← All feeding guides

Feeding

Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is a lovely, complete way to feed your baby. Your milk adapts to your baby as they grow, and every feed offers comfort and closeness as well as food. If this is the path you've chosen, this guide is here to help it go well.

It's also a skill that you and your baby learn together, and the early weeks can be genuinely hard work. Bumpy starts are common and say nothing about how things will go — most difficulties ease with good support and a little time.

You don't have to figure it out alone. Your midwife, health visitor and breastfeeding counsellors (through the National Breastfeeding Helpline, La Leche League or NCT) have seen it all and are glad to help — asking early is a strength, not an admission of failure.

One idea underpins everything here: responsive feeding. Offering the breast whenever your baby shows hunger — for food or for comfort — is exactly what your body expects. There's no schedule to enforce and no counting required.

The first few days

  • Your first milk, colostrum, comes in tiny amounts — a newborn's tummy is about the size of a cherry, so small, frequent feeds are exactly right.
  • Aim for lots of skin-to-skin contact; it steadies your baby and triggers the hormones that get milk production going.
  • Expect at least 8 to 12 feeds in 24 hours, day and night — frequent feeding now is what tells your body to make milk.
  • Ask your midwife to check the latch: chin touching your breast, mouth wide open, and more of the dark skin around your nipple showing above their top lip than below.
  • Around day two or three many babies feed almost constantly for a stretch, often at night — this is normal cluster feeding, not a sign anything is wrong.
  • Your milk usually 'comes in' around day three to five; your breasts may feel full, warm and tender for a day or two while things settle.
  • A little weight loss in the first days is normal and expected; your midwife will keep an eye on it, along with wet and dirty nappies.

Weeks 1–6: getting established

  • Keep feeding on demand — watching your baby works better than watching the clock, and feed lengths vary hugely between babies.
  • Signs it's going well (NHS): you can hear swallowing, your baby comes off the breast by themselves and seems settled, and there are at least 6 wet nappies a day after the first week.
  • In the UK, give your breastfed baby a daily vitamin D supplement of 8.5 to 10 micrograms from birth.
  • Growth spurts around 7 to 10 days, 3 weeks and 6 weeks often bring a day or two of near-constant feeding — your supply catches up quickly.
  • Feeding should be comfortable once the first moments pass; ongoing pain is a sign to get the latch checked, not something to push through.
  • Partners: winding, nappies, water and snacks delivered mid-feed, and guarding nap time — the feeding parent needs a support crew.
  • Look after yourself too: eat, drink to thirst, and accept every offer of help — there's no special diet required to make good milk.

Months 2–6: settling in

  • Feeds usually get much quicker — a baby who once fed for 40 minutes may be done in 10, because they've become efficient.
  • Your breasts will likely feel softer as supply settles to match your baby; this is regulation, not a drop in milk.
  • Around 4 months many babies become wonderfully distractible, popping off at every noise — a quiet, dimmer room can rescue a feed.
  • Feeding out and about gets easier with practice, and in the UK you have a legal right to breastfeed in public places.
  • The WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for about the first 6 months — your milk is all the food and drink your baby needs until then.
  • Nights still usually include feeds at this age, and that's biologically normal rather than a problem to fix.

Around 6 months: starting solids

  • Solids begin around 6 months, but your milk remains your baby's main food for a while yet — meals start as practice, not replacement.
  • Keep feeding on demand; babies gradually take less milk as meals grow, without you needing to engineer it.
  • Breastfeeding alongside solids keeps providing immune protection and comfort — there's no cliff-edge where it stops mattering.
  • From 6 months, UK guidance recommends daily vitamin drops containing vitamins A, C and D for breastfed children — keep going with the vitamin D you already give.

6–12 months and beyond

  • Many babies settle to a few feeds a day — often morning, bedtime, and comfort top-ups — but wide variation is completely normal.
  • Feeding to sleep isn't a bad habit you must break; it's a normal, effective settling tool used the world over.
  • The WHO supports breastfeeding for 2 years or beyond alongside food — how long you continue is entirely up to you and your baby.
  • Returning to work doesn't have to end breastfeeding: many parents feed mornings and evenings, and supply adjusts to the new pattern.
  • Whenever you decide to stop, go gradually — dropping one feed every few days keeps you comfortable and lowers the risk of blocked ducts.

