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Suck Problems During Breastfeeding

Baby not sucking properly?

Here are some breastfeeding tips and advice on how to deal with various suck problems during breastfeeding.

Oral problems that can interfere with breastfeeding

- Cleft palate or a cleft lip palate – Baby is not able to create a seal while breastfeeding so that he can suck properly.

- A retracted jaw or retracted tongue – Baby’s cheeks are usually dimpled and when baby breastfeeds he usually makes some clicking sounds. You will need to make sure that baby’s head and neck are positioned right. Short term use of a nipple shield can help baby feed with a retracted jaw.

- U-shaped cleft palate – Also called “Pierre-Robin malformation

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sequence” or “Microngnathia” This is when the tongue is positioned too far back in the mouth and on the outside the chin looks recessed.

- Tongue tie – Also called “short tongue” or “short frenulum” . This is when the frenulum, the membrane that attaches the tongue to the floor of the mouth, is unusually short, making it difficult for the baby

to pull out his tongue far enough to grasp the underside of mom’s nipple.

- Baby has oral thrush and this can cause discomfort while breastfeeding.

Other things that can cause baby to have suck problems

1. Your baby is sleepy most of the time

- Your baby is premature or your baby might have some medical issues

2. Baby keeps rooting for the breast but doesn’t attach himself

- Neurologically impaired babies often have this breastfeeding problem, try to firmly support baby’s body and control his head and jaw

3. A habit that may have developed in the womb, is when baby sucks his own tongue this can then in turn also affect the breastfeeding relationship and cause some suck problems

4. Baby bites down on your nipple instead of sucking

- Try to increase baby’s awareness of his mouth by playing with his mouth

5. Your baby has a weak suck usually caused through newborn sleepiness

- This is when your breast keeps popping out of baby’s mouth. Make sure that baby is latched on correctly and try

supporting baby’s head and jaw. This can also be caused through mom having very large breasts or nipples... read more on this here

6. Baby is uncomfortable during breastfeeding – Try the different breastfeeding positions

7. Infant tongue thrust and breastfeeding

Tongue thrusting is when you put your tongue between your teeth before swallowing. Babies have a tongue thrust reflex that protects them against choking. When a foreign substance is placed in their mouths they will immediately push it back out.

Breastfeeding a baby with chronic tongue thrust can cause huge breastfeeding problems. Many moms will need to train their baby’s tongues so that when they breastfeed, they stop thrusting the tongue. The training usually involves putting a gloved finger into baby’s mouth and pressing down. Babies are then taught to suck correctly.

If your child has tongue thrust, breastfeeding is the best choice since it helps baby develop his teeth and jaw. The sucking during breastfeeding encourages the growth of straight, healthy teeth.

Tongue thrust is more common among bottle-fed babies. Doctors have found that forward tongue thrusting in infants can result in breathing from the mouth, lip biting, gum disease and strange facial features.

Some breastfeeding moms might find that baby only has this tongue thrusting problems when they try to feed baby purities or other solids. Moms should just remember that children are still developing during the first few years and that usually by the age of 6 any normal thrusting should lessen. 97% of all newborns have tongue thrust when they swallow. By the age of about 12 children have usually grown completely out of tongue thrusting.

8. Baby doesn’t want to open his mouth for the breast

- This usually happens because of a clenching jaw. Try beginning the rooting reflex by putting your nipple near the top of baby’s mouth just under his nose. Sometimes you will have to help baby open his mouth. This sometimes happens when baby is not fully alert or awake.

9. Nipple Confusion “nipple preference”

What is nipple confusion?

When breastfed babies are given an artificial nipple to drink from they might become confused and not know how to drink from the breast. These two feeding methods entail completely different tongue and mouth movements and swallowing skills.

During breastfeeding a baby uses he’s jaw and lips to pump and grip the nipple and breast for effective breast drainage. The suction needed during breastfeeding actually helps for oral development in babies.

Not all babies will develop nipple confusion, some babies have no problem going back and forth between the bottle and the breast. It also usually only occurs in the first few weeks of baby’s life.

Read more on nipple confusion here

- The best thing to do if you would really like your baby to drink from an artificial nipple sometimes too is to introduce it early enough (after 6 weeks) so that baby can get familiar with both the breast and artificial nipple. This can really help if mom is thinking of returning to work after a few months, because baby will need to drink the pumped breast milk from the artificial nipple.

If your baby has any of these suck problems it will be best to get help from a lactation consultant. Until these problems have been sorted out you will be able to supplement baby with pumped breast milk. Some moms might even decide to pump exclusively. Most babies with these breastfeeding problems can overcome them with your patience, perseverance and with some professional help.