Breastfeeding Basics: A Beginner-Friendly Start

Feeding a baby human milk directly from the breast or by bottle after pumping.

Key takeaways

• Exclusive breastfeeding: about the first 6 months, per AAP
• Continued breastfeeding: alongside solid foods for 2 years or beyond, as long as parent and baby wish
• Most useful single change: Hold your baby skin to skin soon after birth and feed when you see early hunger cues such as rooting or hands to mouth.
• Commonest mistake: Putting up with pain at every feed; it usually means the latch needs adjusting.
• See a doctor if any of the signs under "When to speak to a doctor" below apply to you.

Why bother

Breastfeeding is linked to lower rates of infections, sudden infant death syndrome and some chronic conditions in babies, and to lower rates of breast and ovarian cancer and type 2 diabetes in parents.

Start here

These two first. Everything else is easier once they are habit.

• Hold your baby skin to skin soon after birth and feed when you see early hunger cues such as rooting or hands to mouth
• Ask for help with latch from a nurse, a lactation consultant (IBCLC) or WIC breastfeeding staff

Then add these

Once the first two are automatic, these are worth adding.

• Count wet and dirty diapers in the first week and bring the count to your baby's first checkup
• Check with a doctor or pharmacist before taking a new medicine while breastfeeding
• Ask your employer about break time and a private space to pump, which federal law requires for most employees

The numbers, in one place

Common early mistakes

• Putting up with pain at every feed; it usually means the latch needs adjusting
• Giving water or juice to a baby under 6 months
• Falling asleep with the baby on a sofa or armchair

Related topics

• Breast Cancer: Sorting the Evidence From the Noise (Cancer Awareness)
• Safe Sleep for Infants: Sorting the Evidence From the Noise (Injury Prevention)
• Childhood Nutrition: Sorting the Evidence From the Noise (Children's Health)
• RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus): Sorting the Evidence From the Noise (Infectious Diseases)

Where to go next

• Breastfeeding Basics: Separating Myth From Guidance
• Breastfeeding Basics: Common Questions Answered
• Breastfeeding Basics — the reference entry
• Pregnancy and Postpartum: The Complete Guide
• What the Guidance Really Says About Postpartum Checkups
• The Evidence on Prenatal Care Schedule, Without the Hype

When to speak to a doctor

Call your baby's doctor if the baby has few wet diapers, is very sleepy and hard to wake for feeds, or looks more yellow, and call your own provider for a hot, red, painful area on the breast with fever. Call 911 if the baby is limp, turning blue or struggling to breathe.

Where this comes from

• American Academy of Pediatrics — Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk
• CDC — About Breastfeeding

How this page was put together

Every figure, recommendation and warning above is taken from the guidance named in Where this comes from. Nothing on this page is inferred, summarized or generalized beyond what those bodies publish: where they give a number, it is their number, and where they are silent, so are we. Pages are rebuilt whenever the underlying record changes. Sign-off by a named clinician, where it has happened, is shown at the top of the page along with the date.

Medical disclaimer

This article is general information, not medical advice. It cannot account for your own history, medication or circumstances. Always speak to your doctor, pharmacist or another qualified health professional before making changes that affect your treatment, and never delay seeking medical advice because of something you have read here. In an emergency, call 911.