What it is
A latch is how the baby's mouth attaches to the breast. A deep latch takes in the nipple and a large part of the areola. A shallow latch pinches the nipple between the tongue and the roof of the mouth. That is what a painful latch usually is.
Signs of a shallow latch: a nipple that comes out flat or slanted like a new lipstick, lips tucked in instead of flared out like a flange, clicking sounds, and cheeks that dimple as the baby sucks. Signs of a deep latch: chin pressed into the breast, nose free, lips flared, slow deep jaw movement, and swallows you can hear.
Latch problems are the most common reason mothers stop breastfeeding in the first two weeks. They are also the most workable with hands-on help.
What's typical
Some tenderness in the first 30 seconds of a feed is common in the first week or two. Pain that lasts the whole feed is not. Newborns often need many tries to latch well. Each try is normal, not failure. Most mothers find the latch gets much easier by two to three weeks, as the baby's mouth grows. Sleepy babies, babies with a tongue tie, and mothers with flat nipples or very full breasts have a harder time. A lactation visit in the first week catches most problems.
What's known
La Leche League, the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, and the NHS all teach the same core idea: nose to nipple, wait for a wide gape, bring the baby to you chin first. Research on laid-back nursing found babies latch deeper when their whole body is supported and pressed against yours. Pain is a signal, not a toll you must pay.
What helps
- Line the baby's nose up with your nipple, so the head tips back and the chin leads.
- Wait for a wide-open mouth, like a yawn. Bring the baby to the breast, not the breast to the baby.
- Baby's whole body facing you, belly to belly, tucked in close. Pillows under your arm, not under the baby's head.
- If it pinches, break the suction with a clean finger in the corner of the mouth and try again. Sliding off hurts more.
- Try laid-back nursing. Lean back, lay the baby on your chest, and let the baby find the breast.
- A few drops of expressed milk on a sore nipple after feeds. Air-dry when you can.
When to call someone
- Nowa temperature over 100.4 with a hot, red, painful breast.
- Todaycracked, bleeding, or blistered nipples, pain through the whole feed, or the baby not latching at all for several feeds.
- Todaythe baby is not making the expected wet diapers for age.
- At your next visitfeeding works but you dread it, or your nipple still comes out misshapen after two weeks.
Who helps
Tools: Feeding Prep · Birthworker Directory
Related
- Breastfeeding positionsFeeding Your Baby
- Nipple pain, cracks, and healingPostpartum: Your Body
- Tongue and lip tiesFeeding Your Baby
- Nipple shields: when they help, how to wean offFeeding Your Baby
- Is my baby getting enough?Feeding Your Baby
- Finding a lactation consultant (and what IBCLC means)Feeding Your Baby
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Sources
- La Leche League International — Positioning and latching
- NHS — Breastfeeding: positioning and attachment
- Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine — Clinical protocol on persistent pain with breastfeeding
- Global Health Media Project — Attaching your baby at the breast (video)
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