Many women ask me how they can learn to breastfeed before their baby is born. You can read books, articles, talk with friends and attend a breastfeeding class. However, you will not learn to breastfeed until you have your baby.
If you read everything you need to know about unicycles and even take a course on riding a unicycle, but never practice with the real thing you are not going to learn to ride a unicycle. The same is true of breastfeeding. Women learn to breastfeed by participating in breastfeeding. You need your baby to learn.
While you are pregnant and waiting for your anticipated delivery here are a few things you need to know:
- Babies breastfeed, not mothers
- Breastfeeding is a learned skill and if you had grown up in a village watching all the other mothers breastfeeding, you would have a huge jumpstart.
- Breastfeeding is a dance between mother and baby. It takes a lot of practice before it becomes routine.