Breastfeeding comprehensive support and counseling

Your doctor will support you before and after childbirth by providing interventions directly or through referral to help you make an informed choice and to be successful in your choice. He or she will discuss the benefits of breastfeeding, provide practical advice and direct support on how to breastfeed, and provide psychological support.

Although breastfeeding is beneficial to women and their babies, not all women choose to or are able to breastfeed. Your doctor should respect your decision that fits your specific situation, values, and preferences.

Breastfeed Your Baby

What you can do

Learn all you can about the benefits of breastfeeding. Ask your doctor questions before you give birth, so you are prepared to start breastfeeding as soon as your baby arrives. Ask for help from a lactation counselor.

Preventive service at no cost

Why breastfeeding is important

Breastfeeding provides health benefits for children and provides health benefits for women.

It is associated with a reduced risk of a variety of illnesses such as acute otitis media, asthma, atopic dermatitis, and gastrointestinal tract infection, and chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Any breastfeeding appears to be more beneficial than no breastfeeding, and longer durations of breastfeeding have greater benefits than shorter durations. Breastfeeding is also associated with positive maternal health outcomes, such as reduced risk of maternal breast and ovarian cancer and type 2 diabetes.

What the interventions are

Professional support is 1-on-1 counseling about breastfeeding provided by a health professional such as a nurse or lactation counselor. It can include information about the benefits of breastfeeding, encouraging the mother, providing reassurance, and discussing the mother’s questions and problems, and helping with the positioning of the infant and observing latching. It may be delivered during pregnancy, the hospital stay, the postpartum period, or at multiple stages. It may be conducted in an office setting, in the hospital, through home visits, through telephone support, or any combination of these. Sessions generally last from 15 to 45 minutes.

Proper Storage and Preparation of Breast Milk

Peer support provides women with 1-on-1 counseling about breastfeeding but is delivered by a layperson, generally a mother with successful breastfeeding experience and a background similar to that of the patient and who has received training in how to provide support. Like professional support, peer support may be delivered through a variety of stages, settings, methods, and durations.

Common Breastfeeding Challenges

Classes are usually offered in group sessions and may include telephone support, electronic interventions, videos, and print materials. They are directed at mothers but may include other family members.

Additional tips

• Try to breastfeed within the first hour of birth.
• Work with a nurse or lactation consultant.
• Make sure you have several well-fitting nursing bras.
• Try not to use bottles or pacifiers until your breastfeeding is well established.

Additional Resources

• Maternal or Infant Illnesses or Conditions