Hello All!

 I have a question about newborn sucking behavior.  I recently saw a 2 day old infant who would latch beautifully, suck a few times, and then pull back on the nipple becoming shallow and causing mother pain.  You could see him throw his head back and stretch the nipple and then slurp it back into his mouth repeatedly.  Infant’s positioning was optimal, his tongue mobility was ideal, airway was unobstructed, sucking reflexes and overall physical exam normal.   His head was free of posterior pressure while at breast.  I noted occasional audible swallowing appropriate for his age.  Mom was a G1 and hadn’t started Lactogenesis II yet.  Infant’s weight was down 8%.  

Was this an innate behavior to stimulate mom’s milk to come in?  I wasn’t sure what to do other than encouraging mom to re-latch when pain was unresolved after attempts to bring him in closer.  
 
Insights appreciated. :)
Take care,
Amy

Amy Wagner, BS, RN, CCES, IBCLC
Hershey PA where we had 4” of snow yesterday!!  : (
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