A good latch is key to a successful breastfeeding journey. The secret to getting a good or deep latch is to make sure that baby attaches to your breast with a wide mouth. A good latch ensures that baby can remove milk from the breast effectively.
It took several weeks before I realized that my son had a shallow latch. As a result, I was often in pain, with my nipples becoming misshapen (like lipstick) and discolored (with part of my nipple appearing white) after he came off my breast. A poor latch can also lead to suboptimal breast drainage and more serious problems like plugged ducts.
There are a few tricks to getting baby to open wide and latch on including:
Trick #1: rubbing your nipple against baby’s nose/upper lip (displayed below in
Figure 1)
Trick #2: the “flipple technique”
My favorite way to get a deep latch is referred to as the “flipple technique” or “exaggerated latch.” Place your thumb or finger near the base of your nipple and press down so your nipple points away from baby. Once baby’s mouth is open, pull baby into your breast. Baby will latch onto your breast first and your nipple will unroll into baby’s mouth. You can also let baby latch onto your breast while your finger is still near the base of your nipple. Once baby is latched on, you can remove your finger. You can see the “exaggerated latch” in this La Leche League video. I found it really helpful when I was trying to fix my latch. When in doubt, just keep watching latching videos! Of course, you can always consult a lactation consultant or your local La Leche League leader for additional advice.
Once baby is latched on, you can look for certain things to make sure that baby has a deep latch. See Figure 2 below for the key visual cues associated with a good latch.
But even more important than how the latch looks, is how it feels. When you start breastfeeding, it may hurt as baby latches on and begins suckling (I know it did for me!). But any pain should go away after a few seconds. If you count to 10 and it’s still hurting, unlatch baby and try again.
When you want to unlatch baby from your breast, place your pinky in baby’s mouth to break the suction. You can see this demonstrated below in Figure 3.
Practice makes perfect, mama! So keep trying until you get the hang of it. It took some time but my son is latching on well now which has really improved my breastfeeding experience.
Mamas – how did you get a good latch?
The Plugged Duct Diaries 