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How to attach
Some tips to help your baby attach.
- The baby’s whole body should be in contact with your upper body and facing your breast (his head and body should be in a straight line) with his nose at the level of your nipple.
- Support his back and shoulders with your arm but leave his head free to tilt back when he starts feeding.
- When he opens his mouth wide bring him onto the breast with his chin pointing forward and touching the breast below the nipple while allowing him to take in most or all of the areola (the dark area around the nipple) into his mouth (more below the nipple than above).
- You can encourage him to open his mouth wide by gently brushing his upper lip with your nipple
When your baby is correctly attached to your breast you will notice that:
- his mouth is wide open and he has a big mouthful of breast
- his chin is touching your breast
- his bottom lip is curled back (you may not be able to see this)
- if you can see any of the areola (the brown skin around the nipple), more is visible above his top lip than below his bottom lip
- His cheeks stay full and rounded during sucking.
- his sucking pattern changes from short sucks at the beginning to long deep sucks with pauses.
Feeding should not be painful. While you and your baby are learning to breastfeed you may feel some discomfort when the baby first attaches to the breast. This sensation should fade quickly after starting to feed and from then on it should feel comfortable.
If it continues to hurt, this probably means that your baby is not attached properly. In this case, take him off by gently pressing your breast away from the corner of his mouth so that the suction is broken and then help him to re-attach.
If the pain continues, ask for help from your midwife, public health nurse, lactation consultant or La Leche League of Cuidiu volunteer.
