Breastfeeding

📌Recommendations and basics

The WHO and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend breast milk only for about the first 6 months, then continuing breastfeeding alongside solid foods to age 2 or beyond, for as long as parent and baby wish. This is a recommendation, not an obligation. Whether you combine feed or formula feed, the best approach is the one where your baby grows well and your family can sustain it.

Skin-to-skin contact and an early first feed right after birth help milk production. Colostrum in the first days is small in volume but enough for a newborn, and milk usually comes in fully a few days after birth.

👶Latch and feeding frequency

• Hold your baby with their whole body facing you, ear, shoulder and hip in a line.
• When your baby opens wide, bring them on deeply so they take the nipple and much of the lower areola. An outward-flanged lower lip is a good sign.
• If it hurts, slip a finger into the corner of the mouth to break the suction and re-latch. Ongoing pain can mean a positioning or tongue-tie issue, so get help.
• Newborns commonly feed about 8 to 12 times in 24 hours. Cluster feeding, many feeds close together, is within normal.
• Hunger cues: lip smacking, hand sucking, turning to search. Crying is a late cue.

✅Signs your baby is getting enough

You cannot see milk volume, so many parents worry. Use these signs. Most newborns lose a little weight in the first days and regain their birth weight by about 2 weeks.

• 6 or more wet diapers a day after day 5 or 6
• Stools change from green-black to yellow
• You can hear swallowing during feeds
• Baby seems fairly content after feeds
• Steady weight gain at checkups

🩹Common difficulties

• Sore or cracked nipples: usually a latch problem, and often improves once the latch is corrected.
• Engorgement: feed or pump often to empty the breasts; warmth before and a cool compress after feeds can help.
• Blocked duct: if you feel a firm lump, feed from that side often and avoid forceful massage.
• If you feel you have too little milk: first check feeding frequency and latch, and decide on formula top-ups with a doctor or lactation consultant.

🧊Pumping and storing milk

Put pumped milk in clean containers and label the date. Under US CDC guidance, freshly expressed milk is best used within 4 hours at room temperature or within 4 days in the refrigerator; frozen, it is best within about 6 months and acceptable up to 12 months.

• Thaw in the refrigerator or in lukewarm water. Do not microwave, as it heats unevenly.
• Use milk thawed in the refrigerator within 24 hours, and do not refreeze it.
• Leftover milk from a feed should be used within 2 hours of when the feed began, then discarded.

💗Your health, medicines and returning to work

While breastfeeding, eat a varied diet and drink water when thirsty. Most medicines can be used while breastfeeding, but always tell your doctor or pharmacist that you are nursing before taking anything. Not drinking alcohol is safest, and smoking harms the baby.

Exclusively breastfed babies can run low on vitamin D, so the AAP recommends vitamin D supplements (400 IU a day) starting soon after birth. Ask your pediatrician whether and how to supplement.

In Korea, under the Labor Standards Act, a female employee with a baby under 1 year can request paid nursing time of at least 30 minutes twice a day. Starting to practice pumping and bottle feeding 2 to 3 weeks before returning makes the switch easier.

💬FAQ