How to Prepare for Breastfeeding Before Your Baby Is Born

When I ask new parents what they wish they had spent more time preparing for before their baby arrived, the answer is almost never labour.

It’s breastfeeding.

Not because labour was easy, but because birth has a beginning, a middle, and an end. You prepare for it, you move through it, and then your attention shifts immediately and entirely to the tiny person you’ve just met. Feeding that gorgeous new babe doesn’t have the same finish line. It begins within minutes or hours of birth and quietly becomes something you do over and over again, day and night, while you’re also recovering physically, learning your baby’s cues, figuring out your own new rhythm, and trying to make sense of advice that often feels like it changes depending on who is giving it.

Looking back, so many parents tell me they assumed breastfeeding would be the part that simply happened. That it would be natural. That it would be easy.

I understand why.

Our bodies are designed to feed our babies, so it’s easy to believe that once your baby is placed on your chest everything else will naturally fall into place. For some families, that’s exactly how the story begins. For many others, breastfeeding is something that unfolds over days or weeks. There are questions you didn’t know to ask, moments that leave you wondering whether your baby is getting enough milk, and times when reassurance from someone who works with breastfeeding every day can completely change how you feel walking out of the room.

That’s why I like talking about breastfeeding before birth instead of waiting until there’s a problem to solve. After all, if breastfeeding is hard, and if it’s important to you that you breastfeed your baby, it’s something you have to keep doing while you’re learning.

Preparing isn’t about creating a detailed feeding plan or deciding exactly how your baby will be fed. Babies have a way of reminding us that they haven’t read the books.

It’s about walking into those first days knowing what is normal, understanding where support comes from if feeding feels harder than expected, and giving yourself permission to ask for help long before you’re exhausted enough to wonder if you’re doing everything right.

That’s true whether we’re talking about pelvic floor physiotherapy, preparing for labour, or learning about breastfeeding. The more you understand before your baby arrives, the less pressure there is to figure everything out while you’re healing from birth and getting to know your new little person.

Over the years, we’ve supported thousands of families across Toronto and Newmarket, and if there’s one thing they’ve taught us, it’s this: confidence doesn’t come from having all the answers before your baby is born. It comes from knowing who you can call when you don’t.

What can you do during pregnancy to prepare for breastfeeding?

You don’t need to spend the next few months memorizing every breastfeeding position or buying every product someone recommends online.

In fact, I’d probably encourage you to do the opposite.

The parents who seem to feel the most confident in those early weeks aren’t usually the ones who have read the most books. They’re the ones who understand what to expect, know who to call if something doesn’t feel right, and have given themselves permission to learn alongside their baby.

That’s a very different kind of preparation.

One of the best places to start is learning how breastfeeding actually works.

Many people are surprised to learn that feeding isn’t just about latch. Your baby’s feeding cues, your milk supply, positioning, how often newborns feed, and your own recovery after birth all influence how breastfeeding unfolds. When you understand the bigger picture, it’s much easier to recognize what is part of the normal learning process and what might benefit from a little extra support.

I also encourage parents to think about their support team before the baby arrives.

If feeding is more challenging than you expected, who will you reach out to? Do you know where to find an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant? Have you already found a clinic where you feel comfortable asking questions? Is your partner, family member, or support person learning alongside you?

Those questions are worth thinking about now, not because I expect problems, but because the first week with a newborn has a way of making even simple decisions feel much bigger than they would have during pregnancy.

Taking a breastfeeding class can also be incredibly helpful.

One of my favourite things about our breastfeeding classes at Oona isn’t that parents leave knowing everything. They don’t, and they shouldn’t expect to. What they leave with is context. They understand why newborns feed so often, what a deep latch looks like, how milk production changes during the first few days, and when it’s time to ask for help. Just as importantly, they realize they’re not expected to figure it all out on their own.

Preparation can also be surprisingly practical.

Finding a comfortable place to feed your baby, having one-handed snacks nearby (things like protein bars, apples, and the like), , and making sure your water bottle is always within reach. Thinking about who can help with meals, laundry, or your older children while you’re establishing feeding. None of those things directly improve a latch, but they create the space you need to focus on getting to know your baby instead of feeling pulled in ten different directions.

Preparing for breastfeeding doesn’t guarantee that everything will feel straightforward after your baby arrives. Babies have their own personalities from the very beginning, and the way feeding unfolds is as individual as the birth stories that come before it.

What preparation does give you is a place to start.

Instead of wondering if your newborn is feeding often enough, you’ll have a better understanding of what’s typical in those early days. If feeding becomes uncomfortable or you’re worried your baby isn’t transferring milk well, you’ll already know who to reach out to. Questions feel a little less overwhelming when you aren’t also trying to figure out where to find trusted support.

What surprises most parents about breastfeeding?

If I could sit down with every family before their baby arrived, there are a handful of conversations I’d want us to have, and this would probably be near the top of the list.

Breastfeeding often looks very different from what people expect.

Most of us grow up seeing a baby latch, feed quietly for a few minutes, and fall asleep. It’s a lovely picture, but it leaves out almost everything that happens in between. Unfortunately, newborns haven’t read the books on breastfeeding. They don’t know what a three-hour feeding schedule is supposed to look like. They’re simply doing what they’re designed to do, which is stay close to you and feed frequently while your milk supply is becoming established.

That catches a lot of parents off guard.

One of the first questions we hear is, “Is it normal for my baby to want to feed again already?”

More often than not, the answer is yes.

