> Upon examining latch, corners of mouth were not as wide as I would have
> expected.  We worked several times attempting to obtain a deeper latch
> without success.  Although it didn't seem obvious, I am wondering if
> perhaps mom may be moving away from baby as she latches, perhaps in
> anticipation of discomfort.

Judy,
I, too, observed this in moms with severely damaged nipples. It might improve if
mom positions herself upright, but resting to the back of a chair, have her feet
on a footrester, perhaps with a pillow on her lap to have the arm that holds the
baby in a high position. In this position she can't ''back-off'' when the baby
latches, 'cause the baby will kind of roll on to her. This works best if
combined with an explanation that the deeper the latch, the lesser the pain and
that mom has to be very aware of that and purposly tuck the baby very very
close. I like to suggest moms in this situation to take slow, deep, relaxing
breaths (''nose in, mouth out'') while latching the baby on.

Gonneke van Veldhuizen, IBCLC, living in Maaseik, Belgium
http://www.users.skynet.be/eurolac
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