Nipple confusion in newborns

Breast milk is the feeding method that every woman chooses because the nutrients in breast milk cannot be replaced by any other food. Many women find that their babies do not suck milk when they are breastfeeding, which makes mothers feel very frustrated. They can only use a breast pump to suck out the breast milk and then feed it to the baby. Newborn nipple confusion often occurs, so how to correct this problem?

1. How to correct nipple confusion in newborns

1. Babies with nipple confusion usually have problems with their mothers’ parent-child relationship. At this time, skin contact can be performed first to improve the mother-child relationship. In life, mothers need more time to interact with their babies, which is the basis for maintaining a good parent-child relationship.

2. The breastfeeding posture to correct nipple confusion is usually semi-lying breastfeeding. At home, you can use a pillow to allow mother to lie comfortably half in bed.

3. Correcting a baby's nipple confusion usually requires a period of patient experimentation. You may fail at first, so don't force your baby to accept it in one go. The more you force the baby, the more painful it will be for him to breastfeed from his mother, which will increase the difficulty of correction.

We can try repeatedly and encourage the baby more. After the baby has a successful experience, he will eat better and better. If you find that your baby's mouth is not open wide enough, you can try gently pressing the baby's chin to turn his lower lip outward.

4. If the baby's latching posture is still not good after repeated attempts, you can do oral compression training to help the baby correct the latching posture.

5. If the baby is not efficient in sucking at the beginning, or feels frustrated because he or she cannot get much milk through breastfeeding. Mothers can try to press their breasts with their hands while breastfeeding to help more milk enter the baby's mouth.

6. Do not correct nipple confusion when the baby is particularly hungry. The baby will lack the patience to learn because of hunger! Try breastfeeding when the baby has just woken up, is about to wake up, or is not too hungry. This will increase the chances of successful correction.

What is nipple confusion?

Nipple confusion refers to the phenomenon that a newborn sucks a bottle before sucking the mother's nipple, or that the baby is frequently fed with a bottle for various reasons, causing the baby to not be able to suck or be unwilling to suck breast milk. Currently, nipple confusion has become a very important reason for breastfeeding failure.

The movements and technical requirements for sucking breast milk and sucking a bottle are different. When sucking on a bottle, the milk in the bottle will flow out due to the negative pressure in the mouth as long as the mouth sucks gently; while sucking breast milk, the baby needs to use the tongue and jaw to squeeze the areola in order to suck the breast milk, which is more difficult for the baby. After the baby gets used to the sucking method of the bottle, he will become confused about the technique when sucking breast milk. Over time, he will be unwilling to suck the mother's nipple, leading to the failure of breastfeeding and a sharp drop in the amount of breast milk.