Breastfeeding positions

The comfort aspect will depend largely on the type of delivery that mother experienced, thus her comfortable sitting or lying position. The most commonly used position is the “Madonna” position, with mother sitting in a comfortable chair and the baby positioned across her lap.

An adaptation of this is the “football” position which also has mother sitting but the baby is positioned under her arm and lying against the side of mom’s body. Mother can also lie on her side with the baby on his side, facing mother. It is possible for mom to lie on her back with two to three cushions behind her head and allow the baby to lie on his tummy across mom’s tummy. This position is often used when the flow of milk is rather fast for the baby to cope with. The important points to remember is:

• Mother should be comfortable.
• Baby should be positioned against mom so that his chin, chest and knees are against mother’s body.
• Experience as much skin contact as possible between mom and baby.