Welli tell moms that the latch is good if it is comfortable AND also milk is 
removed effectively.

I have a pet peeve about pictures of latch in materials for mom. Some of the 
covers of some important bf books have photos of older babies, but it would 
not be a picture i would show to a mom to represent a good latch. take for 
example the Breastfeeding Answer Book, not necessarily meant for mothers, 
but nurses will see all the photos on the cover. I realize that all are 
totally appropriate photos of babies nursing happily, but they are not all 
photos of what i would call a "good latch" that i would teach a new mom. I 
don't have the book in front of me but I received a copy this week and it 
really struck me about those cover shots. Maybe those photos could be moved 
to later in the text.?

Here in rural Mississippi I sometimes use the example "have you ever been 
fishing?" Invariably the mom and dad will answer "yes!" Then I proceed with 
"have you ever hooked a fish but you didn't quite have him hooked securely, 
and sure enough he came off the hook before you got him in the net?" They 
answer "yes" to this. Well this is like latch-on. He might look latched, and 
he sorta is, but he is not attached securely enough to get milk. We've got 
to really get him hooked on. I also try to explain to moms that with a truly 
good latch, baby will get alot more milk, esp. with the thick colostrum.

I also sometimes use the analogy of 2 hoses connected together. If the 
connection is loose, there is a leak and not a good connection for the fluid 
to flow from point A to point B.

Laurie Wheeler, IBCLC, MN, RN
Mississippi, s.e. USA

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