Why doesn't he want to breastfeed? What to do if the baby does not latch on to the breast? Such different children

I am writing this article to help those mothers whose children have given up breastfeeding. But to a greater extent - so that such problems do not arise for everyone else.

The child is hungry. He's looking for breasts. But as soon as the mother offers it, the baby turns away, arches, pushes away, and all this is accompanied by hysterical cries of the baby and mother... I myself have experienced this and I know how difficult a child’s refusal and attempts to return breastfeeding are for a mother.

No one argues that mother's milk is the best food for a baby. They only argue about how much a baby should breastfeed in order to grow up physically and mentally healthy.

Previously, in Soviet times, they tried to transfer the baby to artificial feeding as early as possible, because a Soviet woman should work and not run home to feed the child. So now we read in books from grandmother’s bookcases: “At 6 months, breastfeeding continues only optionally, depending on the instructions of the pediatrician...”.

Nowadays, feeding up to a year is considered the norm, although at this age weaning rarely takes place without children's tantrums and demands from the baby. Isn't it because it's early? After all, the mother’s breast is not only food (a one-year-old child is quite full of “adult food”), but also mother’s love, and also protection from diseases and fears, stress and pain... So the 12-14-24-30-month-old holds on the baby for his mother’s breast, as for the basis of the world, for something unshakable, reliable.

That’s why it’s funny for me to hear mothers sometimes say: “But mine gave up breastfeeding at 5 months - he no longer needed it...”. How is this possible?! Let's put psychology aside. Let's return to physiology. Man is an animal (don’t gasp or sigh: he’s smart, cunning, but an animal is not a plant :-). Animals live in nature. They don’t receive maternity pay, they don’t go to the store to buy jars of puree, they don’t wean their babies until they can take food THEMSELVES and eat it. How can a 5 month old baby do this? But a one-and-a-half-year-old baby is quite capable of climbing onto the table and eating all the potatoes from his father’s soup while he runs off to the TV.

Such different children

Okay, let’s assume that I’ve persuaded you, and you’ve firmly decided to feed your baby for up to a year, or even 2-3. Let's move on to the most important thing - the reasons for a child's refusal to breastfeed and ways to overcome difficulties. I conditionally divided them into two groups: physical and psychological. Why conditional? Yes, because sometimes it is difficult to determine which group of problems a given one belongs to. Moreover, as a rule, refusal occurs for several reasons at once. But first I would like to write a little about the characteristics of children.

Our children, like all adults, have different temperaments from birth. Some of them cannot be harmed by anything, they look at the world philosophically, confidently suck on their mother’s breast, and after that they sleep soundly. And others... screaming, crying - someone looked wrong, yelling - mom speaks louder than usual, shuddered - something fell. Some, if something doesn’t work out, continue to try again and again, while others, as soon as things don’t work out, give up everything and sit down to cry. Calm and nervous, persistent and lazy suckers, sleepyheads and vigorous ones, strong and weakened. Such different babies... It is clear that breastfeeding will develop differently for such babies. So, after reading about “what could happen”, do not be alarmed - it is not necessary that any of the above will lead to a refusal of breastfeeding.

It is also worth knowing that failure can be short-term and persistent. Short-term: “Mom smells unusual. I won’t suck.” And as soon as mom takes a swim, everything gets better. But if this is repeated constantly, the failure may become persistent, and then in order to return full-fledged breastfeeding, much more effort will be needed.

What to do if the baby wants to eat, but does not want to breastfeed?

Basic steps when weaning from breastfeeding

1. Relax - the bond between mother and baby is very strong. If the mother is nervous, the baby becomes even more nervous.
2. Try to determine the cause of the failure and, if possible, eliminate it.
3. Take a break from everyday worries. Let the apartment remain uncleaned for a couple of days, and let the husband eat dumplings.
4. Go to bed with your baby. It is highly desirable to have skin-to-skin contact - undress. Calm the baby, talk to him in a calm voice, sing lullabies, offer your breast. Sometimes awake babies do not want to take the breast, but sleeping or half-asleep babies suckle well. Use it. Stay in bed for a few days until things get better. Try not to be separated from your baby even for a minute. Explain to your relatives how important this is, let them help you - bring food and drink to bed, do not make noise or distract you. The main thing in returning the baby to the breast is your confidence that this is necessary for you and the baby.

And don’t immediately run for the formula and bottle - this will kill the very possibility of further breastfeeding. Don’t be afraid that the child has eaten almost nothing for a day - a baby with a normal weight can easily withstand 1-2 days without food. Moreover, even when refusing, the child still sucks a little. And there - hunger is not an auntie, he will have to take the breast. This is what my mother proved by keeping me, 3 months old, on a starvation diet for 3 days. And then I suckled on my breast like a sweet little thing for up to a year. So the main thing is endurance. This is what should be done in case of any serious breast refusal, and then additional actions that vary depending on the reasons that led to the refusal.

And now the actual reasons and ways to eliminate them.

Physical reasons for breast refusal

Incorrect attachment to the breast

Cause. The child does not grasp the areola, but sucks only the nipple - the milk does not flow, and the child is upset.

Treatment.

1. hold the child in your arms until he calms down;
2. lubricate the nipple and areola with milk, lightly squeeze the areola with your fingers to make it easier for the child to grab it, offer it to the baby;
3. Make sure that the baby does not “slide” towards the nipple.

The baby cannot latch onto an overfilled breast

Treatment. Before feeding, express a little milk so that the areola becomes soft.

