Best advice for poor/lazy latch*UPDATE*

[kyangel80]

Hi-

I posted a few weeks ago about my sisters bfing troubles with her last child and how to head them off. The good news is we were able to stave off the old problems. The bad news is, this time we have a different one. Baby is doing fine, gaining weight. Mom was doing better at 2 weeks and then suddenly over the last 2 days baby has gone to lazy latch and her nip's are killing her to the point where she is almost unable to feed. We had the LC watch her feed today to diagnose the problem. When she unlatches him, her nipples are totally blanched after just 1 minute of nursing. The LC tried to give her some pointers, but I was hoping that the mama's here might have some btdt advice. Right now, she is having diffuculty trying to hold her breast this way, and hold the baby's head this way, and blah blah. She is feeling very discouraged since she worked so hard to overcome her previous obstacles and stuck it out through engorgement and when things were finally going good, now this!! TIA

[TurboClaudia]

would she be open to trying some craniosacral therapy and chiropractic for her babe? it might not be a lazy latch so much as a misalignment or a birth related event. giving birth is a physically difficult task for women, but BEING BORN is also a physically difficult task for babies to go through, be it vaginal or surgical.

also, the blanching sounds like it might be raynaud's syndrome... does she have other symptoms of raynaud's?

sending her

~claudia

[kyangel80]

I have heard of Raynaud's but don't know that much about it. What I do know is that there is no blanching when she uses the pump and heat on the nipples does not help her pain, she said it makes it worse.

Also, why do you think that Chiropractic issues would be the cause of the latch issue? Just curious about possible relation to the fact that the Ped. noticed on Thurs. that babies buttcrack and spine don't align, but did not know what to make of it so she said to watch it?

[Kerrie]

What about trying other positions/holds? Maybe if she notices right off that the baby is not on right to take him/her off and try again? I hope that she is able to work through her problems. She's lucky to have someone in her life that is as supportive as you. Good luck!

[TurboClaudia]

the buttcrack and spine not aligning could be a completely different issue than the latch issues being possibly related to a chiropractic/craniosacral issue.

i don't quite know the whole explanation of the latch issues possibly being related to craniosacral or chiropractic, but the general theory is that the cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord has its own rhythm of circulation and being born might cause minute adjustments or fluctuations in this rhythm, which can affect baby's mood/physical state/numerous other things. gentle chiropractic for babies and children is more of an allowing the child to move in a way that allows them to adjust themselves. many chiropractors who work with babies and children also are trained in craniosacral adjustments, and a good chiropractor will take the time to explain things to you and answer your questions and address your concerns. www.icpa4kids.com is a great website for locating chiropractors trained in working with children in your local area.

as for the raynaud's, i don't know much about it either, but the heat not helping sounds like it might be raynaud's. not sure about the blanching not happening when she pumps, though...

~claudia

[MsGrizzle]

My ds had a prety traumatic birth (breech) so my LC suggested the chiro. Wow - it did wonders for him. He could barely latch at all and had sucking issues, and the chiro improved things tremendously. It was amazing to watch ds melt in her hands. They mostly massage certain areas of the skull/neck - very gentle. We could actually see his tight neck release. I'm a total believer now!

[kyangel80]

Unfortunately my sister has been only able to pump b/c of the sever pain involved with nursing. Now she has a fever and is dealing with Mastitis. She went through several bouts of mastitis with her other child before finally giving up b/c she couldn't get it cleared up. She is just not going to be able to nurse. There is so much pain involved with the vasospasms that she has and with her already having prior damage from the mastitis and the problem with the breast tissue under her arm? We have been working with 2 LC's and it just doesn't seem like she has normal breast at all. She has many other issues with her breast as well. I really wish there was more I could do, but I have done everything I know how to. I know many people would say she should just continue to nurse, keep trying, but I think that unless you've had this many things going wrong yourself you can't really understand how overwhelming it is. Especially when this is the second time in a row she had not been able to successfully breastfeed. *SIGH* I really wish this had turned out better.

[TurboClaudia]

to your sister...

grieving the loss of your imagined breastfeeding situation is difficult. please know i am thinking of her...

~claudia

[Love my 2]

Here's a helpful guide to latching, maybe it could help her.

http://www.asklenore.info/breastfeed..._diagrams.html

I hope she can stick it out.