For Breast Feeding Mothers--How Can You Tell If Your Baby is Sucking Well?

There are so many unknowns for beginning breast feeding mothers. While some mothers seem to feel confident and relaxed from the very beginning, most of us have some feelings of awkwardness and uneasiness when we are starting to breast feed a new infant. One of the concerns is around whether the baby is sucking properly and getting enough to eat and nursing in the right way. There are ways a breast feeding mother can evaluate whether or not the baby is sucking properly at the breast...

The first thing a breast feeding mother should know is that sore nipples indicate a problem. If the baby is latching on and sucking properly, the mother should not experience any pain or soreness. If the mother is experiencing discomfort, pain during nursing or painful and sore nipples, then the process needs to be investigated to find out how to improve the baby's nursing.

A baby should be positioned close to the breast and facing the breast (not to the side with his head turned) and he should take the nipple deep into his mouth--not just the tip of the nipple. As for sucking, babies will start with quick, vigorous sucking when first placed at the breast to urge the milk to let-down. Once the let down has occurred, the mother should notice that the baby's sucking has slowed and he or she is actually swallowing after every couple long, slow sucks.

If the baby only takes part of the nipple into her mouth or doesn't seem to be sucking and swallowing contentedly, there may be a problem with either the latching on process or the sucking. If the mother is comfortable during nursing (remember, it shouldn't hurt!) and the baby seems to be sucking productively and swallowing, and the mother is still concerned--she can evaluate whether or not there are five to six wet diapers a day and the baby seems to be gaining wait appropriately.