Inverted, flat, small nipple

Treatment

1. For many women, such nipples do not interfere with feeding their children. Think about it: if in nature the children of women with such breasts died of starvation, then, according to genetics, no one would have had such breasts for many millions of years. Over time, with regular feeding, the nipple takes on a normal appearance.
2. If that doesn't work, feed with feeding pads.
3. You can try to pull out the nipple. True, it was better to start doing this before giving birth. Make a simple mechanism: remove the piston from a 5 ml disposable syringe, use a knife to cut off the part of the syringe where the needle is inserted to make a tube. Insert the piston into the cut end. Place the free end (where the finger rests) on the nipple and pull the plunger so that the nipple is pulled into the syringe. Leave it for a while. With regular exercise, the nipple will stretch.

Different breasts

Cause. It is easy to suck on one breast, but difficult on the other for some reason. There may be a refusal of this breast.

Treatment

1. Try to get rid of the reason.
2. Do not stop feeding with this breast, give it for any reason (first when feeding, sleepy, hungry, in a good mood...).
3. You can also feed a baby with one breast.

Example. I saw somewhere that a child refuses the right breast because during feeding he cannot hear the natural sound of his heartbeat... No comment.

Tight breasts

Cause. For women who are breastfeeding for the first time, the ducts that carry milk to the nipple may be very narrow. So much so that the baby has to make a lot of effort to suck out any milk. The baby sucks for a while, but you can’t hear him swallow. He lets go, screams, grabs his chest again and screams again. The baby is not gaining weight, sleeps poorly, and has fewer than 8 wet diapers per day. The breast does not empty or only slightly. The main signs are the mother's full breasts and the baby's lack of weight gain.

Treatment

1. Talk to a lactation consultant.
2. Calm down! When a woman is nervous, everything shrinks even more. Relax.
3. Before feeding, do a light relaxing massage of the chest (back, front - along the ribs), mammary glands - so that they become softer (look for massage in the Appendix).
4. For the same thing, take a hot shower on the chest and mammary glands before feeding, or you can simply try to feed while lying in a warm bath.
5. “Reverse feeding” - position: the baby lies on the bed, the mother bends over the child, leaning on her hands and gives the baby a dangling breast - this is how the milk flows with the help of gravity.
6. To soften the breasts, you can apply warm crushed cabbage leaves or semi-alcohol compresses (look in the Appendix).
7. Since the breast works on the principle of “supply and demand”, and with this problem the baby can suck, for example, 20 grams instead of 50, then tomorrow there will be 20 grams of this milk... I would advise trying to pump out the milk after feeding, decanting the breast. Over time, the ducts expand and milk flows more easily, and I would like there to be more of it.
8. Wait for the baby to grow a little, become stronger and find it easier to suck. And for the next child, no problem at all.

Example. It is my problem. That is why I write about this in such detail. You can read my experience in the article “Two Stories of One Mother.”

Full fat milk

Cause. The milk in a woman’s breast is divided into two types: first, the foremilk flows, more watery, but filled with vitamins and minerals, it is easy to suck, but the second, hind milk, is fattier, thicker and requires effort to suck it out. Some lazy or weak children don't want to or can't do this.

Treatment

1. Do a breast massage (look for massage in the App).
2. When the baby draws in milk, you can lightly massage the breast, “pushing” the milk from the edge of the breast to the nipple (do not forget that the mammary gland begins right under the armpit and from above, almost immediately under the collarbone).
3. Check every time if you have doubts: the baby asked for a second breast because this one ran out of milk or simply because it became difficult to suck. Some lazy babies suck only foremilk from both breasts, eating the required amount of food, but do not gain weight, because foremilk contains very little fat and protein. Don't follow the lead of the sloth. If during one feeding the baby sucked on both breasts, then start the next one with the breast that he sucked last.

Cause. Sometimes milk can be very fatty due to poor nutrition of the mother - excess fat (fatty meat, full-fat milk, cottage cheese, a lot of hard cheese, butter, nuts).

Treatment. Adjust your diet.

Cause. Milk can become thick in summer, during hot weather, due to lack of moisture that comes out with sweat.

Treatment. Remember to drink more than at normal temperatures.

Tasteless milk

Cause. A newborn baby's tongue has hundreds of times more taste buds than a human. And the taste of milk changes depending on the mother’s diet. And foods such as onions, garlic, cauliflower, spices, spicy foods, and radishes may not be to your baby’s liking. Some medicines and medicinal herbs have the same property.

Treatment

1. Don't eat anything your child doesn't like.
2. Under no circumstances should you take medications without a doctor’s prescription, and remind him several times: “I am breastfeeding,” and then carefully read the instructions to see if this can be used by nursing mothers, because medications can not only spoil the taste of milk, but also harm your health. child.

Example. My daughter, in my opinion, on the contrary, liked “garlic” milk. Tastes could not be discussed.

Alien smell

Cause. They conducted an experiment: barely born babies were given a choice of several worn T-shirts. And they unmistakably recognized the one that mom was wearing! Newborn babies search for breasts by smell and sleep better covered with mother's clothes. That's why they often don't take someone else's breast. And if the mother has sprayed herself with perfume, deodorant, or for some other reason does not smell like herself, then the baby may not “recognize” her.

Treatment. Take a bath with baby soap and do not mask unpleasant odors in the future, but simply take a shower more often. Wear clean or other clothes of your own.

Menstruation, pregnancy

Cause. During menstruation, and sometimes before it, as well as during pregnancy, the taste of milk deteriorates.

