Your baby: straight after birth
During skin-to-skin contact with your baby, he or she may show early feeding cues. Your midwife will support you in feeding your baby shortly after birth. Some babies want to feed very soon after birth, whereas others take several hours to show signs that they are ready to feed.
Your baby’s weight will be checked, and a midwife or neonatal doctor will check him/her from top-to-toe to exclude any major abnormalities. Your baby will be offered a supplement of Vitamin K.
In some rare cases, your baby may need to be transferred to the neonatal unit for a period of time for specialised treatment. This is more common with babies born prematurely, very small, with an infection or through a particularly complicated birth. If this happens to you, you will have plenty of support and help from your maternity team.
Breastfeeding in the early days