One of the best things someone ever taught me about breastfeeding was taught to me by a doctor in South Africa, Dr. Nils Bergman. His message was simple, “Get out of the way and let the baby and mama do their thing.”

Babies are born with an amazing sense of what to do. If we can resist the temptation to interfere, the baby will often teach the mother everything she needs to know.

While Dr. Bergman applauds efforts to support breastfeeding, he feels our approach is often backwards. What we need to do first, he insists, is protect the environment. In other words, we need to keep the mother and baby together, skin-to-skin, from the moment of birth and beyond.

If we do all we can to keep the baby in his natural habitat, then the breastfeeding behavior will follow. Instead, we tend to concentrate on protecting the behavior while ignoring the environment. Think how often mothers and babies are separated after birth for no apparent reason, making learning to breastfeed that much harder.

Nearly a decade has passed since Dr. Bergman gave me that sage advice. Now whenever I have the privilege of working with a breastfeeding mother and baby I try to apply that advice by taking a hands-off approach.

I encourage moms to keep their babies skin-to-skin whenever possible. I don’t force a baby to breastfeed within 30 minutes of birth. I remind mothers that babies aren’t born with a wrist watch.   I marvel at each baby’s ability to maneuver their way to their mother’s breast and latch on. Occasionally a little assistance is needed, a minor tweak here or there, but more often than not the system works.

Spend time together! That’s the #1 message I give parents. This gives moms and babies a chance to get to know one another and to practice important skills, like breastfeeding.

Babies only need small amounts of milk after birth! That’s the #2 message I give parents.   Many parents worry about whether their baby is getting enough eat.   They can relax if they know that during the first days after birth, babies need only small amounts of milk at each feeding (as little as 1-2 teaspoons,) so moms make only small amounts of milk. It’s the perfect balance. The baby gets just what he needs, drops at a time. What a nice way to learn how to breastfeed!

The mother featured in the picture is doing Kangaroo Mother Care even though her babies were born prematurely. They were sent home the day this picture was taken!