I hear the concerns that you're outlining.  However, you can have both!
I've always taught, "with the chin dug well in to the underside of the
breast and the nose just touching on top" ....

I really think, It Depends, doesn't it?  When I'm helping with latching, I
like to side beside the mother on the side of the breast being used, so
that I can see really easily the baby-s lower jaw, and then do a sort of Q
& A with tiny adjustments, try this, try that, how does that feel?, and
that? until it feels good to the mother and looks right to me.  What I so
often see is stretching of the skin in and out with each suck, showing that
there is stress..... so you can move the baby's very slightly towards the
stretching to achieve a uniform look.  It's very individual, right?

The main problem is that the mother cannot _see_ underneath, especially if
she's trying the laid-back position beloved of everyone at the moment.  And
I find that she expects not to support the breast so that creates a problem
too where the nipple slips forward in the baby's mouth because his chin
can't take the weight.

But generally, yes, I find that when the nose is juuuuuust touching the
breast then that works well.

Pamela Morrison
IBCLC 1990-2020, Rustington, England

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