Treatment. Just be patient until your period ends, everything will get better. Over time, children usually get used to it.

Feedings by the hour

Cause. Some children, at the insistence of their mother, calmly switch to feeding after 3-3.5 hours. But there are children who are born with too small a stomach. People feel full when their stomach is full of food. So these children have a feeling of fullness when they eat, for example, 60 ml of milk, instead of 120 according to age. It is clear that this small amount will be absorbed faster and the child will want to eat much earlier than the prescribed 3 hours. But many parents believe that the child is capricious and, “showing firmness,” listen to the children’s cries until the right time comes.

It is clear that a screaming baby will not be able to suck normally or will refuse to do so altogether. But even if he starts eating, he will be able to eat no more than 60 grams again. At the end of the month, the clinic will find that the child is not gaining weight or is gaining too little. They will immediately remember the constant screams and tell the mother that she does not have enough milk. Next - a bottle, mixed, and then completely artificial feeding. And this despite the fact that mom has enough milk!

Treatment. Definitely feed not according to time, but according to the child’s demand. Over time, the baby's stomach stretches, and the intervals between feedings increase.

Example. For the first three months, my daughter let go of the breast for a maximum of half an hour. With her in my arms, I got the hang of doing a lot of housework (my son was 3 years old at the time, and no one helped me during the day). After 3 months, the situation changed dramatically: I forced my daughter to take an overfilled breast. She then gained a kilogram a month.

Reducing feeding time

Cause. Sometimes it is advised not only to feed on time, but also to keep the baby at the breast for no more than 15-30 minutes. But weak or slow children do not have time to suck out the required amount of food during this time. It is also difficult for them to do this with tight breasts or to demand milk from a mother who is distracted. The signs are the same as in the previous case.

Treatment. Keep your baby at your breast as long as he wants. At the maternity hospital we were told that a newborn baby (up to a month old) who suckles for less than an hour raises suspicions about whether he is healthy. Focus on your child.

No milk

Cause. Timed feeding - read the previous paragraph. Of course, when a baby constantly sucks out little milk, soon there will be an equally small amount in the breast.

Treatment

1. Feed on demand, and even more often - every 1.5-2 hours;
2. After feeding, strain “to the last drop”;
3. This milk should not be given from a bottle.

Cause. Lactation crisis, hunger crisis. Breasts are not stupid to just make milk. And then one day she decides to check whether it’s necessary at all, or whether you’ll get by anyway. And the milk disappears. A hungry child screams. She takes the breast, sucks for a short time and screams again. And the chest looks at your reaction. If you show weakness and give a bottle without disturbing the breast, then the milk does not appear.

Treatment. The same as with any failure - look for the main actions at the very beginning. The breast sees that it is needed - the baby sucks all the time - and after 2-3 days the milk appears. And often even more than it was!

Cause. Psychological reasons (mother does not want to feed, interference during feeding)

Cause. Why did you actually decide that you don’t have milk? Check: Weigh your baby once a week to monitor weight gain. Count for several days how many times a day your baby pees. Normally, there should be at least 8 wet diapers per day (provided that the child does not receive water or additional nutrition, otherwise the result will not be reliable).

Treatment

1. Read the previous and following paragraphs - maybe the reason is something else?
2. Eliminate it.
3. Feed on demand and even more often - every 1.5-2 hours.
4. After feeding, strain until the last drop.
5. This milk should not be given from a bottle.
6. Be sure that the milk will return.

Example. A friend entrusted her one-year-old daughter to a young employee of my mother for a few days - she needed to leave on business. There she died tragically, and the newly appointed nanny had to look after the girl for more than a month. Because of worries about the fate of the little orphan, this girl (who had never even been pregnant) began to produce milk! This despite the fact that she didn’t put it to her breast! So do you really love your children less?!

What could be the reasons for children refusing to breastfeed and ways to overcome these reasons. Conventionally, they are divided into two groups: physical and psychological. Why is that? Because sometimes it is difficult to determine which group of causes the problem that arises belongs to.

Why does the baby not want to breastfeed?

A baby's refusal to breastfeed can occur for several reasons. All children, just like adults, have a different character from birth. Calm and nervous, persistent and lazy, sleepy and vigorous, strong and weakened - they are all different children and they eat differently. Breast refusal can be short-term and persistent. Short-term: “Mom smells unusual. I won’t suck.” But as soon as mom takes a swim, everything will work out. But if this is repeated periodically, then the refusal may become persistent and then, in order to return full breastfeeding, it will be necessary to make much more effort.

What to do if the baby does not take the breast?

class="h-1" >

If baby won't latch on, you need to: 1) calm down - the connection between mother and baby is very strong. If the mother is nervous, then the baby is nervous. 2) try to determine the cause of the failure and, if possible, eliminate it. 3) take a break from everyday activities. Let the apartment be untidy, and the husband eat dumplings. 4) Mom needs to go to bed with the baby. It is necessary that there is skin-to-skin contact, for this the mother needs to undress. Calm the baby, talk to him in a gentle voice, sing a lullaby, offer your breast. Sometimes awake but asleep or half asleep - sucks well. And you can’t immediately run for formula and a bottle - by doing this you kill the very possibility of further breastfeeding. Don’t be afraid that the child has eaten almost nothing for a day - a baby with a normal weight can easily withstand 1-2 days without food. Moreover, even if the child refuses, he still sucks a little. The baby will get hungry and will latch on to the breast.

