Macca, I would definitely recommend joining the ABA (Australian Breastfeeding Association) and enrolling in one of their classes too if possible. They will be able to give you heaps of GOOD advice. You have already received plenty of bad advice and will recieve a lot more before your parenting journey goes too much further.

It is a fact that feeding your baby every 4 hours will stop you from producing enough milk. This is why so many women who had babies back when this was recommended as policy (and many MCHNs were trained then), ended up formula feeding very early on. Babies are designed to feed often, they have tiny stomachs, the size of their cute little fists. Bfing works on a supply/demand basis. The baby needs to feed often to stimulate your supply. You WILL NOT spoil a baby by feeding on demand.

WRT to whether there is any benefit in bfing, well without re-igniting the whole debate, the answer is Yes. There is a lot of medical research which shows numerous health and development benefits to babies who are bfed. The recommendation of the World Health Organisation (WHO) is to exclusively bf for 6 months, then continue bfing as well as feeding solids until age 2 and beyond.

There is lots of great information on the ABA website, and I do strongly recommend you join. They will be a huge help to you as you learn this new skill. I wish you the best of luck, bfing is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. It can be really hard in the beginning so organise some support now and be aware that it does get much easier as they get a bit bigger. GL.