Baby not latching on properly, need help!

I am experiencing a great deal of pain while nursing. I have discovered, on your website, that the baby is not latching on properly. Her gums are landing at the base of my nipple and apparently should be an inch into the areola. The problem that I have is that my nipples /areolas do not form into the "bottle nipple" shape like the ones in the photos do. Since the areola, for this purpose, is the same as the rest of my breast, I cannot get my baby to latch onto any more than just my nipple. How can I get more of my breast into my baby's mouth?




 

Dear Tammy,

First of all, do not assume that there is something wrong with your nipples. There are women who, whether through birth defects or accidents, have no nipples, but have successfully breastfed. Remember that you are "breastfeeding", not "nipplefeeding." I believe that every mother's nipples are perfect for her baby. Some just take a little longer than others to master the technique of latch-on.

Lanolin can help tremendously with the soreness. Try calling your local hospital pharmacies or Wal-Mart. Two brands that are good are "Pure-Lan 100 (Medela) or Lansinoh. It would be so helpful if you could get in touch with a local La Leche League Leader or a Lactation Consultant. It only takes me a couple minutes to show someone how to do this correctly.

Women are often amazed at the difference in comfort once they've been shown. But I will try to describe what you need to do: Think of this as an exercise. In other words, you are not necessarily trying to latch your baby on, but, instead, just wanting to see what she does with her mouth. Most women are in such a hurry to try to get their baby latched on. The reason you don't want to be in a hurry is because you don't want your baby latching on until you see a mouth that is as wide open as a yawn. By tickling your baby's lips lightly in an up and down motion with your nipple, you will see your baby begin to open and close her mouth. If you continue tickling, you will see her opening and closing, sometimes just a little, sometimes wide. You don't want to do anything until you see that wide open mouth. Sometimes it may take a while at first, but your baby will get the idea eventually, and like everything else, practice makes perfect!

When your baby opens wide, you will also notice that she will make a slight lunging motion toward the breast. This is what you are waiting for . When her mouth is open wide, then you want to bring your baby onto the breast (not push the breast into her mouth.) This is a very fast movement with your arm--think of "RAM"--Rapid Arm Movement." If your baby's mouth is open very wide when you bring her on the breast, then there's no way she can end up on the tip of the nipple.

Once she's on the breast, you may need to keep firm pressure on the back on her head to keep her in close. Sometimes babies may latch on well, but then pull off or slide back down to the tip of the nipple. The closer in she is, the better. Her nose and chin should both be touching your breast. Also, once she is on, check to make sure that her upper and lower lip are flanged outward. You can gently push just below her bottom or just over the top lip to bring out the lip. This is a common problem and will correct itself with time.

One last thing, make sure her head, shoulder, and hips are in alignment. Her body should be turned toward you. You can see how this can cause a problem if you just turn your head to your shoulder and try to swallow. It is very difficult! If a baby is laying on her back with her head turned toward mom, then that is going to translate into sore nipples most of the time. Hope this helps!

Cher Sealy, RN, BSN, IBCLC, LLLL





 

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