During the first few weeks, it’s completely normal for babies to feed eight to twelve times over twenty-four hours, and many will have periods where they want to nurse much more often than that. Those stretches, often called cluster feeding, can leave parents wondering whether they’re making enough milk when, in reality, their baby may simply be doing exactly what helps establish milk production.

That doesn’t mean every long evening of feeding is automatically normal, and it certainly doesn’t mean you should ignore pain or concerns about how your baby is feeding. What it does mean is that feeding frequency, on its own, doesn’t tell the whole story.

How do you know if breastfeeding is going well?

This might be one of the biggest questions new parents carry home from the hospital.

Most people aren’t looking for a perfect feed. They’re looking for reassurance.

They want to know whether their baby is getting enough milk. Whether the latch looks right. Whether feeding is supposed to feel this awkward. Whether it’s normal that yesterday felt different from today.

The truth is, breastfeeding isn’t something you judge from one feed.

It’s the bigger picture that matters.

A baby who is feeding well will usually wake to feed regularly, have periods of alertness, produce roughly the expected number of wet and dirty diapers for their age, and continue gaining weight over time. During a feed, you may notice your baby’s sucking change as milk begins to flow, and by the end, many babies look relaxed and content, even if that contentment only lasts until they’re ready to feed again.

That doesn’t mean breastfeeding should hurt.

It’s common to feel some tenderness in the first few days as your body adjusts, but pain that continues throughout a feed, cracked nipples that aren’t improving, or a baby who struggles to stay latched are all reasons to reach out for lactation support.

When should you see a lactation consultant?

I wish more parents knew that you don’t have to wait until breastfeeding feels overwhelming before asking for help.

An International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) is trained to assess feeding as a whole. That includes watching how your baby feeds, looking at latch and positioning, answering questions about milk production, and helping make sense of concerns that don’t always have straightforward answers.

In general, we recommend having an IBCLC on standby to visit you within 24 hours of your baby’s birth just to ensure that things are going as they should. After all, if feeding isn’t going perfectly, you are going to have to continue to feed even while you learn this new skill. Having an IBCLC Lactation Consultant come to you (or going to see them in a clinic) within the first 1-2 days after your baby is born can make the difference between a smooth feeding journey and one that is bumpier than it needs to be.

Maybe your baby is feeding often and you want reassurance that everything is on track. You might find feeding is uncomfortable and you’re not sure whether that’s expected. Perhaps your baby seems frustrated at the breast, or you’ve been told your baby may have a tongue tie and you’re trying to understand what that means before making any decisions.

If a baby has tension through their neck or jaw after birth, we may recommend an assessment with one of our paediatric practitioners, chiropractors, or osteopaths. If you’re recovering from a difficult birth and finding positioning uncomfortable, your own recovery becomes part of the conversation too.

Does anything during pregnancy affect breastfeeding?

Parents sometimes worry that they haven’t done enough to “prepare” their breasts for feeding. They’ll ask if they should be using creams, toughening their nipples, collecting colostrum months before birth, or buying equipment they may never need.

For most people, the answer is no.

Your body has been preparing for breastfeeding since early pregnancy. Long before your baby arrives, hormones are already helping your breasts develop the milk-producing tissue that will support feeding after birth.

If you’ve had breast surgery, certain hormonal conditions, previous challenges with milk supply, if you have flat or inverted nipples, thyroid disease, Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS), diabetes, or you’re expecting multiples, it’s worth having those conversations during pregnancy rather than waiting until your baby is here.

What if breastfeeding doesn’t go the way you hoped?

Many parents picture the first feed long before their baby is born. They imagine skin-to-skin, a beautiful latch, and the quiet feeling of knowing everything is falling into place. Birth, however, has a way of reminding us that babies arrive with their own personalities, and every family begins this chapter from a different place.

A long labour, an unexpected Caesarean birth, a baby who needs extra medical attention, or simply two people learning something completely new can all shape how feeding begins.

Some families breastfeed exclusively or combine breastfeeding with formula. Some pump exclusively while others make the thoughtful decision to formula feed after considering what is best for their baby, their health, and their family. Those decisions deserve compassion, not judgement.

At Oona, our goal has never been to define success by the number of months someone breastfeeds. We think you should do what works best for you and your family, and we will support you, however that looks.

A breastfeeding class isn’t about teaching you everything

What a good class can do is make those first days feel a little less unfamiliar.

When your baby wants to feed again sooner than you expected, you’ll already know that newborn stomachs are tiny and frequent feeding has an important purpose. If someone mentions cluster feeding, it won’t sound like a medical term you’ve never heard before.

Oona offers prenatal classes and workshops for families in Toronto, Newmarket, and online.

Looking after yourself is part of looking after your baby

Breastfeeding asks a great deal of your body. Your baby depends on you for nourishment, but your body is also healing from pregnancy and birth at the same time. Recovery, sleep, nutrition, hydration, emotional wellbeing, and physical comfort all become part of the feeding story.

Oona’s postpartum care may include lactation support, pelvic floor physiotherapy, chiropractic care, massage therapy, osteopathy, naturopathic medicine, and mental health support.

Frequently asked questions

The bottom line

Preparing for breastfeeding isn’t about trying to predict exactly how the weeks after birth will unfold.

What you can do during pregnancy is make those first days feel a little less uncertain. Learn enough to understand what’s normal, find healthcare providers you trust before you need them, and let the people around you know what kind of help will actually feel helpful when your baby arrives.

At Oona, breastfeeding is never viewed as one appointment or one conversation. It’s part of your pregnancy, your recovery, your baby’s development, and your family’s story.