I keep hearing how important latching is. How will I know
if my baby is correctly latched?
Firstly you should check that your baby has more than just
your nipple in baby’s mouth. The nipple itself should
not hurt during feeding (unless you have cracked nipples
or a nipple problem). The baby should have a good mouthful
of breast tissue in baby’s wide open mouth, and there
should be more of the dark area of the nipple visible above
the top lip than below the bottom lip. Baby’s lips
should not be rolled inwards but rather splayed out over
the breast. Sometimes if the baby is sucking only on the
nipple a clicking sound will be heard.
When sucking the baby should have regular sucking action
and be stopping for breathe every few sucks. Check to see
if baby’s ears are wriggling, indicating strong motion
of bottom jaw. The chin and tip of baby’s nose should
be touching the breast.
If your baby is very sleepy or struggles to latch, try
the following tips. It is vital that you make sure that
you both relaxed and comfortable before attempting feeding.
You need to have as little distraction as possible, and
baby will pick up very quickly if you are struggling. So
take a few deep breathes! Now make sure that you have plenty
of contact with baby and especially naked skin contact.
Wake baby by stroking the skin – you will soon figure
out which part of the body is sensitive and best able to
wake baby. Once awake, hold baby in your arms and stroke
the mouth with your nipple to encourage the start of feeding.
Baby can be encouraged to seek the breast if you express
some colostrum directly onto baby’s lips. Make sure
you are sitting up straight and bringing the baby up to
the breast, instead of hunching over and pushing the breast
into the baby’s mouth. The let baby do the work and
take the breast.
If you do need to take the baby off the breast for any
reason, use your little finger to break the suction on your
breast, before moving the baby off. Pulling without breaking
the suction can cause pain.
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