How to Breastfeed More Often: Practical Tips

To breastfeed your baby more often, offer the breast whenever you notice early hunger cues, after waking, before sleep and whenever your baby seeks comfort. You do not need to wait for a set time or for your breasts to feel full. Keep your baby nearby, use plenty of skin-to-skin contact and make feeding easy to begin.

Frequent breastfeeding is normal, particularly during growth spurts, evenings and your baby's early weeks. Feeding responsively means offering when your baby shows interest and letting them finish in their own time. If you are trying to increase milk production, effective and frequent milk removal usually matters more than following a strict schedule.

Follow your baby's feeding cues

Crying is a late hunger cue and can make attaching to the breast more difficult. Offer earlier when your baby:

• stirs, stretches or becomes more alert
• turns their head and opens their mouth
• brings their hands toward their mouth
• makes sucking or licking movements
• nuzzles against your chest

Not every cue means hunger, but it is fine to offer the breast. Your baby may feed, take a few comforting sucks or turn away. Responsive breastfeeding allows your baby to communicate what they need without pressure.

Create more opportunities to breastfeed

Keep your baby close

Keeping your baby in the same room during the day and night helps you notice subtle cues before they become upset. If you use a sling or carrier, follow its safety instructions, keep your baby's face visible and airway clear, and take your baby out to breastfeed.

Use skin-to-skin contact

Place your baby upright against your bare chest while you are awake and able to supervise them. Skin-to-skin contact can encourage feeding instincts and give your baby easy access to the breast. It may be especially helpful when your baby is sleepy, distracted or temporarily feeding less often.

Offer at natural transition points

Try offering after your baby wakes, before a nap, after a nappy change, when you return from being apart or before you settle together for the night. These are invitations rather than rules. Avoid forcing your baby to attach if they turn away or become distressed.

Make access simple

Wear clothing that opens easily and create comfortable feeding spaces where you spend time. Keep water, snacks, your phone and any needed supplies within reach. Ask others to handle meals, household tasks and care of older children so that you have more time to feed and rest.

Help your baby feed effectively

More time at the breast is most useful when your baby can attach deeply and transfer milk. Bring your baby close with their body supported and aligned. Wait for a wide-open mouth, then bring your baby toward the breast rather than leaning your breast toward them.

Feeding should not remain painful after the initial moments. Signs of milk transfer may include deep, rhythmic jaw movements and audible or visible swallowing. Your breast may feel softer afterwards, and your baby may release it independently and appear relaxed. Explore our breastfeeding support hub and these practical breastfeeding tips for further guidance.

Offer both breasts without pressure

Allow your baby to feed actively from the first breast, then offer the second. Some babies want both sides while others are satisfied with one. At the next feed, you can begin with the breast that feels fuller or the side used second. Switching repeatedly is not essential unless recommended for your situation.

Use breast compressions if needed

If sucking slows and your baby is still interested, gently compress the breast well behind the nipple. Release when your baby stops swallowing, then repeat in another area. Stop if it hurts. An IBCLC, maternal health nurse or midwife can show you how to use compressions appropriately.

If you want to increase milk production

Milk production responds to effective milk removal. Breastfeeding more frequently may help, but attachment difficulties, tongue movement, illness, hormonal conditions, some medicines and previous breast surgery can affect supply. A personalised feeding assessment is more useful than simply aiming for a particular number of feeds.

• Offer the breast responsively during the day and night.
• Avoid routinely delaying feeds to make your baby wait longer.
• Allow active feeding before changing sides.
• Use skin-to-skin contact while awake and supervising.
• If a feed is replaced, consider expressing around that time to maintain milk removal.
• If recommended after assessment, express after feeds for additional stimulation.

Do not reduce medically indicated formula or supplemental milk without guidance. If supplements are needed, you can still breastfeed first when advised and use expressed milk when available. Your baby's intake, growth and medical needs should guide any feeding plan.

When your baby seems too sleepy or distracted

A sleepy baby may feed more readily during skin-to-skin contact or when beginning to wake. Unwrap extra blankets, change their nappy and gently stroke their back or feet. Breast compressions may encourage continued swallowing. Never shake or vigorously stimulate your baby.

Older babies often become interested in their surroundings. A calm, dim room may help, as can offering after waking or before sleep. Short daytime feeds may be balanced by feeding more at other times, provided your baby is growing well and producing their usual wet nappies.

Frequent feeding and comfort sucking

Breastfeeding provides food, comfort, connection and help with regulation. It is normal for babies to want several feeds close together, often called cluster feeding. Responding does not spoil your baby. If feeding is comfortable, your baby is transferring milk and growth is on track, frequent feeds alone are not usually evidence of low supply.

If you use a dummy, consider offering the breast first when feeding cues appear, especially while establishing breastfeeding or increasing milk production. A dummy can sometimes mask cues or lengthen intervals between feeds. Follow safe-sleep guidance and seek individual advice if a dummy is medically recommended.

Look after yourself too

Increasing feeds can feel demanding. Feed in positions that support your back, shoulders and arms, and use pillows where helpful while keeping your baby's airway clear. Eat according to your appetite, drink when thirsty and rest whenever practical. There is no special food that reliably replaces effective milk removal.

Responsive parenting includes responding to your own needs. A partner, relative or friend can bring your baby to you, provide food and water, settle the baby after feeds and take over non-feeding tasks. If frequent feeding feels unmanageable, ask for support rather than pushing through pain or exhaustion alone.

When to seek help

Contact your maternal health nurse, midwife, GP or an IBCLC promptly if breastfeeding is persistently painful, your nipples are cracked or bleeding, your baby repeatedly struggles to attach, feeds without clear swallowing, is unusually sleepy, consistently refuses feeds, has fewer wet nappies than expected for their age, or is not gaining weight as expected. Also seek advice before changing supplements or if you are worried about milk supply.

Seek urgent medical assessment if your baby is difficult to wake, floppy, has trouble breathing, has blue or grey lips, cannot feed, has markedly fewer wet nappies, a dry mouth or sunken soft spot, or appears seriously unwell. Call emergency services for breathing difficulty, blue or grey colour, unresponsiveness or any immediate danger.

For you, seek prompt care for a hot, red or increasingly painful area of the breast, fever, chills or flu-like symptoms. Contact emergency services for severe breathing difficulty, collapse, confusion or other signs of a medical emergency.