How to Prepare for Breastfeeding Before Your Baby Arrives
Practical advice from a midwife and IBCLC lactation consultant
I often get asked: "Is there anything I can do to prepare for breastfeeding before my baby arrives?"
The short answer is – absolutely!
Although breastfeeding is natural, it's also a skill that takes practice. Both you and your baby will be learning something new, and while breastfeeding comes easily to some families, others need a little more time and support.
In my experience as a midwife and IBCLC lactation consultant, one of the best things you can do is learn about breastfeeding before your baby is born. After all, it's much easier to take in new information when you haven't just given birth, you're not sleep-deprived, and you're not trying to remember everything while caring for a newborn!
So, what can you actually do to prepare?
1. Learn how breastfeeding works before your baby arrives
There is so much information about breastfeeding available, but not all of it is particularly helpful.
I'd recommend finding good-quality, evidence-based information, watching breastfeeding videos, attending an antenatal course that covers infant feeding in detail, or booking a dedicated breastfeeding workshop.
There are plenty of options available, including free resources and paid courses.
However, make sure that whatever you choose covers the practical realities of breastfeeding, rather than simply explaining why breast milk is beneficial.
Ideally, you want to learn:
How breastfeeding works and how milk production is established
How to recognise your baby's early feeding cues
How to position your baby and help them attach effectively to the breast
How to recognise signs that your baby is feeding well and getting enough milk
What normal newborn feeding behaviour looks like
What to do if breastfeeding isn't going quite as expected
Understanding these things beforehand can make the early days feel much less overwhelming.
2. Learn about positioning and attachment
Positioning and attachment are two practical skills I'd encourage you to learn before your baby arrives. A comfortable, effective latch is one of the foundations of successful breastfeeding.
When your baby is positioned well and attaches deeply to the breast, they're generally more able to transfer milk effectively and breastfeeding is much more likely to be comfortable for you. Poor positioning or shallow attachment can contribute to sore nipples, difficulties transferring milk and problems establishing breastfeeding.
And yet, this is something that can be difficult to learn from written instructions alone!
Watching demonstrations and practising how to hold and position a baby can be incredibly helpful.
You don't need to memorise lots of different breastfeeding positions. It's much more important to understand the principles that help your baby attach effectively, so you can adapt them to whichever position feels comfortable for you.
3. Understand normal newborn feeding behaviour
One of the biggest surprises for many new parents is just how frequently newborn babies might want to feed!
It's completely normal for babies to feed frequently, sometimes several times within a short period, particularly during the early days (and nights!). This is often referred to as cluster feeding.
Newborns also don't feed according to a strict timetable. They may want to feed for hunger, comfort, reassurance or simply because they want to be close to you. Understanding this beforehand can help you feel more confident and avoid unnecessarily worrying that frequent feeding automatically means you don't have enough milk.
However, it's equally important to learn how to recognise effective feeding, because frequent feeding alone doesn't tell us whether your baby is getting enough milk. Knowing what to look for – including swallowing, nappy output, weight changes and your baby's overall wellbeing – is an important part of preparing for breastfeeding.
4. Learn about skin-to-skin contact and the first breastfeed
The first hours after birth can be a wonderful opportunity for you and your baby to get to know each other. Uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact helps your baby stay warm, supports their transition to life outside the womb and encourages their natural feeding behaviours.
When given time and the opportunity, many newborn babies will begin showing feeding cues and making their way towards the breast. When you and your baby are both well, keeping your baby in skin-to-skin contact and allowing them time to explore and find the breast can be a lovely way to begin breastfeeding. And if your baby doesn't latch immediately, that doesn't mean you've missed your opportunity or that breastfeeding won't work.
Sometimes babies need a little more time or support, particularly following a difficult birth, a Caesarean birth or when they are sleepy. This is also where knowing how to hand express can be incredibly useful.
5. Learn how to hand express colostrum
Colostrum is the first milk your breasts produce. It's concentrated, rich in protective components and perfectly suited to your newborn baby's needs.
You may have heard about antenatal colostrum harvesting, which involves hand expressing and collecting small amounts of colostrum towards the end of pregnancy. For some families, having a little expressed colostrum available after birth can be useful, particularly if a baby has difficulty feeding initially.
