What if I don't get a 'Golden Hour'?

I remember being in antenatal classes, and so much being made of the ‘golden hour’ after birth - the benefits of skin-to-skin, getting to know your baby, and how important it can be for that first breastfeed, if that's how you want to feed your baby.

But I didn't get a 'Golden Hour'. I didn't feed my baby for over 24 hours after she was born. And I spent so long beating myself up about it.

So what if you don't get that golden hour with your baby?

Perhaps your baby needs some time in special care. Perhaps you and they are recovering from a long birth experience. Perhaps you do get a golden hour, but for whatever reason (and there are many) your baby doesn't don’t quite get the hang of feeding straight away. Does that mean your breastfeeding journey is over?

If you don't get your golden hour, or if it doesn't quite look like you imagined, don’t panic ❤️ this doesn’t mean that your breastfeeding journey is over. You still have so many opportunities for skin-to-skin and bonding with your new baby.

So what can you do?

Hand expressing

Those early feeds send the message to your body that your baby is here and that you need to start producing colostrum, and then mature milk. So, if you're planning to breastfeed and your baby doesn't feed straight away, it can be really helpful to try hand expressing some colostrum. This will give your baby some nutrients, and help send your body the message that your baby has arrived, and that it should start producing milk.

If you’ve expressed some colostrum in pregnancy, you can give this to your baby - but expressing to replace this will help to establish your supply.

Skin-to-skin when you can

If skin to skin isn't possible straight away, trying it at the earliest possible opportunity can help you produce oxytocin, one of the key hormones for breastfeeding, and encourage your baby to slowly tap into their instincts.

Get support

Support from your care providers isn't always as good as it could be, for a whole host of reasons. But practical and emotional support can make a huge difference in how your postpartum journey unfolds. Lining up support from a doula, a breastfeeding coach, or family and friends, can really take some of the pressure off.

The early days can be really tough, especially if you’ve had a difficult birth experience - having someone you trust to talk about it can help you make sense of it, save you hours of googling, and just give you the little bit of reassurance you sometimes need when you're adjusting to your new life.

Katie x