Breastfeeding Your Baby Preview | Page 5

Latching and Milk Transfer

A good latch is key to a successful breastfeeding relationship. A good latch should be comfortable for you and effective at transferring milk to the baby. Toward the back of the roof of baby’ s mouth, the hard palate changes to a soft palate. Your baby needs to take in enough breast tissue so that the nipple goes to the soft palate. Generally, this means taking most or all of the areola into the mouth, and not just the end of the nipple. Trying to breastfeed with a shallow latch will cause you pain and frustrate both you and your baby.
Latching and Feeding
Transferring Milk
Several days after birth when your milk volume increases, you may notice changes in the way baby breastfeeds. When your baby first attaches to the breast, initial sucking can seem choppy, have a lot of tongue movement and look like nibbling. This initial suckling triggers your let-down reflex, which causes milk to flow freely into baby’ s mouth.
Once milk is flowing, baby will usually switch to

Preview a deep, rhythmic sucking with pauses. As baby drinks, you can see their jaw or ears moving and hear quiet swallowing.

In the beginning, it can be difficult to tell if baby is latched well. Use these tips to help:
• When latching, baby’ s mouth should open
Avoid Bottles and Pacifiers for very wide( as pictured to the left). They the First Few Weeks should take in a large amount of areola, with their lips flared out( as pictured above).
Breastfeeding and bottle-feeding involve different positions and actions of your
• Baby’ s chin should touch the breast and their baby’ s tongue. While breastfeeding, their head should be tipped back slightly. tongue curls
• If the latch is painful or shallow, break the around the suction by pressing on baby’ s cheek at the bottom of the corner of the lips, then take baby off the nipple and pulls breast and begin again. it deep into the
• When a good latch is established, continue to
mouth, then
support baby’ s neck and back and keep their
works in a wavelike
body close. Use pillows to support your arms and back.
action. With bottles, the
• Feed for as long as baby shows interest and
tongue is toward
is actively nursing. When activity slows, offer
the back of the mouth. Because of this,
the other breast. Some babies will be satisfied
using artificial nipples in the early weeks
with just one breast at a feeding.
of breastfeeding can cause challenges
• It is common for a nursing blister to form on
with latching( sometimes called nipple
the middle of a breastfed newborn’ s upper
confusion). These challenges may include
lip. This does not indicate poor latching.
difficulty moving milk or a painful latch.
Often this will simply flake off and a new one
It is recommended that you avoid using
will form in its place. Long-term or severe
artificial nipples until breastfeeding is well
blistering may need attention from a lactation
established( at least three to four weeks).
professional.
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