Remember, your breasts don’t actually produce milk for the first three days.

Instead they produce colostrum, a thin yellow fluid which protects your baby against infection for the first 72 hours. It’s made up of water, protein, sugar, vitamins, minerals and antibodies, and it’s the perfect food for your newborn baby.

Even if you don’t intend to breastfeed it’s a good idea to suckle your baby as soon as she’s born as the colostrum will benefit her. It’ll also help you bond with her.

Babies are born with a natural sucking reflex and her sucking on your breasts will help you produce the hormone oxytocin, which makes the uterus contract and expel the placenta.