics used for breastfeeding! They also protect you from wearing any spit up. Hope this helps.

Answer 10

Join the Yahoo! Breastfeeding group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/breastfeedingdoneright/

You don't have to do anything to prepare, but start thinking positively about it.
It's great that you want to breastfeed, and is such a lovely experience. I breastfed for 18 months, and didn't do anything to prepare for it. When I was in hospital after having my daugther, a midwife cam to show me how to latch my baby on properly and gave me information for it.