In plain words
In breastfeeding, attachment means how the baby's mouth fits onto the breast. It is often called a latch. A good attachment lets the baby draw milk well and feel comfortable, and it protects the nipple. Poor attachment is the usual cause of early nipple pain and damage, and a major reason feeding stops early. You may hear the word in parenting talk too, where attachment means the emotional bond between a parent and child. That is a different idea. When a feed hurts, the baby seems frustrated, or weight gain is slow, a can watch a feed. Small changes in position and mouth fit often make a difference.
The deeper version
Attachment, or latch, is the mechanical interface between the infant's oral structures and the breast, with the nipple and drawn deep into the oral cavity. Effective attachment requires coordinated jaw movement, lip flanging, tongue cupping, and generation (Geddes and colleagues, 2008). Its failure is the proximate cause of most early nipple pain and trauma and a leading contributor to early cessation in observational cohorts. Attachment is assessed with tools such as (Jensen and colleagues, 1994) and the Infant Breastfeeding Assessment Tool, which have modest inter-rater agreement. The controversy concerns whether improved attachment alone changes breastfeeding duration, since tongue and lip restriction, supply, and maternal factors also contribute.
Where it comes up
- Getting a deep latchFeeding Your Baby
- Nipple pain, cracks, and healingPostpartum: Your Body
- Breastfeeding positionsFeeding Your Baby
What mothers here say about attachment
No one has posted under this term yet.
Sources
- Geddes DT and colleagues, Early Human Development — Tongue movement and intraoral vacuum in breastfeeding infants (2008)
- Jensen D and colleagues — LATCH: a breastfeeding charting system and documentation tool (1994)