Right from the time your baby is born, you will need to know the best position to offer your baby the breast. Incorrect positioning can cause painful cracked perhaps even bleeding nipples. If you have pain when feeding, talk to your midwife, health visitor or breastfeeding counsellor.

If you are not comfortable your baby will not be able to get all the milk, both the fore milk and the highly nutritious hind milk which contains the calories and fat-soluble vitamins.

So get yourself comfortable, not leaning backwards. If you feed sitting up you will probably find it more comfortable to lift your baby up to your breast by using a pillow or cushions so that you can rest your arm if it becomes tired.

Your baby needs to be able to reach "up" so that his chin is not on his chest making it impossible for him to swallow, and you need a nice wide angle at the throat. Try taking a drink with your chin on your chest, it's not easy.

The baby should be placed with her legs under the arm on the opposite side to your breast. Hold your baby with her whole body facing towards you and tight against you. Her head should be just level with your breast near the middle of your body rather than in the crook of your arm. People used to believe the baby's head should be in this position but the human nipple just isn't in the right place for feeding in this way.

Now tease her with the smell of your skin and breast, perhaps expressing a little milk to get her interested by the taste. She should now start searching or 'rooting' for the breast on her own.

Touch her with your nipple and move her up and down a little, so that her upper lip is teased by the nipple. If she wants to feed she will reach for the nipple, opening her mouth really wide and with her tongue reaching over her lower gum and lip, so that the nipple is only just inside her upper gum and her tongue is against a long stretch of breast and areolar tissue, allowing her to squeeze the milk out of the breast, with the same tongue action an adult uses to swallow.

Make sure you watch your baby at first and make sure that everything is OK and she is happy. Finish when your baby decides.

For more information: Contact the NCT or your local NCT Breastfeeding Councellor. THE BABY MATTERS series contains valuable information which may help you in preparing for pregnancy, birth and caring for your baby.