Eda writes:
So, I'm not sure if its because of baby's R shoulder that isn't allowing
her to latch well
Hi Eda, and all,
You may have tried this, but whatever position the baby latches better on,
on the "good side", baby is in same alignment, rather than same position,
on the other side: in other words, if cross cradle on the R, then baby would
be in "clutch" or "football/rugby" on the L, rather that cross cradle on
both. This might mean that whatever position the baby is most effective and
comfortable in, the baby's body, especially, shoulder/neck area, is the
same. I find most MDs when assessing for anything related to whether a baby
"should" be fine feeding, are not really looking at the subtleties that we
do. Since the baby's shoulder is connected to baby's neck and jaw and tongue
via a mesh of muscles, pain or even a slight limitation in the shoulder,
could easily lead to clamping by the baby, in an attempt to work around the
fact that they cannot get their jaw or tongue to do what they want/need. The
other thing is that I find that any time there is an asymmetry, feeding
can be affected. Feeding is a symmetric activity. I think of it like this: if
the baby had whiskers like a cat ( I know, it's silly but the idea seems
to help moms...:) then both whiskers need to touch the breast at the same
moment, with a nice wide gape, and the tongue extended nicely as well. Any or
all of those motions and relations can be off when there is an issue like
this baby has - they can be off because of the tightness itself as well as
off because the tightness is more on one side than the other. Without a
bodywork person nearby, perhaps mom can, when baby is awake, put baby facedown
on her belly/chest, or on a flat surface, to at least allow for some gentle
stretching. Baby can be talked or sung to as mom moves side to side, to
encourage moving both R and L as baby extends the neck. I know one mom and
a local bodywork person, who also VERY carefully, holds baby upside down
holding them securely at the hips/pelvis, also to allow them to relax and
literally "unwind" which seemed to help. I wonder what others think of this
idea as feasible in a situation where resources of this kind are limited.
Peace,
Judy
Judy LeVan Fram, PT, IBCLC, LLLL
Brooklyn, NY, USA
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