Physical reasons for baby's refusal to breastfeed:

1. The mother does not attach the baby to the breast correctly. If the baby does not grab the areola, but only sucks on the nipple itself, then the milk will not flow through it and the baby will be upset. Need to:

• calm the baby in your arms
• lubricate the nipple and areola with milk, lightly squeeze the areola with your fingers so that it is easy for the baby to grasp the entire areola correctly and offer it to the child.
• make sure your baby feeds correctly at the breast

When feeding, the mother holds her breast and holds the baby close to her. But when there is pressure on the breasts, the milk ducts are blocked. And the child is simply not comfortable lying down. You need to attach the baby correctly. Do not press too hard; the baby’s head should not turn to the side during feeding. If your child refuses to breastfeed, do not despair.

2. It is difficult for a baby to latch on to an overfilled breast. Before feeding, you need to express a little milk so that the areola becomes soft.

3. Mom has a flat nipple on her chest. Many women have elongated or flat nipples and this does not prevent them from feeding their babies; if feeding is not possible without breastplates, then you need to feed with breastfeeding shields. You can pull out the nipple, this is regular breastfeeding and the baby will begin to take this breast

4. Breasts are different sizes. The baby sucks easily on one breast, but on the other, for example, with difficulty. The baby may refuse this breast. It is necessary not to stop feeding the breast that the child refuses and to give it to the baby for any reason (the first one during feeding, when the baby woke up at night and during the day, a hungry child, in a good mood, etc.) Of course, you can also feed a child with one breast. However, the size of a woman's breasts will vary.

16.04.2013 10:20:00

I am writing this article to help those mothers whose children have given up breastfeeding. But to a greater extent - so that such problems do not arise for everyone else.
The child is hungry. He's looking for breasts. But as soon as the mother offers it, the baby turns away, arches, pushes away, and all this is accompanied by hysterical cries of the baby and mother... I myself have experienced this and I know how the child’s refusal and attempts to return to breastfeeding are difficult for the mother.

Is breastfeeding necessary for an older child?
No one argues that mother's milk is the best food for a baby. They only argue about how much a baby should breastfeed in order to grow up physically and mentally healthy. Previously, in Soviet times, they tried to transfer the baby to artificial feeding as early as possible, because a Soviet woman should work and not run home to feed the child. So now we read in books from grandmother’s bookcases: “At 6 months, breastfeeding continues only optionally, depending on the instructions of the pediatrician...” Nowadays, breastfeeding up to a year is considered the norm, although at this age weaning rarely takes place without children’s tantrums and demands from the boob. Isn't it because it's early? After all, the mother’s breast is not only food (a one-year-old child is quite full of “adult food”), but also mother’s love, and also protection from diseases and fears, stress and pain... So a 12-14-24-30 month old baby clings to mother’s breast, as the basis of the world, for something unshakable, reliable. That’s why it’s funny for me to hear mothers sometimes say: “But mine gave up breastfeeding at 5 months - he didn’t need it anymore...” How is this possible?! Let's put psychology aside. Let's return to physiology. Man is an animal (don’t gasp or sigh: he’s smart, cunning, but an animal is not a plant :-)). Animals live in nature. They don’t receive maternity pay, they don’t go to the store to buy jars of puree, they don’t wean their babies until they can take food THEMSELVES and eat it. How can a 5 month old baby do this? But a one-and-a-half-year-old baby is quite capable of climbing onto the table and eating all the potatoes from his father’s soup while he runs off to the TV.

Such different children
Okay, let’s assume that I’ve persuaded you, and you’ve firmly decided to feed your baby for up to a year, or even 2-3. Let's move on to the most important thing - the reasons for a child's refusal to breastfeed and ways to overcome difficulties. I conditionally divided them into two groups: physical and psychological. Why conditional? Yes, because sometimes it is difficult to determine which group of problems a given one belongs to. Moreover, as a rule, refusal occurs for several reasons at once. But first I would like to write a little about the characteristics of children.

Our children, like all adults, have different temperaments from birth. Some of them cannot be harmed by anything, they look at the world philosophically, confidently suck on their mother’s breast, and after that they sleep soundly. And others... screaming, crying - someone looked wrong, screaming - mom speaks louder than usual, shuddered - something fell. Some, if something doesn’t work out, continue to try again and again, while others, as soon as things don’t work out, give up everything and sit down to cry. Calm and nervous, persistent and lazy suckers, sleepyheads and vigorous ones, strong and weakened. Such different babies... It is clear that breastfeeding will develop differently for such babies. So, after reading about “what could happen”, do not be alarmed - it is not necessary that any of the above will lead to a refusal of breastfeeding. It is also worth knowing that failure can be short-term and persistent. Short-term: “Mom smells unusual. I won’t suck.” And as soon as mom takes a swim, everything gets better. But if this is repeated constantly, the failure may become persistent and then, in order to return a full-fledged breastfeeding, much more effort will need to be made.

