Breastfeeding is one of the most rewarding experiences of early motherhood.
It is recommended that your baby should be latched onto your breast straight after birth. Even women who have a caesarian should request that their baby be placed onto their chest immediately. Make sure to include this in your birth plan.
For the first few days after birth, your breasts will secrete watery, yellow fluid known as colostrum. This precedes the onset of breast milk. Colostrum provides the huge nutritional requirements of the baby during this period.
You’ve probably heard people saying that the breast milk “comes in on the third day”. This means that the production of mature milk will start any time between the second and fifth day and it is quite normal for the mother’s breasts to increase in size when this happens.