Baby Latching Tips for Breastfeeding

Video Transcript

"Now I'm going to be talking about getting a good latch. A good latch is vital to comfortable to breastfeeding and to not getting damaged. I am going to show you a different pillow this time. This is called the Anna Pillow and this is a nice pillow because it is very firm. It's very different from the other one which is very soft and mushy. But it fits right into your glider which is really great and because of its firmness it puts baby right at breast level without having to worry about the baby sinking in anywhere. Now before I bring out my baby doll I want to show you how you can feel what a good latch feels like. I do this with all of the mom's that I work with. I want you to take your index finger and put it into your mouth up to the first knuckle and suck. You can feel how your tongue flicks the end of your nipple. Now do it again but take your finger into your mouth up to the second knuckle and suck. You can feel how your tongue pulls your finger into the mouth like so. This is the feeling you should have when your baby is on your breast so that the baby's tongue is pulling your breast and nipple deep into his or her mouth. If you have a shallow latch and your nipples only this far in the baby's tongue is going to be flicking the end of your nipple and causing quite a bit of damage."