When it's not going smoothly

Painful latch or sore, damaged nipples
  • Pain usually means a shallow latch — break the suction gently with a clean finger and start again, lining your baby's nose up with your nipple so they open wide.
  • Try different positions; a laid-back position or a rugby hold can transform a tricky latch.
  • A little expressed milk smoothed on afterwards can soothe; if you use a nipple cream, pick one that doesn't need washing off before feeds.
  • If pain lasts beyond the first moments of feeds, or nipples are cracked or bleeding, ask your midwife, health visitor or a breastfeeding counsellor to watch a full feed.
Engorged, rock-hard breasts when your milk comes in
  • Feed often and don't skip feeds — your baby is the most effective relief available.
  • If the breast is too firm to latch onto, hand express just a little first to soften the dark area around the nipple.
  • A cold cloth after feeds eases the swelling, and paracetamol or ibuprofen are fine if you need them.
  • Engorgement usually settles within a day or two; if you develop a fever or one hot, painful area, treat it as possible mastitis and contact your midwife or GP.
A blocked duct or mastitis (a hard, hot, painful area)
  • Keep breastfeeding as normal from both breasts — it's safe for your baby, and stopping suddenly makes things worse.
  • Current NHS advice: hold a cold, wet cloth on the area for about 10 minutes at a time, and do not massage firmly or pump extra milk to 'empty' the breast — gentle is the rule now.
  • Rest, drink plenty, and take paracetamol or ibuprofen (not aspirin) if you need them.
  • If you feel feverish and fluey, or you're not improving after 12 to 24 hours of home care, contact your GP — mastitis sometimes needs antibiotics, which are safe to take while feeding.
Worrying that your supply is low
  • Softer breasts, shorter feeds, no leaking and a baby who still cries are all normal — none of them proves low supply.
  • The reliable signs milk is going in: steady weight gain and at least 6 heavy wet nappies a day.
  • Milk works on demand and supply — feeding more often, offering both breasts and plenty of skin-to-skin all nudge production up.
  • If weight gain is genuinely slow or you can't shake the worry, ask your health visitor for a weigh-in and a feeding review, or call the National Breastfeeding Helpline.
Cluster feeding is wearing you out
  • Evening marathons of short, fussy feeds are common for weeks — think of them as your baby placing next week's milk order, not a supply failure.
  • Set up camp: water, snacks, phone charger, something good to watch, and let the rest of the evening go.
  • Hand your baby to someone else for a walk between bursts so you can shower, eat or lie flat.
  • It usually passes within a few days at a time; if your instinct says something more is wrong, your health visitor will gladly check.
You suspect a tongue-tie
  • Signs include trouble latching or staying latched, very long or constantly hungry feeds, clicking sounds and persistently sore nipples.
  • Plenty of babies with a visible tongue-tie feed perfectly well — what matters is whether feeding is actually affected.
  • If division is needed, it's a quick, simple procedure done without anaesthetic in young babies, and most feed better afterwards.
  • Ask your midwife, health visitor or GP for an assessment — many areas have specialist infant feeding teams.
Nervous about feeding in public
  • In the UK, the law protects your right to breastfeed anywhere you're otherwise allowed to be.
  • A vest under a loose top lets you feed with very little showing, if that helps you relax — practise at home first if you like.
  • Start somewhere friendly: a café near a parent group, a feeding room, or a bench with a trusted friend beside you.
  • Most people notice far less than you fear, and confidence builds quickly with each feed.
Your partner feels shut out of feeding
  • Feeding is only one way to be close — bath time, winding, skin-to-skin naps and pram walks all build the same bond.
  • A hugely valuable role is protecting the feeding parent's rest: taking the baby after morning feeds, fielding visitors, keeping food arriving.
  • If you'd like to introduce occasional bottles of expressed milk later, that can become a partner's moment — our expressed-milk guide covers how to do it gently.