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Breastfeeding is a natural phenomenon to embrace! While there are several techniques to nurse your baby, but it’s important to find the best one to support your child. There’s no correct or incorrect way to hold & nurse your baby, it’s only about getting comfortable & confident with the different positions.
With the derived preference that comes naturally for these positions that you’re about to read next, a lot of trial & error methods take into practice. As your newborn grows, you & your child feel more complacent & homely with the entire process. The goal is to educate you regarding these positions so that you get to a conclusion to find what works out for you & what doesn’t.
Table of Contents
Most Common Breastfeeding Positions
If you’re a new mom, holding up your baby in different nursing positions may seem like a real challenge. However, it gets easy with time. You must lay your hands on post-natal massages for a holistic & blissful experience.
However, in this blog, we’ve covered the most common positions for nursing & complied with how it works well for a mother. It’s possible that you might have already experimented with some of these positions or are completely new to this, in any case, you can nurse in any of the following nursing positions -
The Laid Back Position
The Cradle Hold
The Crossover Position
The Football Hold
The Side-Lying Position
The Laid Back Position After C Section
Breastfeeding Position To Reduce Gas
The Laid Back Position
The Laid-Back position is also referred to as biological nursing. This position is natural & this is how you breastfeed your child for the first time. It’s a great choice for a woman as it supports your baby comfortably.
At any point in time, if your baby finds it difficult to latch on, this is probably the best choice you can make at the moment.
Your positional arrangement will be such that your baby will be lying on top of your stomach with its cheeks reclined around your breasts.
You can comfortably lean back on a couch or support your body with pillows & cushions in a reclining position.
Moreover, you can also extend support by placing your arms around your child.
If your baby self latches to your breasts, good! If not, help your baby with the positioning in the direction of the nipples or seek other help.
The Cradle Hold Position
The Cradle Hold Position is another popular nursing position. This position usually involves adding a cushion or pillow at your back and holding up your baby in your arms to grant support in a natural resting way.
So, your baby’s head rests up at the bending part of your elbow to set your baby in a reclining position. Thereafter, you carefully place your arm around to support your baby’s body against your stomach.
It might be a difficult position, in case your baby finds it difficult to latch on properly. However, if this problem occurs, this position will work wonders for you & your child.
In case, you use a breastfeeding pillow, assess your baby’s resting height so that it becomes easy for the baby to latch on without any discomfort.
If it’s still difficult, use your hand to help your baby to latch on properly. Your baby will be cushioned on the right arm if you’re nursing from the right side and otherwise.
The Crossover Hold Position
Also referred to as cross-cradle, is a classic position for newborn babies. This position is quite similar to the cradle hold position but the job of the arms gets interchanged. Because your nipples are clearly visible in this position, it makes it easy to latch on your child, in case of any trouble.
In this way, you have better control over your baby’s position and you get to support your little one’s body easily.
If your baby has latching difficulties, this position is your one-method solution.
Whereas if you’re feeding on the right side, you support your baby’s head & body with the left arm. This is also how you keep up with your breast to guide your baby feasibly.
The purpose of this position is to cradle hold the baby around his neck & shoulders to grant support.
The Football Hold Position
Also referred to as the clutch hold, is especially the perfect choice, if you’ve got -
Nursing Twins
Following C-Section - Avoid resting your baby across your abdomen
Large Breasts
A Premature Baby
Inverted Nipples
This position also offers better visibility of your baby’s face & nipples as a crossover hold position.
You place your baby sideways and his face points at you. With the help of a pillow, you can rest your baby comfortably & tuck his legs underneath your arms.
Hold up your baby’s head with the same arm at your side that you’re using to feed your baby. For instance, if you’re nursing your baby on the right side, use the same arm & the other way around.
The Side-Lying Position
If you’re really tired or probably in the middle of the night, this position is what you get as a great nursing position. During night feeding, it’s the natural choice that comes to you. However, if you’re someone who had a c-section, it’s also a good idea to choose this position.
Lie comfortably on the side in a semi-reclining position. With the help of a pillow, face your baby onto your side - your chest against your baby’s chest.
If you’re lying on your right side, your left arm will hold up your baby’s body and you can wrap it around their body.
After adjusting your baby’s nose against your nipple, your baby latches up automatically. If not anyhow, help your little one with the position.
You can also keep a pillow at the back of your baby to hold the position & prevent him from rolling away.
The Laid Back Position After C Section
If you are someone who had a c-section, a side-lying position, or a laid-back position is best for you. Without a doubt in the head, you can also go for the football hold position. You get to create a safe reclining position that won’t affect your wound. You might get uncomfortable at the beginning, but the above-mentioned positions will save you from the trouble.
Breastfeeding Position To Reduce Gas
There's a perfect solution to every challenging problem. In your lookout to find the most suitable breastfeeding position, you must have caught in with a position to reduce infant gas. However, the answer is an upright or a semi-upright position, such as the laid-back position.
It is normal for babies to get gassy in any position if they're consuming lots of air during the process. Moreover, your own diet can make your baby gassy too. To dodge this, follow a healthy diet & avoid food items that can worsen your baby's health.
Breastfeeding Attachments - How To Attach Your Baby
It is crucial to support your baby’s body correctly during nursing. Following are the steps to keep in mind to attach your baby towards your breasts correctly.
Hold your baby against your chest correctly.
Your baby’s nose level should match up with your nipple.
Your baby’s mouth should be wide open when you position your nipple to the upper side of their mouth.
After your baby successfully latches up, make sure that your nipple & areola is deep in their mouth.
It's important to keep your baby’s nose steer clear for comfortable breathing. Make sure that their chin is tucked in your breasts.
If the nose is blocked somehow, move their lower body closer to your body.
Besides, if your baby is attached properly, there won't be issues regarding sucking & swallowing movements. Moreover, your baby will also be able to breathe easily.
Takeaway
As mentioned above, there is a variety of breastfeeding positions for different reasons & choices. By holding onto any of them, you'll get comfortable with it over time. That being said, we're sure you must be in a better state of mind now after reading enough. So, fear not & choose from the best!