Hi Geraldine,

I have been breastfeeding my baby well for 2 weeks now with no cracked or bleeding nipples my friends all seem to suffer. My problem is that my baby keeps arching backwards and pulling at the nipple. It is so painful and I feel nervous that he is going to snap it right off as he is quite strong! I guess my other concern is that I don’t want my nipples to stretch beyond recognition either – sorry to be so vain....

Why is he pulling at the breast and what I can do to stop him doing this during feeds?

Thank you in advance.

Jessica Brown

Seven Oaks

Hi there Jessica,

Ouch! As I know most little ones have an incredibly strong suck, I do sympathise with your dilemma!

Firstly, you need to practice breaking his latch quickly so as to restrict the damage he is doing to your nipple. To do this, get your finger into the corner of his mouth, wiggle it pushing forward until you are between his gums, on top of his tongue and heading toward the roof of his mouth! Don’t let him pull back whilst you are doing this, so apply gentle pressure just behind his shoulders and keep him close to the breast until you have broken the seal!

Now that you feel confident you can take him off really quickly, we need to investigate why he is pulling back from the breast.

Answer these questions for me:

Are your breasts really full before feeds?

Does your baby make a lot of gulping noises at the breast at the beginning of the feed?

Does your baby only feed for short periods?

Is your baby gaining weight really well?

Do your breasts feel empty before feeds?

Does your baby have to work really hard to get enough milk in his mouth to swallow?

Does your baby get frustrated and cry during feeds?

Is your baby struggling to gain weight each week?

If you answered yes to the first 4 questions, I would assume that you have a very fast let down that your baby is struggling to cope with. So he prefers to nipple feed and pulls back. A fast let down can also lead to baby swallowing a lot of wind during the feed. What goes in must come out and usually bubbles travel upward, forcing baby to arch back away from the breast.

If you answered yes to the last 4 questions, your baby is probably trying to tell you that he is not positioned well enough to drain the entire breast, or that your supply is slightly low and needs a boost.

My Let’s Breastfeed Program is packed with practical tips to manage both these challenges. If you are still struggling, I would suggest that you find help locally to assess your breastfeeds by sitting with you whilst you feed. Sue Saunders – a fantastic Lactation Consultant, is in your neck of the woods, so contact me directly for her details if you like.

Let me know how you get on.

Kind regards,

Geraldine

Let’s Breastfeed is dedicated to making your breastfeeding dreams become a reality. If I can’t see you in person, you can still have me in your living room with my Let’s Breastfeed Program!