Newborn Photos: A Simple Breastfeeding Checkpoint
By the time you’re dressing your baby for newborn photos, two things should be changing with...
Newborn photo day is one of the most anticipated and special days in early newborn life. These pictures are priceless treasures because they capture your baby in a moment that is quickly fleeting- the wrinkly skin, crisscrossed legs and that deep heavenly sleep that’s maintained in all positions. Most families are thinking about who will take these photos and what they and their baby will wear long before delivery. What they don’t think about is the changes in a mom’s body that should also be happening at that same time. For this reason, I like to recommend that newborn picture day be a litmus test to assess how feeding is going and reach out for medical help if needed.
Recently I had the opportunity to chat with esteemed newborn photographer Taryn Yager in her home studio. I laughed as I shared my own story of my sister taking it upon herself to find and book a newborn photographer at the mall in Augusta, Ga, for my first baby because in the whirlwind of moving four weeks before my delivery I had let this detail slide. I remember trying to nurse my new baby in the studio with a cover on. I was still having pain with feeding in addition to the pain of generally just moving around after having a baby. Even though I was a physician myself, I didn’t have a sense of how much of this was normal versus not. I had never actually lived it before!
Most families have their newborn photos taken at about 7 days old. Now, in my role as a board certified breastfeeding medicine physician, I am regularly teaching families that this is also the timepoint at which two things should be changing with breastfeeding- your pain with latching should be improving and your milk should have “come in” meaning that your milk has increased in volume to about 2-3oz per feeding for a baby feeding 8–12 times per day.
If on picture day you find that you are experiencing excruciating pain when your baby latches (you dread this part), pain is lasting throughout a feeding or you have not noticed a considerable increase in the volume of milk you’re making, it’s time to reach out for help.
At FLOW, we care for both mother and baby together — as a dyad- and both of you are our patients. Feeding problems are rarely just a baby issue or just a maternal issue. Milk production, milk transfer, latch mechanics, nipple trauma, infant weight gain, jaundice, oral anatomy, and maternal recovery are all interconnected. Addressing only one piece often misses the full picture.
Breastfeeding medicine is now a board-certified medical specialty. That means physicians in this field are trained to diagnose and treat conditions such as delayed secretory activation (milk "coming in"), nipple and breast trauma, tongue-tie, poor milk transfer, inadequate weight gain and so much more.
But medical does not mean rushed.
Our visits are intentionally thorough and relational. A feeding is observed in real time. Both mother and baby are examined. Milk transfer can be measured when needed. Hormonal, anatomical, and recovery factors are considered. Collaboration with pediatricians, obstetric providers, lactation consultants, and therapists happens when appropriate. The goal is not simply to “get through” breastfeeding — but to protect maternal health, infant growth, and the relationship forming between them.
The first two weeks postpartum are a narrow and powerful window. Small problems compound quickly. A shallow latch can cause nipple trauma. Trauma can reduce effective milk removal. Reduced milk removal can decrease supply. Decreased supply can affect infant weight gain. What feels manageable on day five can feel overwhelming by week three.
