[This article was first published on 15th August 2024 and has been updated as at 4th August 2025.]
Organic skincare, organic food, traditional medications, essential oils, hipster apothecaries. There is no denying the trend of going back to the ‘natural’ way among the young urban millennials these days. This extends to young mothers as well – from gentle birthing to breastfeeding. This is one trend I hope will stick around for long.
It is important, though, to want to breastfeed not because everybody else is doing it. But because you, yourself realise the importance of it and have made that decision for you and your little one.
Here’s a cheat list on how to start right, and have it easier. Do this, and you can skip the unnecessary mistakes and heartaches of a new mum. Let’s begin!
1. Learn about breastfeeding in advance
Take some time off during your pregnancy and look for a breastfeeding class from a trusted organisation. It’s important that you learn how to position and latch correctly before you give birth. It will explain to you what to expect, and gives you more confidence, preventing you from panicking if things don’t turn out the way you had imagined. After the birth of the baby, it might be too overwhelming for you to learn something new.
2. Tell the doctor you want to breastfeed your baby
Tell your attending obstetrician during your checkups that you plan to breastfeed, and then again when you check in to the hospital ready for labour. This should alert the hospital staff that they should be handing you the baby for some skin to skin care right after birth, and prevent them from quickly sending your baby to the nursery and feeding her formula while she’s there.
3. Book a breastfeeding massage in advance
Make sure to book a good and trusted massage therapist who knows how to do a breastfeeding massage before you give birth, and plan to have her come round your house a day after your birth. The massage will enhance and support your milk production. Some lucky mothers have their milk come in early in the first 3 days after birth, and will still likely be needing the massage to relieve them from any breast engorgement.
4. Do the kangaroo immediately after birth
I’m not talking about doing jumping exercises here, I promise. The first hour after birth is acutely important – you must do skin-to-skin kangaroo care with the baby, and attempt to latch her during this time. This will encourage milk production and ejection, and help your uterus to shrink too. You might have read about the ‘breast crawl’ – please don’t be frustrated if it doesn’t happen! It’s okay to just relax and bathe in the relief and joy of seeing your baby for the first time.
5. Ensure a proper latch and learn the different holds
If the latch is not painful and the baby is latching calmly, you’re on the right track. Look to see if the baby is taking in more breast tissue (instead of just the nipple) and if the lips are flanged out, and chin moving down. The most common position to hold a baby is the classic Cradle hold. Mothers struggling to get a good latch might benefit from trying a Cross Cradle hold so that you can hold your breast with the same side hand. If a mother is experiencing pain at her Caesarean scar and would prefer not to place the baby near her tummy, she can try the Football hold.
6. Maintain a healthy diet for better milk production
The most effective way to support milk production is by increasing demand. Add an extra milk expression session (by hand or breastpump) in the day, or include one Power Pumping session per day in your routine. Try to increase the variety of healthy foods in your diet, such as ulam-ulaman, tempeh, grilled chicken and almonds, and be alert of any milk production changes. Drink non-sugary herbal drinks, herbal soups and fruits in order to stay well-hydrated and nourished, in addition to drinking plain water.
7. Ease your breast engorgement
It is completely normal for your breasts to become engorged when your milk first comes in within the first week after birth. Don’t immediately resort to pumping milk when this happens, because it could worsen the condition and lead to other issues, such as blocked ducts and nipple blebs.
If and when engorgement happens, make sure to apply plenty of warm compresses and administer a light massage to help milk flow better. Continue breastfeeding your baby on demand. If you have severely engorged breasts and your baby is refusing to latch, try manually expressing some milk prior to feeding your baby, to soften the breasts a little and help make latching easier. If you find yourself struggling for more than two days, or if you’re in pain and your baby isn’t able to latch properly, please seek professional help immediately.
8. Feeding supplementary milk
Even if your milk comes in late and you find yourself needing to feed your baby with supplementary milk (donated milk or formula milk), please feed using cup/spoon/syringe feeding. Using a bottle too early will lead to nipple confusion, and with the added risk of overfeeding the baby as well.
9. Seek help sooner rather than later
Have the phone number for a lactation counsellor or nurse on standby near you, if your hospital doesn’t have one. If you realise you are not able to latch or are worried that your baby might have other problems, such as a tongue tie or a lip tie that’s making the journey difficult, it’s important to seek help early. The earlier you establish the latch, the easier your breastfeeding journey will be!
10. Stay positive
Many mothers worry too much or too early about their milk supply. In the first 3 days, you will most likely only have colostrum which is of a thick consistency and rich with antibodies, famously known as ‘liquid gold.’ It’s difficult to express this out because of its thickness, and usually only the baby is able to remove most of it from your breast. As long as your baby is calm, sleeping after feedings, pooping and peeing daily, you should do nothing but exactly those things too.
By Dr. Tengku Atiqah
Dr. Tengku Atiqah started her career counselling psychiatric patients. She has since taken a different path and now counsels distressed breastfeeding mothers. She runs her own integrative women’s health centre called Bondahaven and is on a mission to build a maternity wellness empire while raising three beautiful children.
For more information on Bondahaven’s support on your breastfeeding journey visit www.bondahaven.com.
