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Home › Articles › Breastfeeding Basics › Holding On

Holding On

Basic Breastfeeding Positions

By Sheila Seifert

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A Combination of Holds

These positions are not exclusive. When a mother uses her dominant hand to hold her child, it can result in using a combination of positions. "For example, the left-handed mother might use the football hold on the left side and might use the cross cradle on the right," says Jan Barger, R.N., IBCLC, and the director of Lactation Education Consultants in Wheaton, Ill. "Of course, once the latch is well established, the mother might slide her right arm around the baby, and then it will look like the traditional cradle hold."

Regardless of the position you end up using, there are a few rules that apply to all of them. First, the baby should always be brought to you. Second, your posture should include sitting upright (except when using the side-lying hold). And third, pillows can make the experience even more comfortable. "When Emily was born, I used a pillow," Duff says. "This helped in positioning her little body. It also helped with the pain after my C-section."

So what's best for you? "Mothers should experiment with various breastfeeding positions," Hewson says. "After all, different ducts are emptied in the breast, depending on the child's position."

Barger sums it up nicely when she says, "If the mother is not comfortable, and she thinks she 'has' to hold her baby in a particular position, then it is possible that she might get discouraged. The best position is the one that is most comfortable and easiest to get the baby latched on well."

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