When it comes to breastfeeding, each experience and each baby is different. Professionals such as Lactation Consultants, nurses, physicians, speech therapists, occupational therapists and dietitians are ready and able to assist — helping with education, positioning, latch, and making the breastfeeding relationship successful and gratifying. But what happens when more help is needed? Baby can’t latch onto the breast. Mom and baby are on a string of seemingly endless days and nights. Frustration is mounting, and despite the best efforts of your support system and team, it seems that supplementation is the next or only best option.
The missing link could be regulation or optimal state control.
What’s that?
When babies are born, they have very little ability to regulate (organize, process) all the information they are receiving from their surroundings. They gradually develop this as they grow and develop, but at first, all the new sounds, sights, textures, people, and activity can be very overwhelming, and overstimulation can make breastfeeding very difficult to achieve.
We often focus on the right positioning, getting a good latch, etc., but before all that – baby needs to be in a certain “state of control” for their immature nervous systems to even be able to handle and achieve these basic tasks we are asking them to do. Parents play a key role in helping baby relax and calm down so that they are able to use the reflexes they were born with to learn new skills like latching onto the breast and suckling.
“Regulation before feeding”
Some babies simply need movement and holding to get them settled before the breast can be introduced. Movements such as standing and rocking combined with touching and holding skin to skin can give just the right amount of feedback for baby to get into an optimal state to latch. In fact, many babies need to attempt latching while the mom is standing and moving to help them feel connected and regulated. This is called “movement nursing” by some professionals. Rocking in a rocking chair while latching can also be helpful.
Other babies need more calming to focus on the task of feeding. In these cases, strategies that take baby “back to the womb” can be extremely comforting and encouraging. For instance, a mother can try to latch while in the bathtub, or pretend like it’s Day 1 again, and have baby practice the breast crawl as he or she would likely have done in the magic hour after birth.
A key is knowing your baby’s unique sensory tendencies and cues. If you feel that your baby is having a hard time regulating or processing the stimulation he or she is receiving from the environment, seek out the guidance of a professional. An evaluation with an occupational therapist can be particularly helpful to help problem-solve these types of feeding issues.
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