First Breastfeeding After Delivery—What To Expect? | Your First Feed

You have just met your baby, the room is busy, and someone is already asking whether you want to breastfeed. That first breastfeed after delivery can feel huge, tender, and slightly chaotic all at once. Knowing what usually happens in those first moments can take a lot of pressure off and help you feel more prepared.

This first feed is not about perfect technique or long meals. It is about helping your baby find the breast, letting that thick early milk flow, and starting a rhythm that will shape feeding in the days ahead. You do not need to know everything right away. You only need enough to feel less surprised and more ready to ask for the kind of help that suits you.

Why The First Breastfeeding After Delivery Matters So Much

Health organizations across the world encourage putting a newborn to the breast within the first hour after birth. The World Health Organization guidance on early breastfeeding explains that early feeds help reduce infections, lower the risk of newborn death, and make exclusive breastfeeding in the first months more likely.

UNICEF articles on the first hour after birth echo this message, noting that early start plus frequent feeds for six months give babies cleaner, safer nutrition than almost any other option. These early minutes are also when parents and babies get long stretches of skin-to-skin contact, which keeps the baby warm and steady and helps milk production get going.

The American Academy of Pediatrics statement on breastfeeding recommends exclusive breastfeeding for around six months, followed by continued breastfeeding with other foods. That long timeline starts with a very small feed: drops of colostrum on day one. Colostrum is thick, concentrated milk that is rich in antibodies and easy for a newborn stomach to handle.

La Leche League colostrum information describes this early milk as sticky, often yellow or clear, and packed with protein and immune factors. Your baby does not need large volumes of it. Small amounts, taken many times, help line and protect the gut, clear meconium, and teach your baby how to suck, swallow, and breathe in a smooth pattern.

First Breastfeeding After Delivery: What The Room Feels Like

No two births look the same, so the first feeding scene can vary. Still, there are common threads. Right after birth, your baby is usually dried, placed on your bare chest, and covered with a light blanket. The room may still feel busy with staff finishing paperwork, checking vital signs, and managing the placenta and any stitches.

During this time, your baby often enters a quiet, alert state. Many babies bob their heads, lick their lips, open their mouths wide, and shuffle toward the breast. These are early hunger cues. Some babies move quickly and latch within minutes. Others rest, then wake up and root around later in the hour.

If you had an epidural or strong pain medicine, your baby may be a bit more sleepy. If you had a cesarean birth, you may still be on the operating table while staff bring your baby to your chest or to a partner first. Those details change the atmosphere, but they do not cancel your chance for a good first breastfeed.

Skin-To-Skin And The Breast Crawl

Skin-to-skin contact means your baby is placed naked, except for a diaper, on your bare chest. Your bodies touch from chest to cheek. This position helps steady breathing, blood sugar, and temperature. Many babies who stay skin-to-skin in that first hour gradually shift and bob toward a nipple on their own, a reflex often called the breast crawl.

Even if staff need to measure or weigh your baby, you can ask them to bring the baby back to your chest once checks are done. If you are not able to hold the baby, your partner can do skin-to-skin while you recover. That contact still helps keep your baby calm and ready for feeds later in the first hours.

Colostrum: What You See And Feel

Many parents worry that they do not see any milk, so they assume nothing is there. Colostrum often looks like a glossy film inside the nipple and areola or shows up as thick drops when hand expression is used. It may be yellow, golden, or almost clear. The small amount is normal, not a sign of low supply.

As your baby latches and sucks, you may feel tugging, pressure, and sometimes a wave of cramping in your uterus as hormones tighten it. Some soreness at the start of a feed is common, but sharp pain that continues through the feed is a signal to adjust the latch or ask a midwife or lactation specialist for hands-on help.

How Long The First Feed Lasts

The first breastfeed after delivery might look nothing like a calm half-hour session. Many newborns lick and nibble, then pause, then stay asleep for stretches. A short early feed can still be very effective. What matters more is that the baby is placed at the breast often, responds to cues, and stays close to you.

Once that first feed is complete, babies often take a longer sleep of two to four hours, then wake hungry and begin a pattern of more frequent feeding through the first night.

How Birth Type Shapes The First Breastfeed

Your birth experience can shape how that first feed begins. The core needs are the same—skin-to-skin, early latch, and time without hurry—but the details differ in a delivery room, operating theater, or recovery area.

Aspect	Vaginal Birth	Cesarean Birth
Typical Timing Of First Feed	Often within the first hour on the birth bed	Often in the operating room or soon after in recovery
Parent Position	Reclined or semi-upright, baby on chest	More flat on back or slightly tilted, may need extra pillows
Baby Position	Directly on chest, freedom to move toward breast	Placed on chest once safe, sometimes angled to protect incision
Common Obstacles	Tiredness, perineal pain, many checks	IV lines, monitors, numbness, delayed contact
Staff Help	Midwife or nurse may guide latch at the bedside	Nurse or anesthetic staff may help hold baby in place
Partners	Can help with pillows, bring baby close, keep water within reach	Can hold baby skin-to-skin if you are not ready yet
What You Can Ask For	Lights dimmed, fewer visitors, time without interruptions	Skin-to-skin as soon as you feel steady and alert
Pain And Comfort	Ice packs or pain relief for perineal soreness	Pain medicine plan that still keeps you alert for feeds

Reading Your Baby’s Cues During The First Feed

Babies rarely latch on command in a neat way. Watching their cues helps you time feeds without staring at the clock. Early cues include turning the head, bringing hands to the face, opening the mouth, and making small sucking motions. Crying is a later sign and can make latching harder, because your baby is already upset.

