Carol says:...i cannot imagine ever simply pushing on the
baby's chin to "make" a baby open his mouth. however, this is done routinely
here, and i often find that the babies i see who are refusing to open or
refusing to open widely seem to be the ones where someone taught the mother
to force the baby to open by pushing on the chin. would those of you who use
this technique describe why and when and how and why do you feel this would
not cause an aversion later on (which is what i think i am seeing)?

I sometimes use gentle, firm pressure on the baby's chin to help widen a
latch.  Usually it is successful when the baby is already latched, suckled a
few times, and is just ready to relax at the breast.  Firm, gentle downward
pressure on his chin helps him to open wider, experience the correct mouth
position and the rewards of a more effective latch.  With this experience at
this breastfeeding, he is more likely to initiate the correct wide latch at
the next feeding.  It is not forcing the baby to latch, but a gentle
guiding/teaching of correct positioning.

Barb Berges BS, RN, IBCLC
Rochester, New York

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