What to do if the baby wants to eat, but does not want to breastfeed?
HERE ARE THE BASIC STEPS:
1) calm down - the bond between mother and baby is very strong. If the mother is nervous, the baby becomes even more nervous.
2) try to determine the cause of the failure and, if possible, eliminate it.
3) take a break from everyday worries. Let the apartment remain uncleaned for a couple of days, and let the husband eat dumplings.
4) Go to bed with your baby. It is very desirable that there is skin-to-skin contact - undress. Calm the baby, talk to him in a calm voice, sing lullabies, offer your breast. Sometimes awake babies do not want to take the breast, but sleeping or half-asleep babies suckle well. Use it. Stay in bed for a few days until things get better. Try not to be separated from your baby even for a minute. Explain to your relatives how important this is, let them help you - bring food and drink to bed, do not make noise or distract you. The main thing in returning the baby to the breast is your confidence that this is necessary for you and the baby. And don’t immediately run for the formula and bottle - this will kill the very possibility of further breastfeeding. Don’t be afraid that the child has eaten almost nothing for a day - a baby with a normal weight can easily withstand 1-2 days without food. Moreover, even if the child refuses, he still sucks a little. And there - hunger is not an auntie, he will have to take the breast. This is what my mother proved by keeping me, 3 months old, for 3 days. starvation rations. And then I suckled on my breast like a sweet little thing for up to a year. So, the main thing is endurance. This is what should be done in case of any serious breast refusal, and then additional actions that vary depending on the reasons that led to the refusal.
And now the actual reasons and their solutions.

PHYSICAL REASONS

1. INCORRECT ATTACHMENT TO THE BREAST. Cause: The child does not grasp the areola, but sucks only the nipple - the milk does not flow and the child is upset. Treatment: 1) hold the baby in your arms until he calms down 2) lubricate the nipple and areola with milk, lightly squeeze the areola with your fingers to make it easier for the child to grab it, offer it to the baby. 3) make sure that the child does not “slide” towards the nipple.
Cause: When feeding, you hold your breast and hold the baby close to you. But when there is pressure on the breasts, the milk ducts are blocked. And the child is simply not comfortable lying like that. Treatment: Latch your baby correctly. Do not press too hard; the head should not turn to the side during feeding.

2. Cause: BABY CANNOT LATCH ON AN FULL BREAST Treatment: before feeding, express a little milk so that the areola becomes soft.

3. RETRACTED, FLAT, SMALL NIPPLE Treatment: 1) for many women, such nipples do not interfere with feeding their children. Think about it: if in nature the children of women with such breasts died of starvation, then, according to genetics, no one would have had such breasts for many millions of years. Over time, with regular feeding, the nipple takes on a normal appearance. 2) if that doesn’t work, feed with feeding pads. 3) You can try to pull out the nipple. True, it was better to start doing this before giving birth. Make a simple mechanism: remove the piston from a 5 ml disposable syringe, use a knife to cut off the part of the syringe where the needle is inserted to make a tube. Insert the piston into the cut end. Apply the free end (where the finger rests) to the nipple and pull the piston so that the nipple is pulled into the syringe. Leave it for a while. With regular exercise, the nipple will stretch out.

4. DIFFERENT BREASTS Cause: It is easy to suck on one breast, but difficult on the other for some reason. Maybe giving up this breast. Treatment: 1) try to get rid of the cause. 2) do not stop feeding with this breast, give it for any reason (first when feeding, sleepy, hungry, in a good mood...) 3) you can also feed a baby with one breast. Example: I met somewhere that a child refuses the right breast because during feeding he cannot hear the familiar sound of his heartbeat... no comment

5. TIGHT BREASTS. Cause: In women who are breastfeeding for the first time, the ducts that carry milk to the nipple may be very narrow. So much so that the baby has to make a lot of effort to suck out at least some milk. The baby sucks for a while, but you can’t hear him swallow. He lets go, screams, grabs his chest again and screams again. The baby is not gaining weight, sleeps poorly, and has fewer than 8 wet diapers per day. The breast does not empty or only slightly. The main signs are: the mother has full breasts and the baby does not gain weight. Treatment: 1) talk to a lactation consultant, 2) calm down! When a woman is nervous, everything shrinks even more. Relax. 3) Before feeding a) warm or hot shower on the chest. If there is no possibility of a shower, we warm the diaper with an iron and apply it to the chest to warm it up. b) We do the mammary glands - so that they become softer (look for a massage in Application 3) do a light relaxing chest massage (back, front - along the ribs). 4)
For the same thing, take a hot shower on the chest and mammary glands before feeding, or you can simply try to feed while lying in a warm bath. 5) “reverse feeding” - position: the baby lies on the bed, the mother leans over the child, leaning on her hands, and gives the baby a dangling breast - this is how milk flows with the help of gravity. 6) When the baby draws in milk, you can lightly massage the breast, “pushing” the milk from the edge of the breast to the nipple (do not forget that the mammary gland begins right under the armpit and from above, almost immediately under the collarbone). 7) To soften the breasts, you can apply warm crushed cabbage leaves or semi-alcohol compresses (look for Application) 8) since the breast works on the principle of “supply and demand”, and with this problem the baby can suck, for example, 20 grams instead of 50, then tomorrow there will be 20 grams of this milk... I would advise trying to pump out the milk after feeding, decanting the breast. Over time, the ducts expand, and milk flows easier, and I would like there to be more of it. Although some breastfeeding consultants do not advise doing this - the milk will come in, but the ducts will remain narrow, and lactostasis is possible. So the main thing is to pay attention to yourself. 9) Give this milk not from a bottle. 10) Contrast can help - a hot shower, massage, and then some kind of cold on the chest (like frozen vegetables from the freezer). This is all done to expand the ducts. 11) But the main thing is that the child grasps the breast correctly - not only the nipple, but also the areola. And when the baby grasps correctly, he sucks even from a tight breast with narrow ducts 12) Wait for the baby to grow a little, become stronger and it will be easier for him to suck. And for the next child, no problem at all. Example: It is my problem. That is why I write about this in such detail. You can read my experience in the article “Two Stories of One Mother.”

