Preparing for breastfeeding starts well before your baby arrives. Your body actually begins its own preparation as early as the first trimester, when your breasts start producing colostrum, the nutrient-dense first milk your baby will need. But there are practical steps you can take during pregnancy to set yourself up for a smoother start, from learning hand expression to lining up professional support and getting your birth plan in order.
Your Body Is Already Getting Ready
By 12 to 18 weeks of pregnancy, your breasts begin producing colostrum. This thick, yellowish milk is packed with antibodies and is perfectly designed for a newborn’s tiny stomach. At birth, your baby’s stomach holds only about 1 to 2 teaspoons, roughly the size of a marble. By day 10, it grows to the size of a ping-pong ball, holding around 2 ounces.
Understanding these small volumes is one of the most important things you can learn before delivery. Many new parents worry they aren’t producing enough milk in the first few days, but those tiny drops of colostrum are exactly what your baby needs. Your milk supply gradually increases to match your baby’s growing stomach, not the other way around.
Skip the Nipple “Toughening”
You may hear advice about roughing up your nipples with a towel or washcloth to prepare them for breastfeeding. There’s no evidence this helps, and it can actually irritate sensitive skin. The most effective way to prevent nipple soreness and cracking is learning proper latch and positioning, not physical toughening. Similarly, while lanolin ointment is widely used to treat sore nipples after breastfeeding begins, research hasn’t found evidence that applying it preventively during pregnancy makes a difference.
What does help is education. A systematic review of prevention strategies for nipple injuries found that guidance on correct latch technique and breastfeeding positions was the single most effective approach, more so than any cream, balm, or physical preparation.
Learn Hand Expression Before Delivery
Hand expression is the skill of gently massaging and compressing your breast to release milk without a pump. It’s useful in the first hours and days after birth when you’re working with very small volumes of colostrum that a pump can’t efficiently collect. Learning the technique during pregnancy means you won’t be figuring it out for the first time while exhausted with a newborn.
A pilot study at a U.S. hospital-based midwife practice found that teaching hand expression starting at 37 weeks of pregnancy was safe and feasible for low-risk pregnancies. Participants practiced independently between weekly visits, and there were no differences in complications like preterm birth or NICU admissions compared to the control group. If you’re interested in practicing before delivery, 37 weeks is the generally recommended starting point. Talk with your provider before beginning, especially if you have a high-risk pregnancy, since nipple stimulation can trigger contractions.
Meet With a Lactation Consultant Prenatally
Most people schedule a prenatal lactation visit between 28 and 32 weeks. That timing works well because pregnancy complications have usually declared themselves by then, you’re beginning to think concretely about your birth plan, and there’s still enough time to develop a feeding strategy before the baby arrives.
A prenatal visit with a board-certified lactation consultant (IBCLC) typically covers the basics of latch and positioning, what to expect in the first days, and how to recognize whether feeding is going well. It’s also a chance to address any anatomical concerns. If you have flat or inverted nipples, for instance, a consultant can assess your situation and discuss strategies. Many babies latch well onto flat nipples with proper positioning because the baby latches onto the areola, not just the nipple tip. If needed, tools like nipple shields or gentle suction devices can help.
One service that requires specific timing is flange sizing for a breast pump. Breast and nipple anatomy shifts throughout pregnancy, so lactation consultants typically wait until 34 to 36 weeks for the most accurate fit.
Set Up Your Birth Plan to Protect Breastfeeding
What happens in the first hour after birth has a significant impact on breastfeeding. The CDC’s maternity care guidelines, based on the WHO/UNICEF Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, recommend skin-to-skin contact immediately after delivery and initiating breastfeeding within the first hour of life. During skin-to-skin, your naked baby is placed directly on your bare chest to maximize surface contact. This stabilizes the baby’s temperature and heart rate and triggers instinctive feeding behaviors.
Your birth plan is the tool that communicates these preferences to your care team. Specific items to include:
- Immediate skin-to-skin contact as long as the baby is transitioning well, including after a cesarean birth
- Delayed first bath and routine procedures to protect early bonding and feeding time
- No formula or sugar water without a clear medical reason
- Rooming-in so your baby stays with you rather than in the nursery, giving you more opportunities to feed on demand
- Delayed cord clamping as long as the baby is stable
Writing these preferences down doesn’t guarantee everything will go as planned, but it ensures your medical team knows your goals. If a cesarean becomes necessary, skin-to-skin can still happen in the operating room in many hospitals, so include that preference explicitly.
Gather Supplies Before Week 37
You don’t need a lot of gear to breastfeed, but a few items make the early weeks significantly more comfortable. Aim to have these on hand before your due date.
A well-fitting nursing bra is worth investing in. Cheap ones tend to lose support quickly, and you’ll be wearing them constantly. Two or three good bras are enough to start. Nursing pads, either disposable or reusable, catch leaking milk and keep your clothes dry. Leaking is especially common in the first few weeks as your supply regulates. A nipple cream (lanolin or a plant-based alternative) helps soothe soreness once breastfeeding begins. A small amount goes a long way, and one tube typically lasts the entire time you nurse. Gel pads that can be refrigerated provide cooling relief during the initial days of tenderness. And don’t stop your prenatal vitamins: your nutritional needs remain elevated while breastfeeding.
A breast pump is useful but not always urgent on day one. If your insurance covers one, order it during the third trimester so it’s available when you need it. Many parents don’t use a pump until breastfeeding is established, usually a few weeks in, unless there’s a medical need to pump earlier.
Build Your Support Network Early
Breastfeeding is natural but not always intuitive, and the learning curve is steepest in the first two weeks. Knowing who to call before you’re in the middle of a difficult 3 a.m. feed makes a real difference. Identify an IBCLC in your area or through your hospital’s outpatient lactation clinic. Many offer same-day or next-day appointments for urgent issues. Save the number before delivery.
Peer support matters too. La Leche League and similar organizations run free local and virtual groups where experienced breastfeeding parents answer questions and normalize the struggles of early feeding. Having even one person in your life who has breastfed recently and can reassure you that cluster feeding at day three is normal, not a sign of low supply, can be the difference between pushing through a rough patch and giving up on a goal that matters to you.
If you have a partner or another support person, bring them into the preparation process. When they understand what the first days of breastfeeding look like, including frequent feeding (8 to 12 times in 24 hours), the importance of not supplementing with formula unless medically needed, and how to recognize a good latch, they can advocate for your goals when you’re too tired to explain.