Bodyfeeding Your Newborn

Planning to breast/chestfeed your newborn? In this episode, I talk with none other than Dr. Jack Newman on what to expect, what to avoid, and when to ask for help, in order to get lactation off to a good start.

What we talked about:

• Preparing for a good lactation relationship
• What good support looks like
• Why skin-to-skin?
• How do you know if baby’s getting enough milk?
• The obsession with baby’s weight, and how it can create unnecessary angst
• Sore nipples: causes and best cures
• Why your pediatrician (or PCP) probably knows nothing about lactation support
• Why Jack hates nipple shields (and— for different reasons— he also dislikes kale)
• Jaundice and bodyfeeding

Related resources*:

• Dr. Newman’s books: Dr. Jack Newman’s Guide to Breastfeeding and Breastfeeding: Empowering Parents (interactive version)
• information on a good asymmetrical latch here
• you can watch all of the videos that Jack mentioned on the show (and more!), including:
  • “good” drinking
  • nibbling
  • a 28-hour old baby doing baby-led, parent-guided latching
  • a 10-hour old baby nursing
  • a 2-day old feeding with breast compressions
•  along with many valuable handouts, and in many languages

Related Birthful episodes:        

• [Breastfeeding] Why It’s Different with a Newborn
• [Breastfeeding] Preparation Essentials
• [Breastfeeding] Common Struggles
• [Breastfeeding] 11 Need-to-Knows
• [Breastfeeding] Working while Breastfeeding
• Understanding Jaundice

Courtesy of Dr. Jack Newman

About Dr. Jack Newman

You most likely know Dr. Newman from the book that he wrote with Teresa Pitman, titled Dr. Jack Newman’s Guide to Breastfeeding. More recently, he wrote the interactive book Breastfeeding: Empowering Parents. He also has a great visual media resource called Dr. Jack Newman’s Visual Guide to Breastfeeding.

In 1984, Jack founded the first hospital-based lactation clinic in Canada, and has been a consultant for UNICEF for the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative, evaluating the first candidate hospitals in Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, and Canada.

Jack has written articles or given talks on possibly anything that may affect lactation, including medications, jaundice, formula use, nipple confusion, nipple pain, latch, prematurity, nipple shields, and ways to encourage, support and maintain nursing relationships.

He currently works at the Newman Breastfeeding Clinic of the International Breastfeeding Centre, based at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine in Toronto, where he creates many lactation-related resources and helps caregivers diagnose issues, treat pain, assess milk supply, and unpack concerns around babies’ health related to infant feeding… plus, work to prevent future problems!

You can contact Dr. Newman through his contact form on his website: ibconline.ca (he’s really good at getting back to you!), tap into his informational resources in many languages (including all the fabulous videos that we mentioned), or join the conversation on Facebook.