A shallow latch can be a common and painful issue when breastfeeding. If your baby has a shallow latch, not only can it cause nipple pain, it also prevents your baby from getting enough milk. The most common indicator of a shallow latch will be a painful nipple, as it may take some time to notice baby’s poor milk intake.
Here are some tips which may help to get baby to get a deeper latch.
- 1. Wait for baby to open their mouth wide.
Be patient and wait for baby to open their mouth wide. Bring baby to your breast rather than your breast to baby. It is helpful to bring baby to the breast with their chin touching the breast first and your nipple up their nose. This gets them into the correct position, and encourages them to open their mouth wide over the nipple before latching.
If your baby needs some encouragement to open their mouth, you can hand express some milk and touch it to your baby’s lips.
- 2. If the latch is shallow, break the latch and try again.
If you notice that the latch is shallow, place your baby finger in the corner of baby’s mouth to break the suction before taking your baby off the breast and trying to get a deeper latch again.
Signs of a shallow latch:
- Pain
- Cracked or bleeding nipples
- Compressed/pinched nipple after feeding
- Clicking sound
- Milk leaking from the mouth
- Milk supply decreasing
- 3. Try a laid back breastfeeding position
This position promotes baby’s innate ability to breastfeed and helps baby to get a deeper latch. In this position baby rests against your chest and gravity assists with the latch.
- 4. Shape the breast to help baby latch.
When feeding in the cross cradle position, use your hand in a “U” shape under the breast to compress the breast and make it easier for baby to latch. Think about how you would compress a sandwich to get it into your mouth. You will want ensure you place your baby’s chi upward towards the breast with baby’s upper lip beneath the nipple.
- 5. Skin to skin.
Practicing regular skin to skin contact can help both you and baby relax, in turn helping baby to latch on more deeply.
- 6. If the shallow latch is persistent and breastfeeding continues to be painful, contact an IBCLC near you for help. Find an IBCLC near you through www.alcireland.ie