How often should a newborn feed?

How often should you feed a newborn? The answer, lactation experts and researchers say, is surprisingly simple: a newborn should feed as often as they seem hungry – and, usually, at least every two to three hours – both day and night.

This is called "feeding responsively" (or "feeding on demand"), and it isn't just crucial to ensuring that babies are getting the nutrition and hydration they need. For breastfeeding mothers, it is also the best way to ensure that breastfeeding can be sustained for as long as desired. Trying to "stretch out" the intervals between feeds, feeding on a set schedule, or cutting down on overnight feeds all can lead to a baby's poor weight gain, a low milk supply, or having to stop breastfeeding altogether.

For bottle-fed babies, feeding by hunger cues, rather than a clock, is also important, experts say. "Human babies are born very, very immature," says Rafael Pérez-Escamilla, professor of public health at Yale University and a leading researcher on infant nutrition, with more than 400 research articles on lactation to his name. "They need to learn how to feed, and they need to learn how to understand what it is that is making them feel uncomfortable.

"This is super important for the rest of their lives, because it also teaches them to self-regulate their food intake in the future… and know when they're hungry, and when they're not hungry."

Feeding responsively, and as often as a baby needs, can feel like a challenge without the right support. This is why, at UNICEF, we advocate for governments, societies and systems to provide more support so that women who want to breastfeed to be able to breastfeed – for example, by increasing investment in programs that support breastfeeding, implementing policies such as paid maternity leave and breastfeeding breaks, and offering breastfeeding counselling as part of routine health coverage.

If you do choose to breastfeed, here is what the research shows about how to protect the success of your breastfeeding journey as much as possible.

Why newborns feed so often

Both breast milk and modern formula milks are high-sugar and low-fat. This means babies digest the milk very quickly. Newborns also have tiny stomachs, capable of holding just 20mL, or four teaspoons, of liquid at a time, so they get hungry (and thirsty) often.

Based on babies' physiology alone, some researchers have estimated that newborns should be fed every hour, at a minimum.

But it is worth noting that very few babies naturally feed at regular intervals. They might feed, then not feed for three hours, then feed three times over the following hour. This is normal and does not indicate a problem, experts say.

How often should you breastfeed a newborn?

For mothers who are breastfeeding, there are even more reasons to feed frequently: Breastfeeding is a supply-and-demand system, one in which an "order" for more milk is communicated with the hormone prolactin.

When a baby is suckling at the breast, a mother's prolactin levels increase. But prolactin levels are highest about 30 minutes after a baby has started suckling. This is because this rise in prolactin isn't for the current feed – it is putting in a request for milk for the next feed.

In fact, prolactin levels only increase when a baby is suckling on the breast. When the baby is taken off the breast, the mother's prolactin levels go back down.

This starts from birth. In fact, in the first three or four days after delivery, the baby being at the breast is what triggers a mother's milk to come in.

"The more frequently the baby's going to the breast, the quicker your prolactin levels are rising," says Helen Ball, director of the Durham Infancy & Sleep Centre and a researcher who studies infant lactation and sleep, and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Human Lactation. "When they hit a particular threshold level, that's when your milk supply comes in."

Over the next few weeks, this process produces prolactin receptors that sustain milk production longer-term.

This may be a part of why, around the six- or eight-week mark, some mothers think they haven't got enough milk, says Ball. "I strongly suspect that some of that has to do with not feeding frequently enough in those first six weeks," she says.

Should you feed a newborn at night?

Yes. "In fact, it's more important at night – because you produce more prolactin at night," Ball says.

This is likely part of the reason why, when used in babies under six months of age, sleep training methods that encourage infants to "sleep through the night" – and not wake up to feed – have not only been found to be generally ineffective. They may also increase the risk of stopping breastfeeding.

After six months of age, babies are advised to start eating solid foods. However, lactation experts say, this does not mean cutting out overnight feeds is necessarily a good idea. Many solid foods babies are started on are less calorie- and nutrient-dense than breastmilk.

Meanwhile, especially if a mother is away from her baby during the day, many infants try to "make up" for lost time by feeding more at night, Ball says. These additional feeds help ensure the mother's continued milk supply.

