I have worked in the hospital with newborns for most of my 30 yrs as a nurse.
(30 years!?!?! I'm not that old, am I? I still feel young!!) I have certainly
tried a variety of methods to get babies to open their mouths. One thing that
doesn't seem to work is pulling down on the jaw. You may get the mouth open
BUT is the tongue in the right position & is the baby happy? Lots of nurses
try this approach until we learn something better & EASIER. (I have heard some
LC's talk about putting pressure on the jaw to get baby's mouth open.) The
only time that I may use my finger on the jaw is when baby is really quick to
close his mouth &  this is more of a last resort effort.

I teach parents to be patient & watch for cues. I stress that this is their
very first parenting lesson. Learn what your baby's capabilities are & trust
that your baby, *with your guidance*, will learn how to breastfeed. Parents
REWARD the behavior that they want repeated (proper latch on rewarded by
continued suckling at the breast with plenty of milk/colostrum) and STOP the
behavior that they do not want repeated (improper latch on results in little
milk/colostrum-gently take baby off the breast & allow him to repeat the
process until baby recieves the reward.)

Isn't it nice how we continue to learn as we get *older*?
Laura Hart, RN BSN, IBCLC
in Central Florida