Everyone always raves about the rewards of breastfeeding and how excellent natural milk is for babies. However it does occasionally have its downsides.

If you are a new mother, and finding it difficult to adjust to breastfeeding, this is not the kind of news you want to be greeted with each time you get a visitor to your house excited to see the new baby.

And remember, having just given birth, you are probably very tired and in need of sleep, maybe feeling slightly up and down with your hormones probably going all over the place. And then to have to think about this whole breastfeeding business - especially if this is your first child, well it can be nothing short of overwhelming.

The single most important thing that you can do to assure your success in breastfeeding is to begin preparing during your pregnancy.

Breastfeeding may be a natural act, but please rest assured that it is by no means instinctive. That said, there are a variety of breastfeeding classes that take place at hospitals and ante-natal clinics and here you can start to learn more about it.

La Leche League is an organisation that provides extremely useful mother-to-mother support. Here you can learn from each others shared experiences about the highs and lows of breastfeeding. And surprisingly, you'll even find a few who hate it!

Start Early
The sooner you can attempt breastfeeding after the birth of your baby, the better it will be for you both in the long run. Studies have consistently illustrated that in the first two hours of life; newborns are in a heightened state of alertness and possess a very strong sucking reflex. At this point they will be extremely eager to nuzzle or lick your nipple which may lead them to latching on and having their first sip of breast milk (colostrum).

The effect of these early feedings will make breastfeeding easier for both mother and baby and this in itself is a good thing. However, please do not become disheartened if you can't quite get to grips with it, or if your little one doesn't seem to want to drink much initially. Breastfeeding can take time to get used to, especially for first time mothers, so be patient and positive.

Many nursing mothers who didn't have very successful initial attempts at breastfeeding do go on to breastfeed their babies successfully whilst still building a close bond with their baby, and at the end of the day, if you can't quite manage to get on with breast feeding, it doesn't mean you're a failure. It just wasn't right for you at that time.