> I now have a few questions regarding a good friend of mine who has a 2 1/2
> month old boy.  From the beginning of their nursing relationship, he would
> make loud, sucking noises at the breast which prompted me to see whether he
> was properly latched on.  My friend, this being her third breastfed child,
> assured me that he was, but that he always made this sound.  Later, when he
> started arching his back and gasping for air when he nursed, she called the
> doctor and began a lengthy investigation into the cause of his feeding
> difficulties.


Pam,

I worked with a mother just a few days ago whose baby had the same
problems.  Loud clicking at breast and gasping for air when she fed from
breast or bottle.  Mother had tried several different bottle nipples
with little success.  The best one seemed to be a small evenflo nipple.
We tried the upright position with breast and bottle as well as pumping
past the letdown with little change.  As a last resort I had the mother
lay flat on her back with the baby across her chest in the Australian
hold, recently discussed here on Lactnet.  This resolved the problem.
Mother had not sought a medical diagnosis previously.  She was thrilled
that she was able to nurse her baby.  Her treatment plan is pump past
initial letdown, nurse in this position, work on reducing supply by
using only one breast per feed, and the tincture of time.

Hope this helps.

Cheryl Leipold BS, IBCLC
Newnan, GA