6. FAT MILK. Cause: the milk in a woman’s breast is divided into two types: first, the foremilk flows, more watery, but filled with vitamins and minerals, it is easy to suck, but the second, hind milk is fattier, thicker and in order to suck it out,
you need to make an effort. Some lazy or weak children don't want to or can't do this. Treatment: 1) do a chest massage (look for a massage in Application). 2) When the baby draws in milk, you can lightly massage the breast, “pushing” the milk from the edge of the breast to the nipple (do not forget that the mammary gland begins right under the armpit and from above, almost immediately under the collarbone). 3) Check every time if doubts arise: the child asked for a second breast because this one ran out of milk or simply because it became difficult to suck. Some lazy babies suck only foremilk from both breasts, eating the required amount of food, but do not gain weight, because foremilk contains very little fat and protein. Don't follow the lead of the sloth. If during one feeding the baby sucked on both breasts, then start the next one with the breast that he sucked last.

Cause: sometimes milk can be very fatty due to poor nutrition of the mother - EXCESS OF FATS (fatty meat, full-fat milk, cottage cheese, a lot of hard cheese, butter, nuts)
Treatment: Adjust your diet.
Cause: milk can become thick in summer DURING HEAT due to lack of moisture that comes out with sweat. Treatment: do not forget to drink more than at normal air temperatures.

7. NOT TASTY MILK. Cause: A newborn baby's tongue has hundreds of times more taste buds than a human. And the taste of milk changes depending on the mother’s diet. And foods such as onions, garlic, cauliflower, spices, spicy foods, and radishes may not be to your baby’s liking. Some medicines and medicinal herbs have the same property. Treatment: 1) Don't eat anything your child doesn't like. 2) Under no circumstances take medications without a doctor’s prescription and remind him several times: “I am breastfeeding,” and then carefully read the instructions to see if this can be used by nursing mothers, because medications can spoil not only the taste of the milk, but also harm your child's health. Example: but my daughter, in my opinion, on the contrary, liked “garlic” milk. Tastes could not be discussed.

8. ANOTHER SMELL. Cause: conducted an experiment: barely born babies were given a choice of several worn T-shirts. And they unmistakably recognized the one that mom was wearing! Newborn babies search for breasts by smell and sleep better covered with mother's clothes. That's why they often don't take someone else's breast. And if the mother has sprayed herself with perfume, deodorant, or for some other reason does not smell like herself, then the baby may not “recognize” her. Treatment: bathe with baby soap and in the future do not mask unpleasant odors, but simply take a shower more often. Wear clean or other clothes of your own.

9. MENSTRUGS, PREGNANCY. Cause: During menstruation, and sometimes before it, as well as during pregnancy, the taste of milk deteriorates. Treatment: Just be patient until your period is over, everything will work out. Over time, children usually get used to it.

10. FEEDING BY THE HOUR. Cause: Some children, at the insistence of their mother, calmly switch to feeding after 3-3.5 hours. But there are children who are born with too small a stomach. People feel full when their stomach is full of food. So these children have a feeling of fullness when they eat, for example, 60 ml of milk, instead of 120 according to age. It is clear that this small amount will be absorbed faster and the child will want to eat much earlier than the prescribed 3 hours. But many parents believe that the child is capricious and, “showing firmness,” listen to the children’s cries until the right time comes. It is clear that a screaming baby will not be able to suck normally or will refuse to do so altogether. But even if he starts eating, he will be able to eat no more than 60 grams again. At the end of the month, the clinic will find that the child is not gaining weight or is gaining too little. They will immediately remember the constant screams and tell the mother that she does not have enough milk. Next - a bottle, mixed, and then completely artificial feeding. And this despite the fact that mom has enough milk! Treatment: Definitely: feed not according to time, but according to the child’s demand. Over time, the baby's stomach stretches, and the intervals between feedings increase. Example:
For the first three months, my daughter let go of the breast for a maximum of half an hour. With her in my arms, I got used to doing a lot of housework (my son was 3 years old at the time and no one helped me during the day). After 3 months, the situation changed dramatically: I forced my daughter to take an overfilled breast. She then gained a kilogram a month.

REDUCE FEEDING TIME. Cause: sometimes, it is advised not only to feed on time, but also to keep the baby at the breast for no more than 15-30 minutes. But weak or slow children do not have time to suck out the required amount of food during this time. Just as it is difficult for them to do this with tight breasts or to demand milk from a mother who is distracted. The signs are the same as in the previous case. Treatment: hold your baby at your breast as long as he wants. At the maternity hospital we were told that a newborn baby (up to a month old) who suckles for less than an hour raises suspicions about whether he is healthy. Focus on your child.

11. NO MILK. Cause:timed feeding- read the previous paragraph. Of course, when a baby constantly sucks out little milk, soon there will be an equally small amount in the breast. Treatment: 1) feed on demand, and even more often - every 1.5-2 hours, 2) after feeding, strain “to the last drop”, 3) give this milk not from a bottle.

Cause:lactation crisis, hunger crisis- breasts are not stupid, it’s just how you make milk. And then one day she decides to check whether it is necessary at all or will you get by as is. And the milk disappears. A hungry child screams. She takes the breast, sucks for a short time and screams again. And the chest looks at your reaction. If you show weakness and give a bottle without disturbing the breast, then the milk does not appear. But!… Treatment: 1) the same as for any refusal - look for the BASIC ACTIONS at the very beginning. The breast sees that it is needed - the child all the time
sucks - and after 2-3 days the milk appears. And often even more than it was!

