Will lying down to breastfeed cause overbite?

In order to save trouble, some mothers like to feed their babies while lying down, especially when feeding their babies with a bottle. If the baby lies down to drink milk for a long time, the baby's mandible will stretch forward excessively, which can easily cause an overbite. After all, the child's bones are in the process of development and are relatively soft. In addition to easily causing an overbite, lying down to drink milk can also have adverse effects on the baby's health.

Drinking milk while lying down has many harmful effects

When the child is one or two years old, many young parents like to let the baby lie down to breastfeed in order to save trouble or to exercise the child. Experts say that this is actually not advisable. Letting the baby lie down to breastfeed is not good for the baby's health, but will bring many disadvantages.

1. Baby’s teeth are damaged

Don’t think that it’s easy to drink milk while lying down. This convenience comes at a price, and that price is the health of your baby’s teeth. When the baby lies down to drink milk, almost all of his front teeth are immersed in the milk. If the baby falls asleep while drinking, the milk remaining in the mouth will rot and produce acid, which will corrode the baby's teeth. Over time, teeth are prone to decalcification and the crowns will fall off piece by piece.

2. Forming an overbite and becoming ugly

The feeding posture of lying down to drink milk has its own particularity. When doing this posture, the lower jaw is required to protrude forward. If this posture is maintained for a long time and the lower jaw protrudes too far forward, it may cause developmental abnormalities such as "overbite" and "underbite", a sunken nose root and a slightly protruding chin.

3. Cause ear canal infectious diseases

When the baby is lying down to drink milk, sometimes he is lying on his front and sometimes on his side. When the liquid flows in the mouth, he may choke if he is not careful. Moreover, it may cause certain infectious diseases of the ear canal. In fact, letting the baby lie flat to drink milk will increase the chance of abnormal middle ear pressure in the baby during the drinking process, which will affect hearing development. Correct feeding method: hold the baby at a 45-degree angle

Generally speaking, the breastfeeding posture we recommend is to hold the baby in your arms at a 45-degree angle, let the baby lean back slightly, face the mother and drink milk sideways. This posture will not choke the baby and at the same time makes the baby feel comfortable and will not bend the body. Before breastfeeding, the mother can find a chair with a backrest so that the mother's back will not be so sore when breastfeeding. You can also prepare a small stool in advance. By putting your feet on the stool, you can raise your thighs and bring the baby's head closer to the mother's breast.

In addition, after feeding, do not put the baby back to bed directly. Instead, place the baby upright with his head resting on the mother's shoulder, and pat and stroke the back to expel swallowed air.

Momo’s warm reminder: The baby should not breastfeed for too long at a time. It is best to be around 20 minutes and not more than 30 minutes. After feeding, it is best to feed some clean water to keep the child's mouth clean. Children's oral health care should start as early as possible and be carried out in stages: wash the mouth with warm gauze from 0 to 6 months, gently brush the deciduous teeth with light salt water from 6 to 12 months, brush the molars with boiled water from 1 to 2 years old, and start brushing teeth with children's special toothpaste from 2 to 6 years old.