Timing of breastfeeding counselling

• 1.Counselling during pregnancy or soon after birth includes encouraging mothers and their families to start a nurturing, caring and responsive relationship with their infant. Feeding decisions at this time may be shaped by experiences, contexts and various influences around them, as well as having short- and long-term consequences. Breastfeeding counselling at this time aims to enable a positive and loving environment in which the neonate can thrive.
• 2.Postnatal breastfeeding counselling further supports mothers and their families in enabling them to build closeness, with skin-to-skin contact and responsive feeding. Mothers may need extra support in establishing and boosting their confidence in breastfeeding, recognizing the milk ejection reflex (or letdown) and effective feeding, and understanding feeding patterns and growth spurts.
• 3.Parents and caregivers need to be enabled to access appropriate help when they have concerns about feeding. This may be particularly important in the first few weeks after birth when breastfeeding is being established, and during potential changes in their situation (such as the mother’s return to school or work), when they may have concerns about maintaining breastfeeding, according to their individual circumstance. An assessment of breastfeeding effectiveness may be valuable in reassuring parents and addressing issues around feeding.