Best Postures for Bottle-Feeding

The right posture for bottle-feeding starts with holding your baby properly. By holding your baby in the right way, you ensure that your little one is more relaxed when drinking and that you are both enjoying being in contact with each other. Below are some tips for the right posture:

• Use the cradle hold to feed your baby: This is the most natural position. It also reduces the chance of your baby choking and allows your child to breathe easily.
• Make sure your posture is relaxed, both for you and for your baby.
• Keep your baby close to you. During skin-to-skin contact, your body produces oxytocin, which is good for bonding with your baby.
• Alternate between your left and right arm for each feeding or change halfway through a feeding. By alternating, you stimulate your baby’s hand-eye coordination and prevent it from developing a preferred posture.

Another important part of the feeding posture, of course, is the position of the bottle. It is important to hold the bottle the right way to help your baby drink easily.

• Keep the bottle almost horizontal and make sure that the teat of the bottle is completely filled with milk. This will prevent your baby from sucking in air.
• If your baby sucks the teat flat, loosen the cap a bit.
• Always hold the bottle yourself and never let your baby hold the bottle in bed or in the crib.

If you experience problems with bottle-feeding, you might want to check if this is due to your feeding position. In principle, there are no wrong postures, but some postures work better than others! If the cradle hold does not work for you, try, for example, in a classic breastfeeding position (with your baby lying on your stomach) or sitting on your lap. Your family doctor or childcare clinic can certainly help you with this. Would you like some additional tips? Then download our app. In it you will not only find many tips, but you can also exchange experiences with other parents on our forum!