although the baby seemed to latch when the nurse pushed breast and baby
together ... i wonder if the baby got good milk transfer from thereon? i
also wonder if the mother gained confidence in her ability to breastfeed?
and i wonder if the mother ever suffered sore nipples afterwards?

One of the big factors in mothers not being able to breastfeed is
confidence.

Nurses and midwives who undermine confidence  of mothers by taking over and
doing it all for them do no one any favors.

A more simple and less frustrating and less time consuming way to fix many
such problems is to ask the mother to hold her baby in skin to skin contact
as described by kangaroo mother care (KMC)
 kangaroomother care.com.index.html
 Tell her it may take hours or maybe a couple of days for the baby to
reorganise reflex ability to take the breast into the mouth. (note the
breast not the nipple - there is  no milk in the nipple). then go away and
attend to other duties and call back to see how things are going every 30 -
60 minutes. Many times you will find this simple intervention is all that is
needed and when you return the baby is feeding and mother's confidence has
esculated.

the cost effectiveness of skin to skin contact to improve some of the simple
attachment problems in the early post natal period needs further research
exploration but there are several articles  explaining this.

there is also very good physiological and anatomical reasons why not to push
a baby's head into the breast. Mostly the result is breast refusal by the
baby and  no one connects that the reason baby won't feed is because they
feel so uncomfortable in the position they are being forced into.

I advise you to think and read and observe much more before you accept the
practice of pushing baby's and breasts together by pushing the baby's head
forward into the breast. If there is any pressure it needs to be between the
shoulder blades of the baby to facilitate the head bein in a slightly tilted
back position and the tongue can come forward. there is plenty of literature
around on this if you search the regular breastfeeding links.

Ruth

Ruth Cantrill
RN. RM. IBCLC

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