–Dr. Sarah Winward, ND YDD Board Certified Lactation Consultant and Infant Craniosacral Therapist
The 2 most common tips I give parents to help improve their baby’s latch are:
- Lean back
- Tuck your baby’s bum
I say these to almost every parent I help with latching! So, I wanted to explain what I mean and why these two tips are helpful.
FIRST, let’s talk about leaning back – this is so helpful for so many reasons. Leaning your body back further in your chair helps bring your baby on deeper. Deeper means that more of your breast tissue is in their mouth and your nipple is further back on their palate. All of these things mean that you’ll experience less pain, if you’re having pain. It also takes the weight of your baby off of your arms and more onto your chest. Holding the weight of your baby when they’re 6 lbs may not be a big deal, but a 15 lb baby can be hard to hold with just your hand! Lastly, if you have fast let downs, leaning back is going to help to make the flow more manageable for your baby.
SECOND, what do I even mean by “tuck their bum”? Honestly, this is easier to explain with some hand gestures so check out this video for more information! But, the goal of this adjustment is to bring your baby’s head further away from their chest. If I were to ask you to chug a glass of water, what would you do with your head? You’d tip it back. In order for baby’s to effectively stimulate your breasts and to easily drink the milk that’s coming, they need to be tipped back in the same position.
Check out the infographic below to get a visual of what I mean!
