Re:How soon after delivery will the doctors let me breast feed?
Breastfeeding is a nice personal thing done between mother and baby and many doctors want you to breastfeed as soon as possible. Some will put the baby up to breast as soon as it is born; however, most have the baby cleaned off and wrapped up nicely before giving him or her to you. The baby will have a suck reflex but may need to be taught how to latch on correctly. The nurse can help you learn how to have the baby latch on. Many babies aren’t very hungry at first after birth. They are tired or are just looking around and uninterested in latching on and breast feeding. Don’t be alarmed by this as this is just normal baby behavior after birth.
You need to remember that the milk won’t be in after the child’s birth for at least a couple of days. The baby will be sucking colostrum, or early milk that is filled with nutrients and antibodies to help give baby passive immunity. While it’s not much volume, it is good nutrition and many babies don’t need supplemental water. Some moms choose to give supplemental water in the first few days until the milk comes in and the baby is getting both nutrition and volume of fluid from your milk.
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