I have had  some success with getting babies who refuse to latch on to
eventually take the breast.   I don't really have a recipe for
success....just time,  patience,  persistence and a willingness on the
mother's part to try new things.

Moms have told me that they worry that their baby doesn't like them or love
them,  that they feel rejected by their baby.   One mother who was a
clinical psychologist  told me that she felt her baby was teaching her that
he did not want to breastfeed and she needed to respect his wishes.   She
only tried alternative feeding methods for only two days.
I mention her because I find this to be a common attitude:  "If my baby
wanted to breastfeed,  he would.  Therefore he must not want to.  He is
making a decision that he wants formula instead."  Some parents seem to
really think that their baby is capable of this sort of reasoning.

I try to let them know that their baby needs their help to learn to
breastfeed and they can be a mother *and* a teacher.
The mothers I have worked with in this situation need a lot of follow-up
and telephone support.  In the past four months,   I have had babies
finally latch on and nurse well at 5 days,  7 days,  2 weeks, 3 weeks,
and 12 weeks.   In each case the mother was diligent about offering the
breast at each feed,  stopping after five minutes if the baby showed no
interest,  and using an alternative feeding method.    Two of these babies
were bottle-fed,  two were cup fed using a soft cup feeder,  and one was
syringe fed.   One of the bottle-fed babies took the breast only after use
of a nipple shield was instituted.   The shield was discarded after 24
hours with the baby nursing well at breast.   The two bottle-fed babies
initally started with finger feeds until the mothers became impatient with
the lengthy feeds and chose to use a bottle instead.    All the babies but
one were products of a great deal of intervention and medication during
birth.   And all babies experienced attachment parenting and a lot of
skin-to-skin contact,  which I am convinced helped.

I seem to have more success when the mothers contact me soon after birth.
I saw the  twelve-week old baby intitially at eight weeks.  One day,  four
weeks later,  much to his mother's surprise,  he took the breast and never
drank from a bottle again.

I would like to pose two questions to Lactnetters.   One LC I have spoken
with feels strongly that cup feeding for newborns is inadvisable due to the
risk of aspiration.   Is this something that concerns other LC's?  Two
other LC's
I have talked to feel that bottle-feeding EBM may be preferable to other
alternatives because the mother is less overwhelmed by the technology and
may try for longer periods to get her baby to take the breast.  What do you
think?

Loyann Waber, M.A., Breastfeeding Counselor, La Leche League Leader
Delaware, OH USA

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