Cause:psychological reasons(MOM DOESN'T WANT TO FEED, INTERFERENCE DURING FEEDING) Treatment: Look further.

Cause: why exactly did you decide that you have no milk? Check: Weigh your baby once a week to monitor weight gain. Count for several days how many times a day your baby pees. Normally, there should be at least 8 wet diapers per day (provided that the child does not receive water or additional nutrition - then the result will not be reliable). Treatment: 1) read the previous and following paragraphs - maybe the reason is something else? 2) eliminate it. 3) Feed on demand and even more often - every 1.5-2 hours, 4) after feeding, strain “to the last drop.” 5) Give this milk not from a bottle. 6) Be sure that the milk will return. Example: A friend entrusted her one-year-old daughter to a young employee of my mother for a few days - she needed to leave on business. There she died tragically, and the newly appointed nanny had to look after the girl for more than a month. Because of worries about the fate of the little orphan, this girl (who had never even been pregnant) began to produce milk! This despite the fact that she didn’t put it to her breast! So do you really love your children less?!
Cause: If there is no milk or it is not enough, but breastfeeding I really want to feed.Treatment: you can use the idea from the book by William and Martha Sears (he is a pediatrician, she is a mother) they had several children of their own and several adopted ones. Moreover, they took two of them as infants. The foster mother really wanted to feed them and came up with this design: put milk or formula into the largest syringe you can find. Instead of a needle, insert a thin flexible tube (for example, from a blood and fluid transfusion system - a dropper. Of course - from a new, unused one). The tube is attached to the chest so that its free end is on the nipple and the child grasps the nipple along with the tube. Watch your baby and when he makes a sucking movement, squirt a little milk into the baby's mouth with a syringe. With a little practice, you will learn exactly how much to inject. Of course, it is better to prepare as many syringes as you need to give food to your baby.

12. TOO MUCH MILK Cause: The milk flows too quickly. The child does not have time to swallow it, chokes, swallows air. Treatment: 1) before feeding, express a little milk, if it flows freely, wait until it is slightly
will drain. 2) During feeding, lift the baby upright so that he burps. 3) Try feeding in a position where the milk cannot flow out under gravity. For example, lie on your back and place the baby on top of you so that he grabs the nipple. Try different variations of this pose.

13. THE CHILD EXPERIENCES DISCOMFORT. Cause: wet film, a fold of clothing that presses on delicate skin, diaper rash, teething, etc. Treatment: Check the diapers, change the diaper, change/change clothes, carefully examine the baby. Some of these reasons are described in more detail below.

14. ANATOMICAL FEATURES OF THE CHILD. Cause: A short frenulum of the tongue, which does not allow the child to suck normally. Treatment: Surgical treatment may be required. Talk to your dentist.

15. CHILD'S ILLNESS. Cause:Thrush- Look into the baby's mouth. If there are white spots on the tongue, gums, and cheeks, then most likely it is candidiasis - thrush. It is simply very painful for the baby to put anything in his mouth. Treatment: 1) consultation with a pediatrician, 2) 1 teaspoon of baking soda per glass of water. In this liquid, moisten a bandage wrapped around a clean finger and wipe the baby’s mouth, 3) give the child a couple of sips of water after feeding - rinse the mouth of milk, 4) during treatment, before feeding, wash the breast with soap, 5) sterilize all toys, wash the bed , wash your hands thoroughly after personal hygiene. The same can happen when stomatitis and measles.

Cause:Runny nose, dry crusts in the nose - a clogged nose makes it difficult to breathe during feeding. Treatment: 1) before feeding, instill saline solution into the nose and suck out the mucus with an aspirator until the nose is clear. But under no circumstances should you clean your nose with cotton swabs or cotton swabs - lint may remain in the nose and irritate it. 2) The air in the room should be humid, cool (up to 20 degrees) and clean - dry hot air dries out the mucus and the situation becomes simply catastrophic. Even if the baby does not have a runny nose.

Cause:Colic- the child sucks, suddenly drops the breast, wrinkles, screams painfully and sharply, writhes, draws his knees to his stomach, farts. Treatment: 1) check whether the baby is latching onto the nipple correctly and is not swallowing air during feeding, 2) feed the baby so that his bare tummy is leaning against your naked body - the heat helps the passage of gases, place his stomach on warm diapers, 3) in 15 minutes Before feeding, place the baby on your stomach - body weight and warmth help the gases to pass away. 4) Then - massage the tummy - stroke it clockwise. Talk about this with your pediatrician and nurse, 5) watch your diet - cabbage, fresh apples and juice, brown bread, legumes, rice can provoke colic in the baby. Example: My friend’s daughter had colic when her mother ate... potatoes. It took up to 6 months. don't eat it. And then everything got better for the baby.

Cause:Sores in the mouth.Treatment: Consult your doctor. It is possible to use a drug that is used for teething. Example:(from a pediatrician’s book) at an appointment, a woman complains that the baby does not latch on to the breast. They looked into the mouth, and stuck to the gum was a scale from a grain that had fallen out of the canary’s cage. The scale was taken out, and the child greedily grabbed the breast.

Cause:Other illnesses of the childTreatment: I hope that after reading the rest of the tips, you will find something that will help you.

