What to expect soon after birth
Care in hospital
While you are in hospital, you can get support with feeding from midwives, maternity care assistants and trained volunteers, day or night. You will usually be on the postnatal ward, but you can get support anywhere.
They can help with:
- Breastfeeding support: Practical help with finding comfortable positioning and helping your baby attach well to the breast
- Colostrum/milk expression: Showing you how to hand express and give it safely using a syringe or cup. Helping you use an electric pump if your baby is in the neonatal unit
Specialist Support
Our Infant Feeding Team works on the postnatal ward 7 days a week.
They are available to:
- Give extra support if you or your baby needs more help with feeding
- Help train staff so everyone gives safe, consistent care.
Please ask your midwife or maternity support worker for help with feeding at any time.
Care at home
Once you are home with your baby, your community midwifery team will continue to support you with feeding. They usually see you the day after you go home, on day 5 and around day 10. If you need more help with feeding, they can visit more often.
If you need extra specialist support, your midwife or health visitor may refer you to a breastfeeding clinic run by the Infant feeding team. You can also self-refer by phoning or emailing the Infant feeding team. Clinics are by appointment only and you can be referred up to 4 weeks after birth.
At your appointment, we will:
- Talk about the feeding difficulties you are having
- Review you and your baby’s recent health history
- Watch a full feed to assess positioning and attachment
- Carry out a tongue-tie assessment if needed
We will then make a feeding plan with you. This may include support with latch and positioning or, if needed, a referral for tongue-tie separation.
If your midwife thinks you need urgent support, they may refer you to the well-baby clinic at the hospital.
Babies under 10 days old can be referred to the well-baby clinic by a community midwife. We can check for jaundice and create a feeding plan if your baby has lost more weight that we would expect.
A paediatric doctor can review your baby if needed. If treatment is required, we may arrange readmission to Transitional Care Unit (TCU).
Click ‘show accessibility tools’ at the bottom of the page
Then click ‘select language’
