The benefits of breastfeeding for your baby’s development and protecting them from illness, can be even more important if they are born early or unwell.
You may need to start by expressing your milk for your baby. Expressing eight to 10 times a day, including at least once overnight is important to keep up your support if you can’t feed your baby straight away.
This can be a hard time worrying about your baby alongside expressing milk. Speak to your health visitor and reach out for breastfeeding support to help you through.
Skin-to-skin
When you baby is stable you should be able to start with skin-to-skin. This is sometimes called kangaroo care. It’s a great way to bond with your baby and also support with breastfeeding. Dads and partners can also support by having skin-to-skin time too.
Here are some useful links for further information and support:
Early days
- Feeding your baby responsively
- Breastfeeding after a c-section
- If your baby arrives early or unwell
- How do I get my baby attached and feeding effectively?
- How can I tell if it's going well
- Bottle feeding and other ways to feed your baby
- What can partners or others do to help (instead of giving a bottle)
- Why am I finding it painful?