Hi! My name is Trina Seeba and I am a student at the University of North
Dakota College of Nursing. As I was reading through various posts that had
been submitted to LACTNET, I came across a breastfeeding technique that I
was previously unaware of: the TeaCup hold. The topic prompted me to do some
research of my own to find the most commonly used techniques resulting in
proper latch and successful breastfeeding. According to Sinusas and
Gagliardi (2001), the breast should be supported using the shape of the
letter "C" with the thumb on top of the breast and the other fingers on the
underside of the breast. Tickling the baby's lips may help prompt the baby
to open wide. The baby should be held close to the mother's body with the
baby's ears, shoulders, and hips in a straight line. Latch should be
obtained around the areola with the tongue under the nipple. If a good
latch has been obtained, according to Anderson (1999), there should be
little or no pain. Anderson also reported, that it may be important to
reassure mothers that her breasts will adapt to vigorous sucking with proper
latch that may be causing discomfort and the sucking will decrease in
intensity once letdown has occurred.
While reading through various articles concerning breastfeeding and latch,
I came across an interesting teaching tool that may be of interest to some
of you. Wiessinger (1998) refers to it as the "sandwich" analogy. I will
briefly describe her technique here: 1. The mother is to imagine eating a
large, thick sandwich. 2. With both hands forming a "C" on each side of the
sandwich, squeeze it a little to make a more oval shape. Note, the thumbs
are well out of the way to allow for the bite. 3. The bottom jaw, or
mandible, drops as the underside of the sandwich is brought near. 4. When
the sandwich reaches the mandible, the maxilla is allowed to drop on the
sandwich allowing for a big bite. By using this "sandwich" analogy the
breast can be thought of as a big sandwich that the infant must contact.
Wiessinger has demonstrated this approach using water balloons filled enough
so that when squeezed the mothers fingers come together in the middle. In
most cases, once latch has successfully been achieved, there is no need to
maintain the sandwich shape.
I am unsure of how effective this technique is, but it sounds promising to
me. Finally, my question to you is this: considering all the different
breastfeeding positions and holds (the football hold, cradle hold,
scissor-hold, "C" hold, etc.), which one is most commonly used in your area
of work and which one seems to work most effectively with breastfeeding
mothers and infants?
Thank you,
Trina Seeba S.N.
Anderson, C.M. (1999). Achieving breastfeeding success: simple solutions to
common
Concerns. ADVANCE for Nurse Practitioners, 7, 67-69.
Sinusas, K. & Gagliardi, A. (2001). Information from your family doctor:
tips for
breastfeeding success. [Electronic Version]. American Family Physician, 64,
991-
992.
Wiessinger, D. (1998). A breastfeeding teaching tool using a sandwich
analogy for
latch-on. Journal of Human Lactation, 14, 51-56.
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