By Sr Teresa Hayward (RN, RM, Lactation consultant, Infant & Paediatric Nutritionist, Baby Sleep Consultant)
Helping your baby to latch on to your breast can take practice, but with support of a Lactation consultant, patience and time, it should become easier. Once your baby is latching on well, you'll feel comfortable, and your baby will be able to feed happily and easily.
Your baby needs to get a good mouthful of breast when she starts to feed. You can encourage this by checking that:
Her mouth is as wide open as possible before she attaches to your breast.
Her tongue, bottom lip and chin touch your breast first.
Once attached, her chin is touching your breast, and her nose is free.
Feeding your baby should never hurt, though you may get a tingling feeling deep in your breast as your milk lets down, although some moms never feel their letdown. You may find letdown uncomfortable for the first 30 seconds or so, as your baby does vigorous sucks to get your milk flowing. This soon settles, so if you continue to be in pain after half a minute, it's a sign that your baby isn't latched on properly. Gently insert your finger between your baby's mouth and your breast to break the seal, and then try again. If you carry on feeding while it hurts, you'll probably end up with sore, cracked nipples. Talk to your Lactation consultant to help with latching on. However, if your baby starts to feed almost immediately, it's a good sign that all is going well. During a feed, you should notice her change from a few short, quick sucks, to slow, deep sucks. She may pause a few times while she's feeding and then start sucking again, without you needing to coax her. If you look down at your baby while she's feeding, her head should be tipped back. She should be able to breathe easily during the feed, without you needing to push your breast away from her nose. You should be able to see more of the dark part of your breast (the areola) above your baby's top lip than below her bottom lip. Your baby's cheeks should be full and rounded as she feeds. You may notice her ears wiggling as her jaws work to draw milk from your breast and the temporal muscle moving. Once your baby has started to feed, she should relax, and stay relaxed, until she's had enough milk. If she is wriggling around or fighting, she is probably not latched on well. Have a look at your nipple when she's finished her feed. If your nipple is squashed rather than drawn out, it probably wasn't far back enough in your baby's mouth. You nipple should look like it did before feeding, in other words, the nipple should never misshapen. If your milk flows very fast after it's come in, about three days after the birth, your baby may struggle with the flow. To help your baby with this, try the laid-back position. Gravity will help to slow your flow of milk, as it'll have to go upwards to reach your baby. This helps your baby have a calmer feed. Your baby may let go of your breast on her own when she's finished. Try not to hurry her off, though, as she may just be having a short rest before starting again. An average feed should be about 20 to 30min, never longer than 40min. If she takes a few sucks and then goes to sleep, try to keep her on you as she may wake soon after and be ready to feed. Those few sucks may just be what she needed to soothe her and help her relax – a bit like when you fancy a warm drink before bed. If you are still having problems, make an appointment with your Lactation consultant.
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