the latch looks great, but...
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everyone tells you the latch looks great
It’s not uncommon to receive praise for a seemingly perfect breastfeeding latch or a well-executed bottle-feeding technique, only to find that challenges like reflux, colic, wind, CMPA, or allergies persist. This issue hits close to home for many of us working in the realm of infant feeding, where we witness these struggles first-hand.
signs of a good latch - according to the comments from parents
Below are comments from parents which were gathered on a social media post:
- Your nipples look like a brand new lipstick and feel as though they may fall off if you ever feed your baby again, yet your baby’s latch is great.
- Your baby is coughing, spluttering and refusing to drink from bottle
- Your latch is great when you feel like a cheese grater is attached to your breast and you are convinced a vice would be less painful.
- Bleeding, agonising, lacerated nipples – your latch is great!!!
- Your baby’s latch is great if they stop feeding due to ‘fast letdown’
- Your baby’s red book shows slow or static weight gain, and baby’s latch is great.
- Your shoulders ache as your baby feeds for an hour and comes back to nurse again after a 15 minute break, the latch is great!
- Your baby hasn’t slept in the first 72 hours hours of life for more than 5 minutes at once, your baby’s latch is great.
- Your baby has slept soundly for 8 hours and fed 4 times today, your latch is great.
- You’ve seen no dirty nappies for 3 days, your latch is great.
- Wet nappies are few, but your latch is great.
- Squishing the bottle teat, but latch is amazing!
- Five minute feeds and hour long naps before hunger strikes again, your latch is great.
- You’ve only eaten once today and had no rest between feeds, you’re doing great and so is your latch!
- After a big, wide attachment which you’ve nailed with military precision, your baby slips to the end of your nipple, and so your latch is great.
- No swallowing and lots of sucks, your baby’s latch is great.
- Your baby is being waterboarded from the volume being pulled across from the bottle or breast
- Nipple in babies mouth? Your latch is great!
- Your breast is so swollen-full of milk that your nipple won’t fit in your babies mouth, but your latch is great.
inadequate infant feeding support, parents & babies are failed
You are not the one to fail if feeding your baby does not work out. You were failed by inadequate services, at the very beginning of life.
Infant feeding plays a crucial role in our parenting journey. Unfortunately, due to cuts and insufficient funding in this area, there are few individuals trained in basic breastfeeding support, there are no Lactation Consultant clinics, leaving parents alone to navigate the complexities that arise.
As a result, parents often find themselves grappling with issues without the necessary support to address them.
The lack of adequate breastfeeding support is mirrored in the realm of bottle feeding, where assistance is virtually non-existent. Moreover, individuals who wish to feed their babies as non-gestational parents face even less support due to the significant gaps in training within the broader landscape of infant feeding. With everyone left in the dark, there’s a pervasive sense of not knowing where to turn for support when babies require feeding