Breastfeeding Pillow Guide: How to Choose and Use One Safely

A breastfeeding pillow (or nursing pillow) is a firm cushion that wraps around your waist or sits on your lap to raise your baby to breast height. It can save your arms, shoulders and back, especially in the early weeks, after a C-section, or when you’re feeding twins.

It’s also a product with an important safety rule. Nursing pillows have been linked to infant deaths when babies were left to sleep or lounge on them. This guide covers how to choose one, how to use it for a comfortable latch, and the CPSC and AAP safety rules every parent should know. We don’t rank brands; we explain what to look for.

Do you need a breastfeeding pillow?

The AAP calls nursing pillows optional. Some parents love them, others never use one. They tend to help most when:

• You’re learning to latch and want both hands free to guide your baby.
• You’re recovering from a C-section and want to keep weight off your incision. See our guide to breastfeeding after a C-section.
• You’re feeding two babies at once. Our breastfeeding twins guide covers double positions.
• You have back, neck or wrist pain from holding your baby during long feeds.

Ordinary bed pillows, a rolled towel or a footstool under your feet can do a similar job.

Types of breastfeeding pillows

Type	How it works	Pros	Cons
C- or U-shaped	Curves around your waist on your lap	Versatile; works for cradle and football holds	Can slip or leave a gap at your back
Wraparound with waist strap	Buckles around you like a belt	Stays in place; flat, firm top	Needs to match your waist size; bulkier
Flat, firm wedge	A firm, mostly flat surface on your lap	Good support, less sinking	Less flexible for some positions
Twin pillow	Extra-wide, firm platform	Supports two babies at once	Large and only useful for twins

Note that the CPSC rule bans restraints for the baby on nursing pillows. A strap or belt that goes around you to hold the pillow in place is allowed.

What to look for when buying

• Firmness. A firm surface keeps your baby from sinking and helps keep their body in line with the breast. The federal standard now sets a minimum firmness so the surface can’t easily conform to a baby’s face.
• The right height for your body. Your baby’s nose should line up with your nipple without you leaning forward. If you’re tall or short-waisted, the “standard” height may be too low or too high.
• A snug fit around you. Gaps between the pillow and your body let a baby roll into the space.
• A washable, removable cover. Pillows get milk, spit-up and diaper leaks on them. Having a spare cover helps. Use only the cover made for that pillow: the CPSC is aware of infant deaths associated with slipcovers.
• Clear warning labels. Pillows made after April 23, 2025 must carry a permanent warning, and their packaging must warn against using them for sleep or in cribs, bassinets or play yards.
• No infant straps, harnesses or “lounger” features. A product sold for both nursing and lounging falls under a stricter CPSC rule for infant support cushions.

How to use a breastfeeding pillow for a good latch

1. Sit upright with your back supported and your feet flat, or raised on a stool.
2. Fit the pillow snugly around your waist or across your lap.
3. Lay your baby on their side, facing you, tummy to tummy, with their ear, shoulder and hip in a line.
4. Check the height. Your baby’s nose should be level with your nipple. Add a folded towel under the pillow if your baby is too low.
5. Bring your baby to the breast, not your breast to your baby. Keep supporting your baby with your arm; the pillow helps, but it doesn’t replace your hands.

Our guide on how to breastfeed explains latch and positions in more detail.

Safety: never use a nursing pillow for sleep

This is the most important part of this guide. The CPSC is aware of 154 infant deaths and 64 injuries between 2010 and 2022 associated with nursing pillows, mostly in babies younger than 3 months. Most deaths happened when the pillow was used for sleep or placed in or on a sleep surface. In response, the CPSC adopted a mandatory federal safety standard (16 CFR part 1242) for nursing pillows manufactured after April 23, 2025, with requirements on firmness, openings, seams, restraints and warnings.

The CPSC and AAP safety rules are:

• Use the pillow only for nursing or feeding, while you are awake and paying attention.
• Never use it for infant sleep or lounging, and never prop a baby on it.
• Keep nursing pillows out of cribs, bassinets, play yards and any other place a baby sleeps.
• Never leave a baby alone on a nursing pillow, especially on a bed, sofa or other raised surface.
• If your baby falls asleep while feeding, or you feel drowsy, move your baby to their own sleep space: a flat, bare surface such as a crib, bassinet or play yard, on their back.

The AAP’s 2022 safe sleep guidance specifically lists semi-circular and other nursing pillows among the soft objects that should never be placed under a sleeping baby. It also warns that falling asleep with a baby on a couch or armchair carries a far higher risk of sleep-related death, so if you feed on the sofa at night and feel sleepy, move somewhere safer before you nod off. Our article on what to do when a baby falls asleep while breastfeeding covers this in more detail.

Infant support cushions are a separate rule

Some products look like nursing pillows but are sold for propping or lounging a baby. The CPSC’s infant support cushion rule (16 CFR part 1243), which applies to products manufactured after May 5, 2025, covers loungers, positioners and props, including nursing pillows that are also marketed for lounging. These products may not have restraints, must be firm, and their incline can’t exceed 10 degrees. Even so, they are never a place for sleep.

Cleaning and care

Wash the cover often, following the label. Check the pillow regularly: if it has gone soft, lumpy or flat, or the seams or cover are damaged, replace it. Store it out of the crib and away from where your baby sleeps.

For more help getting started, see our breastfeeding basics hub.

When to call a doctor or lactation consultant

Call 911 right away if your baby is not breathing, turns blue, or is limp or unresponsive.

A lactation consultant (IBCLC) can help if feeds are painful, your baby struggles to latch, or you can’t find a comfortable position, with or without a pillow. Our breastfeeding support page lists where to find one.