Malka writes about a mother who has asked for help:
<<About a week ago the baby started to suck her thumb.
 Mom is worried about this and would like to stop baby

from sucking her thumb.  She has tried, for one day,
nursing her whenever she begins to put her thumb in
her mouth. The mom feels that his in not working
because of the frequency that baby has thumb in her
mouth.>>

For me the two key points are
1) Mom is worried 
2) the behavior started out of nowhere
Didn't a wise woman once say, The mother is right...

It's true many of us living in busy over-dressed
communities with chain bookstores are familiar with
thumb-sucking.  It does not follow that thumb sucking
is a normal part of nursing!

Frequently, thumb sucking disappears when mothers
explore issues ranging from nursing patterns and MER
to social mores and daily routines.  If Mom is asking
the question it is worth exploring the broad range of
baby's life, on and about and beyond the breast.  

It may be that more time is needed skin-to-skin to
draw baby into more comfortable positions and to
understand her communication.  Has the baby been
observed breastfeeding?  What is Mom wondering about?

Sometimes Mom solves the mystery (or doesn't) and
decides to allow the thumb sucking because it works
for her.  But often, Mom asks the question because
something doesn't feel right and she wants to feel
"right" in the breastfeeding relationship.  

Going back to what hit me as the 2 main points, if Mom
explores the timing and the behavior with her helpers
she may be able to solve the mystery and/or relax back
into a breastfeeding relationship that feels "right"
again.  What is Mom's "gut feeling," what is her
instinct telling her?  The longer we wait to ask, the
further we get from the answer, as all parties adjust.

Exploring mothers' concerns is an important part of
supporting breastfeeding.  It's also how we re-learn
breastfeeding collectively with each baby.

Susan Johnson MFA, IBCLC
Salt Lake City, Utah USA

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