Understanding Comfort Nursing as a new parent can help your nursing experience & confidence.

First of all, you and your baby need to get to know each other. You may find that you and your baby have certain preferences for positioning etc.

If you are now nursing one of your subsequent babies, then you may notice that your experience is different this time around. Different babies come with different preferences and also you may be approaching nursing differently than before.

With each baby, you and your baby will be learning together as a team.

Babies also suck for other reasons than “just” nutrition. You will experience some flutter-sucking or comfort nursing towards the end of a feed and sometimes between feeds. Your baby will be sucking to:

• Find reassurance
• Find warmth
• Help them sleep/fall asleep
• Calm down
• Relieve pain
• Develop a closer and deeper bond with you
• Increase their comfort

Often these other needs are satisfied while nursing or by sucking on your breast. This type of sucking is sometimes referred to as comfort nursing or non-nutritive sucking. This type of sucking is in addition to sucking for nutrition.

Comfort sucking is normal and a quick and very reliable way to calm, quieten and comfort your baby. Nursing is so much more than just food/nutrition!

There are many benefits for both you and your baby when it comes to comfort nursing. These include:

• Nursing releases oxytocin, the love hormone, the same hormones which is released when you are having an orgasm…
• Relaxing together
• Forming and strengthening the bond between you and your baby
• Sharing comfort and warmth
• Cuddling
• Relieving pain/discomfort for your baby

It is important to understand that your baby will only feed from you for as much nutrition as they need. The rest is comfort sucking without taking in any milk. You cannot overfeed when nursing/breastfeeding.

Sucking also releases hormones that induce sleep such as cholecystokinin which gives a feeling of fullness and sleepiness and triggers the release of oxytocin in your baby. This means that allowing some comfort nursing may lead to some more sleep for you and for your baby.

Sources and further reading

Cohen Engler A, Hadash A, Shehadeh N, Pillar G. Breastfeeding may improve nocturnal sleep and reduce infantile colic: potential role of breast milk melatonin. Eur J Pediatr. 2012 Apr;171(4):729-32. doi: 10.1007/s00431-011-1659-3. Epub 2011 Dec 29. PMID: 22205210.

Kellymom: https://kellymom.com/bf/normal/comfortnursing/

Nancy Mohrbacher: http://www.nancymohrbacher.com/articles/2015/8/21/what-does-it-mean-to-use-your-breast-as-a-pacifier

Nowak R, Lévy F, Chaillou E, Cornilleau F, Cognié J, Marnet PG, Williams PD, Keller M. Neonatal Suckling, Oxytocin, and Early Infant Attachment to the Mother. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2021 Feb 8;11:612651. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2020.612651. PMID: 33628199; PMCID: PMC7897683.

Uvnäs-Moberg K, Marchini G, Winberg J, Plasma cholecystokinin concentrations after breast feeding in healthy 4 day old infants. Archives of Disease in Childhood 1993;68:46-48. https://adc.bmj.com/content/68/1_Spec_No/46