A Good Latch and Breastfeeding Tools (Nursing)

00:01 Now I want to talk to you about latch.

00:04 Because making sure the baby is well-latched is super important and not only to encourage breastfeeding, because if the baby's not latched on well, you can cause blistering and nipple trauma.

00:14 But also, if we don't have a good latch, we don't get good suckling.

00:19 And why do we need the suckling? Exactly, to release the prolactin.

00:23 So I want to show you what a good latch looks like.

00:26 So if you see on my nipple here.

00:28 We've got an erect nipple.

00:30 We want to make sure that we introduce the breast into the baby's mouth.

00:35 Now in this case, the baby's mouth is already open.

00:38 But we want to make sure the baby's mouth is wide open like an 'O' before we tried to introduce the breast.

00:44 If the baby's mouth is closed, and we try to stuff the nipple into the mouth, then that's not going to facilitate a good latch.

00:52 Also, we want to be careful about where we touch the baby's face.

00:56 Because the baby has a reflex.

00:58 Remember, the rooting reflex we talked about in newborn assessment.

01:03 Anywhere we touch the baby's face, the baby's going to move their head.

01:07 So if I'm trying to get the baby into a cradle hole, like this, and then I'm touching the baby's cheek like this, where's the baby's head gonna go? That way, which is the opposite of where I want.

01:19 So if I want the baby to turn their head in, that I need to touch the cheek that's close to where the breast is.

01:25 Okay, so good latch, I'm gonna make sure the baby's mouth is open.

01:29 I'm going to introduce the nipple.

01:31 I'm going to let the baby munch down like a Pac-Man, and inside, and that's what it looks like.

01:38 So if you can see from this picture, the nipple is actually pulled all the way into the baby's mouth.

01:44 So if it's right on the edge, then that little nibble with those gums is going to be really painful.

01:49 And it's going to produce blisters, which is going to make breastfeeding really uncomfortable for the birthing person.

01:55 You'll also notice sound with a good latch.

01:58 If we have a good latch, you're going to hear the baby swallowing either the colostrum or the mature milk.

02:04 But if there's a poor latch, it's gonna sound like a smack.

02:10 So smacking is not good because that means there's a poor latch.

02:15 Speaking of poor latch, I want to make a point about the nipple anatomy and the variations that we can have.

02:22 So in this case, what you notice about the nipple is that it's erect.

02:24 So it's sticking out like this.

02:27 If we have a situation where the nipple is not sticking out, so let's say the nipple is flat, can you see that? You can imagine that it would be a little bit more difficult for the baby to latch on.

02:38 And that could be made even more difficult if we have an inverted nipple, where the nipples actually almost inside like this.

02:45 So we actually have to work on getting that nipple pulled out in order for the baby to have something to latch on to.

02:52 And in this case, wearing a nipple shield might be a solution to help that happen.

02:58 So now let's talk about some tools we can use to actually supplement breastfeeding when it's a little bit more challenging or difficult.

03:05 Now everyone cannot produce milk, and everyone doesn't decide to breastfeed.

03:10 But everyone and every baby actually can have donor milk.

03:14 Most facilities and hospitals offer a donor milk program, we only have to ask.

03:19 So make sure that your clients know that donor milk is available if they need or want that option.

03:25 We can also expressed milk, either by hand or by pump, and we can give the baby the breast milk in a bottle.

03:32 If perhaps the birthing person is making milk, but maybe not enough milk to meet the demand of the baby, we can actually supplement a little bit of formula to go along with the breast milk, not letting go of the breast milk but adding to.

03:47 We can also think about babies that maybe have a poor sup reflex or maybe a baby that needs to use less energy in the eating process.

03:56 We can do finger feeding or we can do syringe feeding to actually make that process a little bit easier.

04:01 So we add the breast milk to a syringe and then slowly introduce that milk into the corner cheek of the baby's mouth.

04:09 And then they're going through the process otherwise of sucking and drinking the breast milk.

04:15 We can use breast pumps that either are handheld or we can use electric pumps.

04:20 Now often in the hospital we have what are called hospital grade pumps, which have actually a pretty strong vacuum system a lot stronger than home systems.

04:29 So if you have a client that's going to be breastfeeding at home maybe to supplement feedings or is having some difficulty producing milk.

04:37 Then we might want to recommend an electric hospital grade pump because it works a little bit better.