Latching 101: How to Achieve a Good Breastfeeding Latch
Tummy to mummy
Nose to nip
Flex the hips
To open the lips
This post is part of our breastfeeding series, written in collaboration with Lauren Walker, Certified Lactation Counselor and owner of The Childbirth Circle. Check out other posts with the ‘breastfeeding’ tag.
So far on our blog, we’ve had some good posts about breastfeeding. We’ve talked about what a good latch looks like, and we’ve covered signs that your latch needs work. If you haven’t checked those out, be sure to take a look! This blog post will cover how we can achieve a good latch. We’ll first start with positioning, then we’ll give you our 7 steps to latching on. We’ll also share some of our favorite latching tips.
Latching Foundations
Before you latch your baby on, there are a few things we want to cover. Here’s our favorite rhyme to help you and your baby achieve a good position prior to latching:
Tummy to mummy
Nose to nip
Flex the hips
To open the lips
Tummy to mummy
We want the baby to be facing you, with their ear, shoulder, and hips in alignment. It’s hard to swallow with your head turned over your shoulder, and babies aren’t able to nurse efficiently with their heads turned. So the first step is to make sure baby is in a comfortable position to feed.
Nose to nip
When preparing to latch your baby on, we want their nose to be pointing at your nipple. It might seem counterintuitive because we want the baby’s mouth to latch onto the nipple, so it seems like common sense to insert the nipple directly into the mouth. There’s actually a lot more to it!
We want the nipple to reach all the way back to the baby’s soft palate. When you point the nose at your nipple, the baby will tip their head back, allowing the nipple to fall into the mouth at the best angle for achieving this deep latch. When we latch with the nipple pointing at the lips, this can cause the nipple to fall lower in the mouth, potentially creating nipple compression issues.
Flex the Hips to Open the Lips
If you were sitting at a high-top table, about to take a big bite out of a huge, juicy cheeseburger, you’d want a place for your feet to rest. Flexing your hips will help you feel more stable and enable you to open your mouth wider. The same thing is true for your baby. Stability is important for helping the baby open the mouth wide. Reclined or laid-back nursing can also help the baby feel more stable.
Seven Steps to a Smooth Latch
Now that we’ve covered the foundation, let’s move on to the thing we’re all here for: latching your baby! Here are our seven steps to success:
1. Position yourself comfortably.
First, choose a position that is comfortable to you. You may be here a while, and we don’t want any unnecessary strain on your body!
2. Hold your baby close, tummy facing you.
Remember that your baby’s ear, shoulder, and hip should be in a straight line.
3. Make sure the baby’s hips are flexed.
Support your baby’s feet to encourage hip flexion.
4. Line your baby’s nose up with your nipple.
Remember, we don’t want the nipple to point at the mouth.
5. Let the baby’s head tip back and wait for the baby to open their mouth WIDE.
The wider the mouth, the deeper the baby can latch.
6. Quickly pull the baby onto the breast.
Bring the baby to your breast, not the other way around.
7. The chin should touch the breast before the top of the mouth does.
The chin will act as a pivot point during the latch.
Latching Tips
Breaking the seal: If the latch isn’t quite right, break the seal by inserting a finger into the corner of baby’s mouth. Don’t pull the baby off the breast while they’re still latched on. This can cause damage to the breast tissue, increasing pain.
Express colostrum: Babies don’t have great eyesight, so hand-expressing a small amount of colostrum can help baby smell or taste where they need to aim for and get them interested in feeding.
Bring the baby to you: It’s a lot of unnecessary strain on the body when you bring your body to the baby. Instead, hold baby close and bring the baby to the breast, not the other way around.
Baby needs their hands: Often, we see moms swaddling babies and pinning their hands down away from the breast. Newborns need their hands to help navigate breastfeeding, so we recommend leaving them out. However, those tiny fingers can be painful when they get inside the mouth, so it’s okay to move the hands away from the nipple.
Support is paramount: Use a breastfeeding pillow, or regular pillows or blankets to support your body during breastfeeding. This helps to avoid strain and pain later on. We recommend keeping your pillows next to your favorite feeding chair.
We hope this guide has been helpful. If you’re having trouble latching your baby on, reach out to us! The Childbirth Circle offers in-home lactation support with our Certified Lactation Counselors. If you’re having trouble, we want to help!
If you want to learn more about breastfeeding, we’re launching our very first breastfeeding class next month! We’ll cover everything you need to know to get started on your breastfeeding journey. Be sure to watch our social media pages for updates!
