Breastfeeding Support
Breastfeeding Support
How to Know if Baby is Getting Enough Milk?
Handout #4: "Is My Baby Getting Enough Milk?"
Handout #25: "Slow Weight Gain After the First Few Months"
Increasing the Milk Supply
Handout #24: "Miscellaneous Treatments"
Breast Compression
Handout #15: "Breast Compression"
Compression - The technique of compression is demonstrated, and it can be seen that the baby drinks more milk as the breast is compressed. The mother starts the compression as the baby sucks, but does not get milk. It is important to work with the baby and compress only when the baby is sucking (moving his/her mouth).
Compression Two - Young babies tend to fall asleep at the breast when the flow of milk slows. This clip shows that as the baby gets more milk, the baby opens up her eyes. The technique of compression is shown.
Starting Out Right
- Starting Out Right (PDF)
- Skin To Skin (PDF)
- Breast Milk Protects Newborns (PDF)
- 101 Reasons To Breastfeed
Latches
by Anne Barnes -- Instructions with diagrams of how to latch the baby on
Handout #26: "When the Baby Refuses to Latch On"
First Latch - How to achieve the "asymmetrical" latch. Shows some drinking by the baby (see Third Latch for more obvious drinking), some nibbling.
Second Latch - Baby is mostly nibbling at the breast. Compression is being used to get the baby to drink more. Another "asymmetric" latch is shown. Note that after re-latching the baby drinks better than before, and compression is not necessary to get the baby to drink.
Third Latch - Shows baby latching on with "asymmetric" latch. Then later, video shows the baby getting milk. The pause in the chin tells us when the baby is getting milk and the absence of the pause means the baby is not getting milk. The pause can be seen even on the very first day of life, though obviously not as obviously, as the more milk the baby gets, the longer the pause. The pause does not represent swallowing, but rather the baby's mouth filling up with milk.
Asymmetric Latch - This clip shows how, by pushing in the baby's bottom with her forearm (with help), the mother moves the baby around into a more "asymmetric" latch, gets the baby to drink more (more obvious "pauses" at the point of the chin). The mother's right hand should be palm up under the baby's face, rather than on the baby's shoulder
Asymmetric Latch Two - The mother shifts the baby around on her own, at about 30 seconds and 38 seconds into the clip, with the baby obviously starting to drink more once she is positioned more asymmetrically.
Troubleshooting
- Blocked Ducts and Mastitis
- Lecithin for blocked ducts
- Engorgement
- Guilt
- Maternal or Infant Illness
- Jaundice
- Sore nipples/ sore breasts
- Medications
- Sore nipples
- Yeast/Thrush/Candida
- Fluconazole for yeast treatment
- Gentian Violet