• Get help with positioning and attachment from the start from your midwife and healthcare visitor.
• Contact your local breastfeeding association for breastfeeding advice if you are still having difficulties. Contact the National Childbirth Trust, Association of Breastfeeding Mothers, Breast Feeding Network or La Leche League for details of your nearest support group.
• If you do experience tenderness or pain, apply a little Kamillosan Chamomile Ointment to the area and continue to use it between feeds until you establish your breastfeeding technique. If you do suffer from acute pain, consult your doctor.
• Try not to be separated from your baby - close contact (not necessarily skin-to-skin) greatly helps to stimulate milk producing hormones.
• Breastfeed exclusively for the first 6 months to give your baby the best start in life.
• Expressing breast milk whilst trying to breastfeed should be avoided, especially in the early days. It will not stimulate you to produce milk as well as direct feeding and defeats the object when breastfeeding is so convenient.

• Demand feeding should be encouraged. Feed your baby for as long and as often as needed. This will ensure your baby receives the nutrition it needs to grow and will keep your milk supply flowing.
• Check your positioning:

  Is your baby's head and body in a straight line?
  If not, your baby might not be able to swallow comfortably.

  Are you holding your baby close to you?
  Try to support his back, shoulders and neck. He should be able to tilt his head back easily. And he shouldn't have to reach out to feed.

Is your baby's nose opposite your nipple?
Your baby needs to get a big mouthful of breast from underneath the nipple. Placing your baby with his nose level with your nipple will allow him to reach up and attach to the breast well.

Are you comfortable?
It's OK to change your position slightly once your baby is attached to your breast.

• Signs that your baby is feeding well:

  - Your baby has a large mouthful of breast.
  - Your baby's chin is touching your breast.
  - It doesn't hurt you to feed (after the first few sucks).
  - If you can see the dark skin around your nipple, you should see more dark skin above your baby's top lip than below their bottom lip.
  - Your baby's cheeks stay rounded during sucking.
  -Your baby rhythmically takes long sucks and swallows. It is normal for him to pause sometimes.
  - Your baby finishes the feed and comes off the breast on his own.