How do you know if breastfeeding is going well? What should you be looking at?

Breastfeeding assessment tool

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Use this tool to assess if your baby is taking enough milk. If any X are entered for the red column it is recommended that you ask for support with breastfeeding. 

 

Your baby's expected nappies

When to be concerned:
Your baby is not having the expected wet and dirty nappies for their age.

 

 

Your baby's weight

 

When to be concerned:
If your baby has lost more than 8% of their birth weight.
Your baby will be weighed around day 3-5. Your midwife will provide support you with feeding your baby if your baby has lost more than 8% since birth. 

 

 

Your baby’s wellbeing

When to be concerned:
If you notice your baby is jaundiced  (which is worsening or not improving); lethargic; not waking to feed; or your baby has poor tone (floppy) make sure you get help. 
You may instinctively know how your baby is doing - ask yourself: Does he have good colour? Is he nursing vigorously? Is his skin firm? Does he look healthy and seem  active and alert? Is he meeting developmental milestones? 
For more information on jaundice read this link:

 

 

Your baby's suck-swallow pattern

When to be concerned:
Your baby is not actively removing milk from the breast.
Make sure that you can identify that your baby is feeding well - you should see Initial rapid sucks changing to slower sucks with pauses and swallowing (may be less audible until milk comes in).  
This video shows a baby at the breast doing very little drinking. 

 

 

How often is your baby feeding?

Breastfeeding your newborn - what to expect in the early weeks * KellyMom.com

When to be concerned:
Your baby is sleepy and has had less than 8 feeds in 24 hours. 
After your baby is 48 hours old, you need to ensure your baby is feeding at least 8-10 times in 24 hours.
This article talks about all that's normal in the early days of breastfeeding including frequency of feeding.

 

How long is your baby breastfeed for?

Guest blog: Breastfeeding: The dangerous obsession with the infant feeding interval - Baby Friendly Initiative

When to be concerned:
Your baby consistently feeds for less than 5 minutes or for longer than 40 minutes at each feed.
Lengths of feeds will vary between 5 and 40 minutes. If a feed is consistently shorter than 5 minutes or longer than 40 please - please ask for additional support. 
This blog discusses the dangers of promoting a strict feeding schedule.