Antenatal hand expressing is commonly introduced from around 36 weeks of pregnancy. Learning the technique of hand expressing is valuable even if you don't collect any colostrum during pregnancy. If your baby is sleepy, struggling to attach or temporarily unable to breastfeed effectively, knowing how to hand express means you can begin expressing your milk while receiving support to establish breastfeeding.
And don't worry if you try antenatal expressing and don't manage to collect anything. This doesn't predict how much milk you'll produce after your baby arrives.
6. Do you need to prepare your nipples for breastfeeding?
This is another question I get asked quite frequently.
The short answer is no – you don't need to toughen up or prepare your nipples for breastfeeding.
There's no need to rub them with towels or brushes, use special creams or do anything to make them more resilient.
Breastfeeding shouldn't involve ongoing pain or nipple damage, and these are usually signs that something isn't quite right and you may need some more support rather than something you simply have to put up with.
You also don't need to buy lots of breastfeeding equipment in advance. Feeding pillows, breast pumps, nipple shields, silver cups and nipple balms are all products you may come across, but they aren't automatically necessary for everyone. Some can be helpful in particular circumstances, but I'd encourage you to seek individual advice before spending money on products you might never need. And as a general rule of thumb, if you find yourself Googling products to make breastfeeding less painful at 3am, it's probably breastfeeding support you should be looking for instead!
7. Know where to find breastfeeding support
Even with excellent preparation, breastfeeding doesn't always go exactly to plan. And that's okay.
Sometimes babies struggle to latch or don't gain weight as expected, feeding becomes painful, or parents simply need reassurance that things are progressing normally. Knowing where to turn for support can make a huge difference.
Find out what support is available through your local maternity services, health visiting team and community breastfeeding groups, ideally before your baby arrives.
You may also wish to find out about private support from an IBCLC lactation consultant, particularly if you would prefer more individualised help.
The important thing is not to wait until you're completely exhausted or overwhelmed before asking for support. If breastfeeding is painful, your baby is struggling to feed effectively, or you're concerned about their milk intake, seek help promptly. And remember, just because someone tells you that your baby's latch looks good, it doesn't necessarily mean that everything is working well and that's just how things are. If you think something is not right, trust your instincts and seek further support. A latch needs to be comfortable for you and effective for your baby – not just look good from the outside.
8. Practise your breastfeeding skills during pregnancy
One of the things I particularly enjoy about teaching infant feeding during my antenatal courses is giving parents the opportunity to practise before their baby arrives.
During the infant feeding session of my antenatal course in Wymondham, we don't just talk about breastfeeding – we practise the skills too!
Using my weighted baby dolls, you'll have the opportunity to:
Practise holding and positioning a newborn baby
Try different breastfeeding positions
Learn how to help your baby attach effectively to the breast
Recognise early feeding cues and signs of effective feeding
Learn how to hand express colostrum
Explore responsive, paced bottle feeding using expressed breast milk or formula
Ask as many questions as you like!
We also talk honestly about what breastfeeding can be like in the early days, including common challenges and when to seek additional support. My aim isn't to tell you whether you should breastfeed, formula feed or combi-feed your baby, but to help you feel informed, confident and prepared to make the decisions that are right for you and your family.
Finally, remember that preparation isn't a guarantee – and that's okay
You can attend every course, read every book and watch every breastfeeding video, and still find that breastfeeding is more challenging than you expected.
Equally, some families establish breastfeeding with very little preparation. Every baby, every parent and every feeding journey is different.
The aim of preparing for breastfeeding isn't to make everything go perfectly. It's to give you knowledge, practical skills and the confidence to recognise when things are going well – and when you might need some extra support.
And if things don't go to plan, it doesn't mean you've done anything wrong. With the right support, many breastfeeding difficulties can improve, even if things haven't got off to the best start.
And if you'd like to read about one of my client's experience of overcoming early feeding challenges, you might find Francesca's story encouraging:
Would you like to learn more?
I'm Andrea, a registered midwife, IBCLC lactation consultant and antenatal educator based in Norfolk.
My antenatal courses in Wymondham include a practical infant feeding session designed to help you prepare for feeding your baby, whatever your feeding plans.
You can find out more about my antenatal courses and other services.
If your baby has already arrived and you're experiencing breastfeeding difficulties, I also offer individual breastfeeding support.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
