First Feed

If given the opportunity, most healthy babies will crawl to the breast and self-attach in that golden hour after birth. This photo was taken 2 hours after the birth of my son. He's nuzzled in, placenta still attached, snoozing away skin to skin after having found his way to the breast for a nice big feed.

If there's one thing I think all women should include in their birth plans, it's to request that baby be given the chance to crawl to the breast himself. As long as baby is well and the birth has been relatively straight-forward, then baby should seek out the breast himself (this includes after an uncomplicated caesarean birth too).

This process will require lots of patience from you and the staff (it often takes baby approximately an hour) but it's definitely worth it and gives baby the very best start to breastfeeding.