When your baby can't latch after birth ....






Why might it might be happening : 
  •      Separation of mum and baby (missed feeding cues and the baby gets too frantic         to latch)
  •       No Skin to Skin after birth.
  •       Birth Trauma (vacumn, forcepts, rough  suctioning)
  •       Medications given during labour  can make him sleepy.
  •       Mucousy babies sometimes don’t feel hungry .
  •       Inability to latch (tongue tie, large nipple , engorgement) 

     What to do 
  •     Lots and lots of skin to skin
  •    Never force the baby on the breast , don’t push his head, stop and soothe if too      upset to try latching.  read more here 
  •   Watch for hunger cues – keep your baby near you as you will notice first  .  See hunger cues - 
  •     Try Laid Back Nursing/ biological nurturing .  Watch it 
  •     Shape the breast into a “U” or “C” shape to help baby attach.
  •    Try feeding lying down . 
  •    Try Reverse Pressure Softening if the areola is puffy. How to do RPS 
  •    Feed the baby with colostrum every 2-3 hours (about 3-5 mls if possible) . Hand    expression works  much better on day 1 -3.  How to hand express 
  •     Keep trying to latch – keep doing skin to skin .
  •     Avoid bottles in the early days, Cups/spoons, syringe feeding will  avoid  flow /nipple confusion. 
  •     Nipple shields should not be used until after your milk has come in.   
     A baby who has  still not latched by 24 hours needs to be assessed by an IBCLC .
 Finally  remember this is temporary , it doesn't mean your baby will never breastfeed – it’s not your fault, your baby is not rejecting you. 


1 comment:

Aileen Hansing said...

I wish I could have read this after my first and second sections 14 and 11 years ago. Love the emphasis on hunger cues and skin to skin. There was no awareness of these when I started, or of encouraging baby's innate ability to latch. It worked out in the end, but it was hard to get there!