Expert recommendations are: Six months of exclusive breastfeeding, with solids introduced at about six months and breastfeeding continuing for two years or beyond.

Breast milk is a living tissue that provides numerous immunological benefits as well the appropriate species-specific food. Benefits of breastfeeding are:

• Optimal health and nutrition (less risk of many infections, including gastro-intestinal, middle ear, upper respiratory, meningitis, NEC
• Less risk of certain illnesses and chronic conditions, such as allergies, diabetes, and certain childhood cancers) and optimal cognitive development.
• Breastfeeding enhances maternal-infant bonding 
• Numerous benefits to mothers including weight loss, decreased risk of postpartum bleeding, and decreased risk of breast cancer. 
• Financial benefits: it’s free, and breastfed children require fewer antibiotics and other healthcare interventions. Parents also take less time off work to address the needs of their sick children.

Place baby skin-to-skin at delivery – when cuing behaviours begin assist with breastfeeding. Leave the mother and baby undisturbed throughout this initial feeding attempt. Encourage lots of skin-to-skin contact and frequent breastfeeding attempts. Support the mother to latch her baby well and to identify early feeding cues. Use positive language to empower mother and her baby.

Benefits of skin-to-skin care include thermoregulation, decreased newborn stress, enhanced homeostasis, decreased infant crying, stimulation of hormonal regulation of lactation, and increased maternal milk production.

100% of breastfeeding mothers. Hand expression includes expressing a few drops of colostrum to entice baby, to stimulate lactation in the first 24-48 hours when pumping may not be as efficient, or to empty breasts instead of using a pump.

For babies who are well enough to be with their mothers during postpartum, there are very few indications for supplements. The medical indications for supplementation are:

• infants with acute water loss, for example during phototherapy for jaundice, if increased breastfeeding cannot provide adequate hydration;
• infants whose clinical condition (hypoglycemic) indicates a need for additional calories which is not met by additional breastfeeding;
• infants whose mothers are severely ill (for example with psychosis, eclampsia, or shock);
• infants with inborn errors of metabolism (e.g. galactosaemia, phenylketonuria, maple syrup urine disease);
• infants whose mothers are taking medication which is contraindicated when breastfeeding (e.g. cytotoxic drugs, radioactive drugs, anti-thyroid drugs other than propylthiouracil);
• infants who have not regained birth weight at two to three weeks of age or who have insufficient weight gain, when increased effective breastfeeding cannot provide adequate intake. 
  

Community resources include La Leche League and community health units that provide community health nurse visits and mothers' groups. BC Women's also has outpatient breastfeeding clinics.

Reassure mothers that it is common for babies to feed frequently at night. When the baby is ‘fussy’, keep baby skin-to-skin and feed frequently.

Evidence indicates that babies cope best with painful procedures (and use up less energy) if they are comforted throughout the procedure. Breastfeeding during these procedures significantly helps the baby. Other possibilities include offering the parents finger to suck on.

Babies will often feed soon after birth if left undisturbed, skin-to-skin on the mother’s chest. During the first 24 hours, they are often quite sleepy. In the second 24 hours, we expect that babies will become much more wakeful and interested in feeding – at least eight times in 24 hours. They may have clusters of feeds when they feed very frequently over a short period of time and then sleep for a longer period. Their output increases from a minimum of one wet diaper during the first 24 hours, two during the second, and increases markedly over the next couple of days as the milk supply increases. Stooling also increases, and the stool colour changes.