I saw a Mom and 2-day-old yesterday.  Latching with wide open mouth on
breast, good positioning at breast.  Lots of swallowing heard throughout
feeding.  Mom experiences pain at latch and at the beginning of each sucking
burst.  Nipples have horizontal compression stripe and are slightly
compressed when baby comes off breast.

Digital exam reveals good cupping action of tongue, tongue extends over gum
line, and prominent peristaltic action from front to back of mouth.  I could
feel the waves of action from front to back getting progressively larger.
The last "wave" at the back of the mouth, just before swallowing, was very
large and a prominent "bump" in the tongue.  I think that this is what is
compressing mom's nipple.

Any way to fix this?  Is it just a long tongue?  Positioning doesn't seem to
affect it.

Barb Berges BS, RN, IBCLC
Rochester, New York

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