Baby's Issues
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Although mothers usually shoulder all the blame when breastfeeding does no go well, in reality many breastfeeding challenges come because the baby may have issues that prevent him from nursing properly. Some babies need extra help. Most common causes in baby are related to oral and motor skills, or muscle strength and endurance; they may be premature or near-term infants, they may have tongue and lip ties, breathing or swallowing issues making it hard for them to managing milk flow, sensory integration, oral defensiveness, or Down syndrome that involves a diminished muscle tone.
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Oral Motor Skills and Breastfeeding
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Babies can have challenges that hinder them from breastfeeding properly. Breastfeeding involves sucking, swallowing, and breathing. If a baby has challenges in any of these areas, then he will have challenges with breastfeeding effectively.
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Feed the Baby: When a Baby Needs Extra Help
Lactation consultants say that the first rule is to “feed the baby” in a way that is comfortable as well as efficient for weight gain and development. Read more...
What You don't Know Could Help You
Mothers struggling to overcome breastfeeding issues such as low supply, tongue tie, poor latch, slow infant weight gain, breast refusal, etc. may see improvement by addressing their baby's oral motor skills with a specialized therapist. Read more...
Tongue and Lip Ties
Tongue and lip ties are among the most common cause of breastfeeding difficulties among babies, however they are commonly underdiagnosed or dismissed as not a problem. Read more...
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Oral Defensiveness
Oral defensiveness, also called oral aversion, is when a baby can’t stand having something close to or in his mouth. In therapeutic jargon, this is called “intolerance and refusal.” Read more...
Finding the Help You Need
The arrival of a new baby is a very emotional time, and unexpected worries about breastfeeding can be overwhelming. Along with concrete breastfeeding questions, the family is now dealing with difficult emotions such as helplessness, fear, anger and grief. Read more...
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Long Term Baby's Issues
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In the previous sections we discussed some of the most common causes of breastfeeding difficulties in infants. Some such as prematurity or preterm infants and tongue and lip ties that have been released need specialized management, but the baby becomes stronger and may not need many weeks of specialized care to strengthen tongue muscles that have not had a chance to work effectively, sometimes however, some situations require further help.
Babies with sensory issues that affect how they experiences the world, Down syndrome or difficulties that involve more than oral or endurance issues will need specialized help for a longer period of time. |
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Breastfeeding and the Sensory World of the Baby, Part I
When a baby is born, he moves from a familiar womb environment where light is barely perceived and sound from the outside world is muffled to a place full of new sensations that reach him directly through his eyes, ears, mouth, nose, skin and body. Read more...
Breastfeeding and the Sensory World of the Baby, Part II
Many times, sensory integration differences show up as feeding challenges. The baby may have difficulties feeding, whether he is breastfed or bottle fed. In some cases, his distress signals are mild and easily missed when he is a newborn. Read more...
Milk Flow: It's at the Heart of Breastfeeding
When people think about milk flow and breastfeeding at all, it is often in relation to a mother not having enough milk. Fast flow can be of concern, too. In this article, we will explore both. Read more...
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When a Baby Refuses to Nurse: Problems that Can Lead to Breastfeeding Refusal and Possible Solutions
"Babies were born to breastfeed." We often read ads such as this from a breastfeeding awareness campaigns, and of course, this is true. But what is a mother to do when her baby does the unthinkable and refuses to feed from the breast? Read more...
Helping Babies who Have Down Syndrome Learn to Breastfeed
The breastfeeding experience is one of the first hands-on lessons that we as parents learn with our children. Sometimes these lessons do not come easily, as when our son with Down syndrome was born. Read more...
The Role of the IBCLC
The IBCLC is a professional hired for her expertise. Her skills complement the mother-to-mother help of the counselor. The IBCLC in the workplace, such as the hospital clinic, physician's office, or in the client’s home usually has a short-term contact that lasts until the breastfeeding difficulty has been overcome. Read more...
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