Positioning and Attachment
Holding your baby in the correct position and helping him to latch onto your breast are important for effective and pain-free breastfeeding. Your midwife will offer to help you to get these right in the early days. When you and your baby are learning, these points may help.
Hold your baby so that:
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he is held close with his head and body in a straight line
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he is turned in towards your breast
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your nipple points towards his top lip or nostril.
Then when your baby opens his mouth wide, with his tongue down, bring him quickly onto your breast. If he is well attached you might notice that:
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his mouth has a wide angle
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his bottom lip is turned outwards
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his chin is close against your breast
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more of the brown area (areola) shows above than below
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his cheeks are full (not drawn in) whilst feeding
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feeding should not hurt.
