One other thing you might note with babies with tracheomalacia or
laryngomalacia - instead of increasing sucking burst length when milk
flow is high, they decrease it, they seem to only be able to handle a
few suck/swallows before pausing to try to breathe.  Because of this,
they are vulnerable to failure to thrive unless mom allows for longer or
more frequent feedings to make up for their inefficiency.

The singing sound is called stridor.  It is caused by air trying to flow
through a narrowed airway.  When the baby exhibits stridor is a clue to
what is causing it:  inspiratory stridor is more likely to be caused by
laryngomalacia, and expiratory stridor by tracheomalacia.

Opening the airway by extending the head usually eases breathing in
these infants.  Positioning baby on the breast with head extension and
an asymmetrical latch helps them feed better, and positioning them on
their sides to sleep allows them to extend their heads to breathe better.
--
Catherine Watson Genna, IBCLC  New York City  mailto:[log in to unmask]

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