For Families

Positioning and latching your baby

-Hold your baby skin-to-skin

-Position your baby so that the baby's whole body is turned in to face your breast

-Support your baby with your forearm and support baby's neck and shoulder with your hand

-Allow baby's head to tilt back slightly by applying pressure between the shoulders

-Help baby to line up the nose to the nipple and ensure the chin is in close contact with the breast

-Do not force the baby onto the breast. If fussy, calm baby by holding upright and then try again

A good latch should not hurt

With a good latch, you should see the following:

Click here for animated latching demonstration

-The chin should be pressed against the breast with the baby’s head tilted back slightly

-The nose can be lightly touching the breast. If you feel the nose is buried in the breast, apply pressure between the baby's shoulders and tuck the baby's bottom in tight. This will tilt the head back and improve the latch

-The feeding begins with little sucks that become deep and slow; there should be a pause during the suck when the baby’s mouth opens wide. The longer the pause, the more breastmilk the baby is getting. On average, there should be at least 10 minutes of this deeper and slower type of suck at each feeding

-You may hear gulping sounds or quiet sounds like “ca” or “eh” when the baby swallows. You should not hear “clicking” or “smacking” with a good latch

If you are unable to hear or see your baby swallow breastmilk, seek help from a lactation consultant