Should you try to "stretch out" the intervals between feeds?

No, you should not try to "stretch out" feeding intervals.

Unless there are issues with weight gain or another health concern, you do not have to worry about a baby who naturally falls into a rhythm of feeding less frequently, particularly if they are more than a few weeks old.

But this should not necessarily be encouraged, either.

For one, there is no benefit. While misperceptions about "spacing out" feeds persists – such as the idea that they help the breast "fill up" with milk, provide fattier content, or that it is necessary for "full" feeds – this is misinformation.

"The breast will never be empty," says Olivia Hinge, a UK-based international board-certified lactation consultant (IBCLC) and midwife. "There's always going to be about 30 per cent of milk remaining within the breast. It's like an ice machine: ice comes out, more flops in… It's not a 'stop, start'. It's a constant, flowing mechanism."

Breasts also regulate their own milk production. If they empty more frequently, they fill more frequently. And if they fill more frequently, it is this milk that has a higher fat content – the very reverse of the myth that it's better to "stretch out" feeds.

As well as there being no need to stretch out the timings between feeds, doing so can come with risk. Because breasts make milk when they are emptied, being emptied less often sends the signal that they don't have to produce as much milk. This can lead to a lower milk supply.

How long should newborns feed?

All babies are different. Even newborns come in different shapes, sizes and metabolisms. This means all babies have different feeding requirements – not just in terms of how often they feed, but how long they feed for.

Some babies also are more effective at removing milk, whether from the breast or the bottle, than others. "Some are going to have more difficulty, and so they're going to try to feed more frequently because they're not transferring enough milk at each feed," Ball says. "And there are some who are going to be very effective at transferring milk, so they might get a large amount in a short space of time."

As a result, a baby feeding often, or a baby feeding either for short or for long periods of time, is not a sign that they are not getting enough milk.

For the same reason, it is misinformation that a baby must be on a breast for 20 or 30 minutes to get a "full" feed. The only way to know if a baby is satiated is to read that baby's satiety cues.

So… how often should newborns feed?

The variation between babies, and the importance of feeding according to a baby's hunger cues, mean that, ultimately, it's very difficult to put a precise number on how often newborns should feed.

"Twelve times per day at the beginning is not out of range," says Pérez-Escamilla. "Eventually, it might be around seven times a day. And when complementary foods get introduced, it should go down."

But some babies may feed more frequently, some less.

And because all babies go through periods of cluster feeding – where they are feeding even more frequently than usual, sometimes as much as every few minutes, often because they are having or are approaching a growth spurt – it is even harder to put an average, or even a range, of how frequently newborns feed.

"You can talk about averages, but averages always hide a huge range of variation," Ball says. "I think it would be really hard to put a number on it."

Instead, she and other lactation experts advise, listen to your baby – and, if you're breastfeeding, to your own body, as your breasts will often "tingle" or provide some other signal that it's "time" to feed.

While the frequency of feeding does not, on its own, indicate any issue with feeding, if very frequent feeding is in addition to other symptoms – such as painful nipples or engorgement – it might be worth consulting with an IBCLC to rule out issues like tongue tie.

At the same time, some newborns can be especially "sleepy" (particularly depending on if they had medications or were exposed to medication during birth). So it is important to ensure that your newborn is feeding at least every two to three hours and, again, to keep a close eye on their diapers and weight gain.

After the first few days or weeks, if their weight gain is on track and they are not waking up every two or three hours overnight on their own to feed, it is usually okay not to wake them, but you should check with your baby's health provider.

"Always, always, the baby should be monitored in terms of their growth and development by qualified healthcare providers," Pérez-Escamilla says.

If you have any concerns at all about your child's feeding, contact an IBCLC.

Here at UNICEF, we know that breastfeeding can be challenging. And we believe that, with support, breastfeeding can be possible. This is why we advocate for governments, societies and systems to provide more support so that women who want to breastfeed to be able to breastfeed – for example, by increasing investment in programs that support breastfeeding, implementing policies such as paid maternity leave and breastfeeding breaks, and offering breastfeeding counselling as part of routine health coverage.