baby & toddler
“The most important part of successful
breastfeeding is the latch,” says The
American Pregnancy Association.
If your baby is not properly latched
on your breast, or positioned
correctly, feedings can be painful.
They recommend the following
techniques and positioning
to ensure a good latch:
● Breastfeed in a comfortable
chair with good back support.
Use a stool to rest your feet on as
this will help with good posture
and prevent you from straining
your neck and shoulders.
● If you have a feeding pillow, use
it to get your baby in the correct
position to latch onto your breast.
You can do this either lying
down on your side, or cradle her
on your lap with the pillow.
● Make sure your baby is tummy-
to-tummy with you at all times.
● Don’t lean into your baby when
feeding, bring her to you.
● Keep your baby’s ear, shoulder
and hip in alignment as this
will make swallowing easier.
● Your baby’s nose should be on
the opposite side of your nipple.
● Hold your breast to guide your
nipple to your baby’s mouth.
Grasp your breast on the sides,
using either a “C” hold or “U”
hold. Keep your fingers far from
your nipple so you don’t affect
how your little one latches on.
● Aim your nipple toward your baby’s
upper lip/nose and not the middle
of her mouth. You might have to rub
your nipple across your baby’s top
lip to get her to open her mouth.
● Your baby’s head should be
titled back slightly when she
latches on. Her chin should
not be resting on her chest.
● When she opens her mouth wide
with her chin dropped and tongue
down, she should latch onto your
nipple. If this doesn’t happen, don’t
shove your nipple in her mouth.
Move back, tickle her lip again and
wait for her to open her mouth.
● Try to get as much of the lower portion
of the areola (the area around the
nipple) in your baby’s mouth.
● Your baby’s chin should indent
the lower portion of your breast.
● Your baby’s bottom and top lip
should look like fish lips. If they
aren’t, you can use your finger to
pull the bottom one down and
open the top one up more. »13 STEPS TO A GOOD LATCH
L&L | AUGUST 2019 | 37