Poses for Breast-Feeding an Infant

Seat yourself conveniently in an armchair, lay a pillow under your back, and put a small bench under your feet. Hold the baby on your arm in the following way: place the infant’s head in the bend of your elbow, lay the infant’s back on your forearm, and clasp the infant’s bottom with your hand. Turn the child sideways so that your bellies touch. The infant should not dodge, bend, or extend his/her neck to get to the breast. The child’s face should be turned to a breast so that the tip of his/her nose is at the nipple level. If the child’s hands hinder the process of feeding, they can be lowered downwards and held back by your thumb.

The position when the child lies on a pillow (to let him/her get the nipple) is considered to be a variation of the traditional pose.

To take the load off your hands, you can put pillows under your elbows. Thus you should not lean against the elbows, especially on the part of breast from which the child eats, because it complicates the outflow of milk. If you carry all the child’s weight on your hands or stoop to him/her, you’ll quickly get tired because of pressure on your back and hand muscles.

You’d be better off lifting the child upwards and pressing him/her to you instead of stooping. If you feed the infant with the right breast, it is possible to direct the nipple with the thumb of the left hand. It’s necessary to support the child with the right hand in this case. Arrange your hand accurately under the baby’s neck so that the thumb and index of the right hand are behind the infant’s ears. Your palm should be placed between the child’s shoulder blades. Before feeding, the child’s mouth should be set very close to the nipple. When the child opens the mouth widely, move him/her to the breast with your right palm.

Pose, lying on side

This pose is convenient after operations on the perineum when sitting is forbidden, and when the child is born weak or prematurely.

You and the infant lie on your sides, facing each other. The child’s mouth should be on the level of your nipple. Your head is on a pillow. Put a pillow or rolled back nappy under the infant’s back in order to prevent slipping.

You can hold the baby so that his/her back lies along your hand. To achieve this, you should embrace the child with your hand and clasp to him/her to the side. This pose is frequently used to feed children at night.

Pose with the child under the armpit

This pose is especially useful for women who had a Caesarean section, because the child is away from the stitches. This pose can also be convenient for women with big and heavy breasts (as it is difficult to hold with the fingers), and also for moms with spontaneous gushes of milk - in such a pose it is easier for the baby to deal with the flow. Additionally, it matches well with hyperactive, light-weight, or prematurely born babies, or children who experience complexities at nipple capture.

You should arrange yourself on a bed with the infant under your armpit. Place the child’s head on your palm, his/her back behind your back, and clasp his/her hips to you with the hand that holds the child. You hold the child with one hand and give him/her a breast with another.

Vertical pose

This pose is used when giving food to a bit grown, but still breast feeding, child. It can also be used with children that suffer from puking.

Mom sits in an armchair or on a bed. The child sits before mom on a chair or on a pillow with his/her mouth at the level of nipple. It is possible to hold the child vertically. You hold the child with one hand, and give the cup-shaped form of the breast with another.

To teach the infant to suck correctly, you should apply all parental patience. Remember that the leading part in feeding is played by mom. She chooses the most convenient of the two poses, and alternates between various positions. She supervises all the processes and softly corrects possible mistakes.