By Yvette O’Dowd
Breastfeeding is natural — but it isn’t always easy. Most mothers find meeting their breastfeeding goals takes patience, determination and lots of support. How your birth and early postnatal care are managed can make a big difference, so it helps to prepare early, learn what’s normal, and build a strong support network before your baby arrives.
STEP ONE – Learn Before Baby Arrives
Don’t wait for your baby to arrive to start learning about breastfeeding. The first thing your baby will be looking for after birth is the nearest place to feed — and they won’t wait for you to read the manual!
ABA Breastfeeding Education Classes
One of the best ways to prepare is to attend an Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) Breastfeeding Education Class. Book online at breastfeeding.asn.au
These friendly, small-group workshops (about three hours) are run by experienced breastfeeding educators who are also mothers. They focus on what really matters in the first days, weeks, and months; helping you understand how breastfeeding works and how to make it work for you.
Making a Birth and Breastfeeding Plan
The most important parts of your birth plan aren’t about candles or playlists; they’re about how you and your baby are cared for immediately after birth.
The Baby Friendly Health Initiative (BFHI), developed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF, promotes hospital practices that protect and support breastfeeding such as early skin-to-skin contact and avoiding unnecessary separation or supplementation.
If you’re not birthing in a BFHI-accredited hospital, you may need to be more proactive. Discuss your wishes with your care team and include them in your written plan. For example:
“Our goal is to exclusively breastfeed our baby. If supplementation is medically indicated, we have expressed colostrum available.”
“Please delay weighing and routine tests until after the first breastfeed.”
“If the mother cannot hold the baby, the support person will do so skin-to-skin.”
Setting Your Breastfeeding Goals
You might aim to avoid formula while breastfeeding is being established, plan to express milk when you return to work, or decide to combine breastfeeding and bottle feeding. Families with allergy risks might prefer to avoid formula altogether and use expressed or donor milk if needed.
There are no right or wrong goals. What matters most is that your choices are informed, flexible, and supported.
Learning About Colostrum
Colostrum is the first milk your body produces, usually beginning around 16 weeks of pregnancy. Some mothers notice a few drops or dried residue on their nipples, while others see none at all. This is all perfectly normal.
Expressing and freezing colostrum before birth has become more common. While often recommended for mothers whose babies might need early supplementary feeds (such as with gestational diabetes), many parents like to store a little “just in case.”
If you’re 36 weeks or more, have checked with your care provider, and find it comfortable, go ahead; you’ll probably collect just a few millilitres, and that’s enough. If expressing feels stressful, stop; your milk will be ready when your baby feeds.
Colostrum is thick, golden, and packed with immune protection, nutrients, and healthy bacteria; the perfect first food until your milk “comes in” a few days after birth.
STEP TWO – Take the First Feeds Slowly
There’s no need to rush those first feeds. If everything is well, ask to have your baby placed skin-to-skin and request hands-off help from midwives. Babies know how to find the breast; they just need time. Stay skin-to-skin for at least the first hour, and longer if you wish.
Delaying Routine Procedures
There’s no medical reason to weigh or measure your baby immediately after birth. Delaying the first weighing until after the first feed or even 24 hours gives a more accurate baseline. Early weighing can cause unnecessary concern about “weight loss” and lead to unnecessary formula top-ups.
Parents have the right to request that weighing and other routine tasks wait until after the first feed — or even until the next day — to protect that precious early bonding time.
ABA Members can also access The first 72 hours complete package
The first 72 hours after birth is an important time for you and your baby and the beginning of your special relationship. Although it is an exciting time, it is common for parents to be nervous or unsure of what to expect in those early hours. ABA’s 24/7 online learning and support resource will guide you through the first hours with your new baby, providing you with practical information and support.
STEP THREE – Be Ready for the Marathon
By the middle of the first week, your body and your baby are busy establishing milk production. Breasts can feel full and heavy, and your baby may feed almost constantly. This is normal and temporary.
If your breasts are too full for your baby to attach, express a little milk first to soften them. Keep feeding frequently — 8 to 12 times OR MORE in 24 hours — and rest whenever you can. This intense phase passes quickly as your baby becomes more efficient and your supply adjusts perfectly to their needs.
STEP FOUR – Getting to Know Each Other
As you learn your baby’s cues, there will be times you feel uncertain. That’s normal. Watch your baby, not the clock; they’ll tell you when they’re hungry. A calm baby attaches more easily than a crying one, so offer the breast early and often.
Understanding Newborn Sleep
Babies are not miniature adults, and their sleep looks nothing like ours. Adults move through 90-minute cycles, but newborns’ sleep cycles last only 20–50 minutes. About half of this is light, active sleep when they twitch, grunt, and wake easily. This light sleep supports brain development and ensures they wake to feed often.
Waking through the night isn’t a problem; it’s protective. Feeding and waking frequently are normal for all babies and part of healthy development. How you feed does not change how long babies sleep.
STEP FIVE – Get Help When You Need It
Most breastfeeding challenges can be solved with the right help. Pain is a sign that something isn’t right; call the ABA Breastfeeding Helpline (1800 68 62 68), or see your child health nurse or an IBCLC lactation consultant.
When Things Don’t Go to Plan
Most parents want to breastfeed their babies and most are doing so when they leave the hospital. Yet the early weeks can be tough, and about one in three babies receive some formula in the first month.
If you’ve needed to give formula as well as breastfeeds, you haven’t failed. Nearly all breastfeeding problems can be fixed, but finding the right help can take time. Conflicting advice from professionals, friends, and relatives can be confusing, so come back to the basics: how your baby is attached, how milk is being removed, and how often feeding happens. Once those are right, everything else usually follows.
STEP SIX – Trust the Process
By around six weeks, your breasts will feel softer and less full which is a sign they’re working efficiently, not that your milk is disappearing. Most babies still feed eight or more times in 24 hours, including overnight.
Feeding responsively and keeping your baby close supports ongoing milk production. When breastfeeding begins well, it can continue smoothly for as long as you and your baby wish.
Being prepared, informed, and supported makes all the difference — and remember, you’re never alone on this journey.
Yvette O’Dowd is not your typical grandmother! This mother of three and ‘Granny’ of three has been a breastfeeding counsellor since 1992. In 2014, Yvette established the Southern Natural Parenting Network, incorporating South Eastern Babywearing Group. With 11,000 members world-wide, the group supports parents interested in breastfeeding, babywearing, co-sleeping, baby-led weaning and modern cloth nappies and other aspects of gentle, natural parenting.
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