Breastfeeding support: latch, positions and common problems

What it is

Nursing supports breastfeeding from the delivery room: skin-to-skin contact, a first feed within the first hour, rooming-in and feeding on demand. A good latch is the foundation: it prevents pain, cracked nipples and low supply. Most problems resolve by correcting the position and latch and emptying the breast often. The nurse watches a whole feed before giving advice.

Key points

• You can see and hear the baby swallow during the feed.
• Minimum expected wet nappies: 1 on day 1, 2 on day 2 and 5 or more from day 3.
• The baby may lose some weight in the first week and is back to birth weight by about days 10 to 14.
• Fewer than 8 feeds a day on most days can mean the baby is not getting enough.

Components

• Cradle: the baby across the lap, head in the crook of the arm.
• Cross-cradle: the mother's hand supports the head; useful for small babies.
• Football or rugby hold: the baby under the arm; useful after a caesarean or with engorged breasts.
• Side-lying, face to face.
• Laid-back: the mother reclines with the baby on her chest, skin to skin.

What it is for

• Protects against infection and is the complete food for the first 6 months.
• Supports mother–baby bonding.
• A good latch ensures milk transfer and supply.

Step by step

1. Watch a whole feed before advising — the problem usually shows in the position or the latch.
2. Help the mother get comfortable, with the baby close to her, tummy to tummy — tension makes latching harder.
3. Line the baby's nose up with the nipple and bring the baby to the breast chin first — so the baby takes a big mouthful of areola.
4. Check the signs of a good latch and listen for swallowing — confirms that milk is flowing.
5. If it hurts, break the suction with a finger at the corner of the mouth and start again — a poor latch causes cracks.
6. Encourage feeding on demand, day and night — frequent emptying keeps up the supply.
7. Review nappies, stools and weight with the mother — these show the baby is getting enough.

In nursing practice

• Engorgement: hard, swollen, painful breasts; it improves with frequent feeds, a good latch and hand expression.
• Cracked nipples: almost always a poor latch; correct the latch, and a little breast milk can be applied after feeds.
• Blocked duct and mastitis: frequent feeds, changing position, loose clothing, gentle massage towards the nipple and a warm compress; fever or redness needs assessment.
• Perceived low supply: usually improves with skin-to-skin contact, feeds without a schedule, night feeds and a good latch.

Common mistakes

• Giving the baby water or other fluids «just in case» in the first 6 months.
• Setting schedules or limiting the length of feeds.
• Advising without having watched a feed.
• Blaming pain on «sensitive nipples» without checking the latch.

Test yourself

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Connections

← All of nursing

Educational content for students; it does not replace your institution's protocols, supervised clinical training or a prescriber's order. Dose-calculation examples use made-up numbers: they are educational, not a clinical order.

Sources: Infant and young child feeding (fact sheet) (World Health Organization, 2026); Common breastfeeding positions (UNICEF, 2023); 5 common breastfeeding problems (UNICEF, 2023); Newborn Breastfeeding Basics (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2024).

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Representative model, for educational purposes only.