Frequent nursing leads to poor milk production, a weak let-down response and ultimately unsuccessful nursing.

Fact: Milk supply is optimized when a healthy baby is allowed to nurse as often as s(he) indicates the need. So feed the baby on cue.

Babies get all the milk they need in the first five to ten minutes of nursing.

Fact: While many older babies can take in the majority of their milk in the first five to ten minutes, this cannot be generalized to all babies. Newborns, who are learning to nurse and are not always efficient at sucking, often need much longer to feed.

A breastfeeding mother should space her feedings so that her breasts will have time to refill.

Fact: The emptier the breast, the faster the body makes milk to replace it; the fuller the breast, the more production of milk slows down. If a mother consistently waits until her breasts "fill up" before she nurses, her body may get the message that it is making too much and may reduce total production.

It is the amount of milk that a baby takes in (quantitative), not whether it is human milk or formula (qualitative) that determines how long a baby can go between feedings.
Fact: Breastfed babies have faster gastric emptying times than formula-fed babies--approximately 1.5 hours versus up to 4 hours--due to the smaller size of the protein molecules in human milk. While intake quantity is one factor in determining feeding frequency, the type of milk is equally important.

Never wake a sleeping baby.
Fact: While most babies will indicate when they need to eat, babies in the newborn period may not wake often enough on their own and should be awakened if necessary to eat at least eight times a day.

Breastfeeding mothers must always use both breasts at each feeding.
Fact: It is more important to let baby finish the first breast first. Some babies, if switched prematurely to the second breast, may fill up on the lower-calorie foremilk from both breasts rather than obtaining the normal balance of foremilk and hind-milk, resulting in infant dissatisfaction and poor weight gain.

If a baby isn't gaining well, it may be due to the low quality of the mother's milk.
Fact: Studies have shown that even malnourished women are able to produce milk of sufficient quality and quantity to support a growing infant. In most cases low weight gain is related to insufficient milk intake or an underlying health problem in the baby.

Poor milk supply is usually caused by stress, fatigue and/or inadequate fluids and food intake.

Fact: The most common causes of milk supply problems are infrequent feedings and/or poor latch-on and positioning; both are usually due to inadequate information provided to the breastfeeding mother. Suckling problems on the infant's part can also impact milk supply negatively.

A mother must drink milk to make milk.
Fact: A healthy diet of vegetables, fruits, grains and proteins is all that a mother needs to provide the proper nutrients to produce milk. Calcium can he obtained from a variety of nondairy foods such as dark green vegetables, seeds, nuts and fish.

Frequent nursing can lead to postpartum depression.
Fact: Postpartum depression is believed to be caused by fluctuating hormones after birth and may be exacerbated by fatigue and lack of social support, though it mostly occurs in women who have a history of problems prior to pregnancy.

Mothers who hold their babies too much will spoil them.
Fact: Babies who are held often cry fewer hours a day and exhibit more security as they mature.

It is important that other family members get to feed baby so that they can bond, too.
Fact: Feeding is not the only method by which other family members can bond with the baby; holding, cuddling, bathing and playing with the infant are all important to her/his growth, development and attachment to others.

Some babies are allergic to their mother's milk.
Fact: Human milk is the most natural and physiologic substance that baby can ingest. If a baby shows sensitivities related to feeding, it is usually a foreign protein that has piggybacked into mother's milk, and not the milk itself. This is easily handled by removing the offending food from mother's diet for a time.

Frequent nursing causes a child to be obese later in life.
Fact: Studies show that breastfed babies who control their own feeding patterns and intake tend to take just the right amount of milk for them. Formula feeding and early introduction of solids, not breastfeeding on demand, have been implicated in risk of obesity later in life.