When you see early cues, tuck your baby close. Line up the nose with your nipple, wait for a wide open mouth, then bring the baby toward you. Try to bring the baby to the breast, not the breast to the baby, so your back and shoulders stay relaxed.

What A Deep Latch Looks And Feels Like

With a deep latch, more of the lower part of the areola is in your baby’s mouth than the top. The chin touches your breast, the nose may just brush it, and the lips are flanged outward. You should hear quiet swallowing after the first bursts of quick sucks. You may feel pulling that eases after a few seconds.

If you feel pinching or see the lips tucked in, gently break the suction with a clean finger at the corner of the mouth and start again. Re-latching several times during that first breastfeed after delivery is common and does not mean you are doing something wrong.

Comfortable Positions For The First Breastfeed

Right after birth, fancy positioning is often less realistic than people expect. Your abdomen may be tender, your arms shaky, and your bed crowded with wires. Simple positions usually work best for the first day.

• Reclined Position: Lean back with pillows behind you, lay baby tummy-down on your chest, and let gravity keep your baby in place while they root for the breast.
• Side-Lying: You lie on your side with your baby facing you, tummy to tummy. This can be gentler if sitting hurts. Staff can help you roll safely.
• Cradle Or Cross-Cradle: Once you feel stable, you can hold your baby across your body, using your opposite hand to guide the head at first.

It is fine if you try more than one position in that first day. The best position is the one where your baby drinks well and your body can rest a little.

Normal Feeding Patterns After The First Breastfeed

Once that first feed is over, patterns across the first 24 hours can still surprise parents. Many newborns feed often, sometimes eight to twelve times in a day, with some cluster feeds where they seem to want the breast every hour for a while.

Output offers clues that feeds are going well. In the first day, you may see one or two wet nappies and one or two meconium stools, which are dark and sticky. Output usually rises over the next few days as mature milk comes in.

Time After Birth	Typical Feeds	Usual Nappies
First Hour	One early feed with short suckling bursts	Not always any output yet
Hours 2–6	Often one long sleep, then another feed	One meconium stool is common
Hours 6–12	Two to four feeds, sometimes close together	One to two wet nappies
Hours 12–24	Total of eight to twelve feeds in the full first day	At least one or two wet nappies, more meconium
Days 2–3	Frequent feeds around the clock	Wet nappies increase as milk volume rises

Every baby is different, but if your newborn feeds fewer than about eight times in 24 hours in those early days or seems hard to wake for feeds, it is worth flagging that with your nurse, midwife, or pediatrician.

Common Hiccups During First Breastfeeding After Delivery

Many parents face hurdles during the first breastfeed and feel discouraged. Most of these bumps can be eased with small changes in positioning, timing, or extra milk removal.

Sleepy Baby Who Will Not Latch

Some babies, especially those born after long labors, with medication, or a bit early, sleep deeply during the first hours. Try unwrapping the blanket, placing your baby skin-to-skin, and watching for small cues like eye fluttering or hand movements. When you see them, offer the breast.

If your baby still does not latch, staff may show you how to hand express colostrum and spoon or syringe feed it. This keeps your baby fed while still encouraging direct breastfeeding as they wake up more.

Latching Pain And Sore Nipples

Tenderness in the first days is common, but cracking, bleeding, or pain that makes you hold your breath needs attention. Try checking that your baby has a wide open mouth, that more of the lower areola is inside the mouth, and that the head is tipped slightly back, not pressed into your chest.

Ask staff on the ward to watch a full feed, from latch to finish, so they can see what happens. Sometimes a tiny adjustment to how you hold your baby or where the baby’s chin sits on the breast can bring quick relief.

Separation After Birth

If your baby needs care in a neonatal unit, you may not be able to breastfeed right away. In that case, starting to express colostrum by hand within the first few hours helps protect your long-term milk supply. Staff can show you how to collect drops in small syringes or cups so the baby can receive them even before direct feeds are possible.

Ask how often you can visit the unit, whether skin-to-skin time is possible around monitors, and when you can begin trying direct breastfeeds. Many babies who start with expressed milk still go on to breastfeed well once they are stable enough.

When To Reach Out For More Help

Even when you know what to expect from the first breastfeeding after delivery, there are times when extra guidance makes sense. Reach out to staff in the hospital or clinic or to a breastfeeding specialist in your area if you notice any of the following:

• Your baby has not latched at all by about six hours after birth.
• Feeds are always painful and you see no improvement after trying new positions.
• Your baby has fewer wet nappies or bowel movements than staff expect for age.
• Your baby seems floppy, hard to wake, or has trouble staying on the breast.
• You feel overwhelmed, tearful, or unsure how to keep going with feeding.

In these situations, staff can weigh your baby, watch a full feed, and help you decide on the next steps. That might include more skin-to-skin contact, more frequent feeds, short pumping sessions, or temporary use of expressed colostrum by cup or syringe.

Final Thoughts On Your First Breastfeeding After Delivery

The first breastfeeding after delivery is not a test that you pass or fail. It is the beginning of a relationship between you, your baby, and your milk. Some feeds start smoothly with a deep latch and steady swallowing. Others involve many attempts, a few tears, and plenty of pillow rearranging.

What matters most over the first days is closeness, frequent feeds, and steady access to help when you need it. With time, you and your baby will get to know each other’s rhythms. If something does not feel right, you are never asking too much by saying so and asking for fresh eyes on a feed.

You bring care, patience, and your own instincts. Your baby brings powerful reflexes and a strong drive to feed. Together, step by step, you build the feeding pattern that suits both of you.