Suction reflex

Your baby has various reflexes to suck on the breast. Your baby's sucking reflex is very strong within an hour of birth. Your baby is then awake and alert. It is therefore important to make use of this. How to breastfeed is probably best imprinted in the brain. After a few hours, when the baby is offered the breast again, the baby will know better how to breastfeed

Latching within an hour of birth has even more advantages:

• Your baby will immediately ingest the colostrum. This is the very first food for your baby, which comes out of your breasts for the first few days. Colostrum contains many antibodies, among other things. Colostrum also has a laxative effect, so that the intestines are well stimulated to quickly discharge the meconium (the first tough stool after birth). The intestines are then empty and can absorb breast milk more quickly into the body. This reduces the risk of jaundice in the first week of life.
• If your baby breastfeeds after birth, the uterus will contract better, limiting blood loss.
• You get the chance to get to know your baby at your ease, if he/she is lying snugly against you. The mother-child relationship is fostered by this first skin-to-skin contact.
• Shortly after delivery, hormone levels that promote breastfeeding are highest in the mother. Stimulation of the breast is then extra important.