Why Does my Baby Keep Unlatching?
LATCHING ON AND OFF WHILE FEEDING
How infants behave while feeding tells us a lot about what is going on with their bodies and their function. While some relatching during a feeding session may not be too concerning, it is important to note the consistency and comfortability when doing so. There are a variety of reasons and paying attention will help know when route to take to help baby latch and feed efficiently.
First, as a note, latching and suckling/feeding require different muscles and different reflexes. As mentioned in a previous blog. The two are not one! Your baby may have the skills and abilities to latch, but not the ability to use their body to effectively extract milk and feed. Infants are exploring their new time earth-side and practicing their reflexes daily until they have mastered it. These reflexes can be described fully in another blog, but I will mention a few for the sake of this blog. The primitive reflexes are often first seen in utero and carried on with hopes of using and building until 3-4+ months after birth. Rooting, suckling, swallowing, and neck reflexes are just a few. So what does that mean? If babies are not mastering these reflexes either because they don’t have the opportunity to or because they physically can’t, the reflexes are not integrated or maximized in the infants’ life. That affects the way they feed at the breast. Let’s see what that looks like and why.
LACK OF OPPORTUNITY
Baby needs to be in an optimal position to make latching and feeding smooth. If baby is in a position that makes latching more difficult, they may pop on and off trying to adjust their latch for more comfortable and effective milk removal. To counter this you can position baby in a way that gives them an opportunity to use their reflexes as designed. Baby should be close, body to body, stomach to stomach. Ear, shoulder, and hip should be in one straight line. Nose to nipple and chin to breast. Babies also love stability. You can stabilize your baby by ensuring their feet are planted on your body or a pillow. Also, not restricting the use of their hands, allowing both hands to be along the sides of the breast.
TOO MUCH MILK, TOO FAST
If your baby is popping on and off with gagging, choking, or burping often, there may be too much milk coming at them too fast or faster than they are able to handle. Oversupply and overactive milk ejection reflexes may be the reasons for this. Again, positioning may help your baby get into a position where they can handle the flow and control it better.
FLOW
Babies love a constant flow until they decide that they are content and nearly finished. If milk is not abundant or flowing constantly, babies are wired to help out. This may look like popping on and off to stimulate your breast to let-down or to find a way to get it to flow faster. The parent can help by doing compressions throughout the feed. Moms may also like using massagers or warmers.
ORAL OR BODY RESTRICTIONS
Does it seem like the baby pops on and off on a certain breast? It may be that the baby cannot fully turn their head and body comfortably to feed in that position. It may look like they are showing a head-tilting preference. This could be because of in-utero positioning or oral restrictions from one of the 7 frenum in our mouth. Two frenums on our lips, one under the tongue, and four within our cheeks. Frenums are normal, but if for any reason they are restrictive, meaning they are tight and do not allow to mouth to move and function freely, it causes the baby to not feed correctly. Oral restrictions CANNOT be diagnosed by appearance alone. With the assistance and support from a lactation consultant, the dyad can be properly assessed for function. IBCLCs are able to look at what the baby is doing with mom at the breast or bottle, together! The tension from oral restrictions is what makes the body feel tight as well. Bodywork can help correct misalignments and reduce muscle strain patterns before and after releasing your baby’s ties. Consider craniosacral therapy, fascial manipulation, or chiropractor to address tension and help them use their full range of motion.
DISTRACTIONS
Lastly, your baby wants to keep up! Distractions can play a role in why the baby may be popping on and off while feeding. You can play into this by being a bigger distraction and still allowing them to feed. Sing songs, talk to your baby, make faces, read, or anything else you can think of so that baby is focused on you and eating, not the world around them.
WHEN TO SEEK HELP
If feedings consistently involve popping on and off or it takes over 35 minutes to nurse at the breast, it’s time to ask for help! Reach out to an IBCLC for support or contact your pediatric provider with any concerns. Feel free to reach out to our team of lactation professionals here.