Breast milk is ideally suited for the newborn because it has proteins, carbohydrates, and fats in the optimal proportions to maximize growth and development in the child. Commercial formulas lack such vital ingredients as immune cells and immunoglobulins that keep a child healthy. For the first week, a mother should breast-feed often without regard to time. This frequent feeding schedule will send a clear message to the mother's brain to produce a hormone called prolactin that allows the milk to flow easily. Once the mother can express her milk, she may feed 10-20 minutes per breast followed by a three to four hour interval.
Formula feeding is much easier for a newborn than is breast-feeding.
Emotional support for the breast-feeding mother is extremely important. Although tempting, refrain from giving a child a bottle to the baby until breast milk is established. This is due to fluid loss, not nutritional weight loss. Mothers should drink plenty of fluids, as there is a loss of maternal blood and fluid during delivery. As an aid to begin milk flow, some mothers use a heat lamp, heating pad, or a shower with warm water prior to a feeding.