Breastmilk Coming Out Through Nose

[MadreSelva]

My friend's newborn is not latching on properly--she only takes the tip of the nipple. After repeated tries (every day, every nursing), she still will not open wide. If and when she does and the mother centers the nipple in her mouth, the baby will pull back and continue to nurse as before (tip of nipple).
Also, sometimes the milk will come out of the baby's nose. It seems to me this may have to do with breast fullness or hardness (My friend complains that her breasts get very full since the baby does not take in a lot. Nonetheless, she has what seem to be regular bowel movements and wet diapers.) What is your take on this, mommies? I told her I have a bunch of friends who could help!

dee

[DaryLLL]

Well, it is hard to do this with a go-between. Could she log on here?

Meanwhile, I am sorry she is having trouble with latch. There are many facotrs that could be causing this.

Perhaps she could try aiming the nipple more towards tha roof of the baby's mouth than the middle? this works better for some. It is called assymetrical latch.

If the breast is too hard and full for the baby to latch on, she should express or pump to soften it before a feed. it is almost impossible to latch correctly onto a hard breast. The nipple can almost disappear.

She could try nursing side by side lying down. Sometimes a baby will do better in a darkened quiet bedroom. Rather than forcing her, the baby should be given lots of skin to skin time, and allowed to root and come on. It should never be a battle.

yes, sometiems a baby will go on well and then start to slide down. she can help prevent this by supporting the baby's chin with one finger, to keep her mouth opened wide enough. If her breasts are quite large, when she nurses sitting up, she should roll up a towel or receiving blanket and place it under her breast to raise the nipple.

She should get in touch with a LLL Leader or IBCLC LC to help her. Moms are not meant to do this alone, and just getting tips online is good, but can't be matched by hands on mom to mom help. Help her find a LLL Leader or LC. Don't let shyness stop her form giving her baby it's birthright.

[MadreSelva]

DaryLLL,

Thank You very much for your response, which was so full of good advice. I read it to her over the phone (she's pretty far from me) and her lactation consultant has gone over.
The lactation consultant told her that even if the baby is latching on to only the tip of the nipple, the fact that my friend is not feeling pain or discomfort and the fact that the baby is having regular bowel movements and enough wet diapers mean that everything's ok. (?)

:
dee

[MadreSelva]

Oh, and unfortunately she can't log on because she's in the process of moving and her PC's down...


dee

[Jennah_Gole]

my dd also spits up through her nose sometimes. I was told by my doctor that it is normal since it is the same passageway as the mouth. She actually spit up through her nose one time while she was breastfeeding.

[DaryLLL]

Spitting up thru the nose is not normal, but it does happen. Sometimes it is caused by baby having had naso-gastric feeds, or vigorous suctioning with an automatic suction.

Sometimes it is caused by dairy sensitivity, believe it or not. Dairy in the mother's diet.

What the LC said abt it being "OK" for the baby to only take the tip of the nipple, of course, this is incorrect. The baby may be getting milk now from a highly active new mom breast, but this supply won't last if the baby doesn't learn to actively suckle in the correct way.


Have your friend get another opinion from another LC, or LLL. LLL is free.

[phoebekate]

DD was a glutton and a happy spitter up until about 6 months. This being the case she would often feed until she spit up through her nose while sucking and then just keep going. Nothing would make her let go, not even the need to spit up or the fact that she was clearly full as a goog. My Dr, who is an IBCLC wasn't worried, actually found it hilarious. If this is what you mean it probably isn't a problem, but if you mean that milk runs out of her nose instead of down her throat as she feeds that sounds all wrong to me.

Also, I agree with Dary that your friends baby needs to get more than just nipple in her mouth, but it is very hard without being there to tell how much is really going in. Perhaps she feels only the nipple is going in because there is still areola visible, but if she has big areola this could be normal for her... I always have about 1/3 to 1/2 of my areola still visible. I feel quite strongly that you really need hands/eyes on help for most early breastfeeding problems, online or on the phone just doesn't cut it. If your friend can either see an LLL leader or another LC she will probably be much better off than us trying to help.