These are the 2 important points to remember if, for some reason, your baby is not feeding effectively at the breast.

Since breastmilk production is based on supply and demand, if baby is struggling to remove the milk, your supply can start to drop. So...

If in doubt:

• Protect the supply: Hand express or pump to tell your breasts the milk is needed! In the immediate hours and days after birth, before the mature milk comes in, it is most likely easier to hand express as the sticky golden goodness that is Colostrum can be hard to collect effectively with a pump. Once you are no longer producing colostrum, you can progress to a hospital grade - preferably double - pump.

• Feed the baby: Make sure, if baby is not getting enough directly from the breast, that you are feeding them in another way - from expressed milk once you've pumped or otherwise. If you don't want to give a bottle, you can give them this milk via an open cup, a syringe or even a Supplementary Nursing System (SNS) which is essentially a thin feeding tube that you slip into baby's mouth while they feed at the breast, and draws up an alternative source of milk, such as previously expressed milk, in a bottle or cup. This way, they are both getting the milk they need as well as trying to communicate directly with your breasts that their work is not done!