Cause:Hospital- look in the section on psychological problems

16. One of the most popular reasons for breast refusal is the BOTTLE or DIMER. Cause: If a baby is given food or water from a bottle, he may refuse the breast for the following reasons: First: It is much easier to suck from a bottle than from a breast, especially if the breast is tight. And babies, like all people, are terribly lazy. So they are looking for somewhere to work less and get more. Therefore, as soon as the baby finds out that he can eat practically without straining, he declares: “I don’t want this, I want it.” Secondly: the baby sucks the breast mainly with his tongue, and bottles and pacifiers - straining his cheeks. If a child receives a breast and a bottle alternately, he may “confuse” what to suck. The result is breast refusal. Thirdly: if you give formula from a bottle, then the amount of milk in the mother will decrease by as much as the baby ate the formula. (See NO MILK). Treatment: 1) throw away the bottle. Into the garbage chute. 2) Everything that was said at the very beginning, in the BASIC ACTIONS. 3) give all complementary foods (porridge, kefirs, soups, etc.) only from a spoon or cup. 4) Give water, expressed milk, a mixture from a cup, glass, spoon, syringe without a needle, through a cocktail tube, but not from a bottle. It is convenient to drink from coffee cups with bent edges and from soft medical cups - they can be comfortably squeezed. The main thing is that the child does not choke. In general, there is no need to give water to a healthy baby on breastfeeding at normal body and air temperatures. It is necessary to offer it, but to force it to drink is not. Example 1: My brother’s wife started giving the baby anti-colic tea from a bottle. A month later, a call: “He’s screaming, wants to eat, fidgeting, won’t take the breast, grandma is about to run for formula.” I finally persuaded her to calm down and advised her to remove the bottle and do all the BASIC STEPS. After two days everything got better. Two weeks later the call comes again: “He’s refusing to breastfeed again. She didn’t give me a bottle.” It turned out that while she was going to the store, the loving grandmother gave her grandson sweet tea from a bottle found in the closet. This time the battles for the Civil War lasted three days. Example 2: a friend shows the child (summer, terrible heat). The girl has obvious signs of dehydration: dry lips and tongue, sunken fontanel, a dent on the thigh that evens out very slowly when pressed with a finger. They started drinking. I managed to pour in some water with a spoon and a syringe without a needle. No other way. But the child felt better. So they left with the firm intention of calling an ambulance if they couldn’t get the baby to drink. At home they tried all the utensils: tea and coffee cups, shot glasses, soft medicinal cups - to no avail. But as soon as they gave her water in a cut glass, the baby latched onto it and didn’t let go until she drank half of it. 5) Do I need to supplement with formula? Try the method I described in the NO MILK section, feed through a tube connected to the nipple. Or this improvement: take an ordinary pipette, rinse the rubber band well, pierce a small hole in it, put it on a dropper (new and sterile, of course) and try to feed the baby so that it gets used to a very small nipple in the mouth; it is advisable to make a soft one on such a homemade nipple limiter (carefully cut off the nipple shield). The flow from the nipple must be done first, so that the child agrees to drink, and then gradually reduce it, and press the baby’s cheek to your breast; after a certain amount of feeding, slip the breast (preferably half asleep). 6) If you cannot do without a bottle or pacifier, take an anatomical bottle with the smallest nipple size, regardless of the child’s age. The smallest nipples are sometimes called: “from 0 to 3 months, as well as for breastfed children.” But Dr. Komarovsky believes that there is no problem with bottles if you do everything yourself: buy a Soviet pacifier at the pharmacy and do not pierce a hole with a hot needle, but break through it so that you get a small crack. By turning such a nipple in the baby’s mouth, you can regulate the “pressure” of milk. The main thing is that it is harder for the baby to suck on the bottle than on the breast. Example 3: I'm 3 months old. I refuse my mother's breast. They take me to doctors and they are going to cut my frenulum. And then the surgeon saw just a huge pacifier in my mouth. “Mommy, where can you find a nipple of this size?! Buy a small pacifier immediately!” I breastfed until I was 1 year old, until my mother’s maternity leave ended.

PSYCHOLOGICAL REASONS

Nowadays no one denies that our consciousness affects our (and not only) health (“All diseases come from nerves”). Often a person cannot recover without knowing that the cause of the disease is unconscious problems. You just need to find out what is stopping you personally from feeding your baby safely. You might read the headlines and say, “That’s not my problem.” Take your time. Honor everything. Even if these are not your troubles, then perhaps, by remembering what you read, you can help your friends?

17. MOM DOESN'T WANT TO FEED Cause: Consciously or unconsciously, the mother does not want to feed. Feeding tires her. The mother tries to reduce the time of feedings, increase the intervals between them, begins to introduce complementary foods early, often gives water when the baby cries, the baby is more often in a crib or in a stroller than in her arms. Feeding on demand is practically impossible for such a mother. The reasons may be different: an unwanted child, a child from an unloved man, oppressive changes in the usual rhythm of life, fatigue from constant contact with the baby. I want to focus on the last one. A young mother, exhausted by crying, sleepless nights, etc. Sometimes I want to be on my own. But sometimes it takes on pathological forms. If you asked these mothers better, it would turn out that they themselves were either not breastfed, or fed very little; the mother was then more accustomed to being in the crib herself than in her mother’s arms. So this impossibility of being a kangaroo mother arises from infancy. The child feels all this, and, following the unspoken order of the mother, abandons the breast. Moreover, there are other reasons that I described earlier. Treatment: everything will immediately improve if 1) the mother realizes her problem and, possibly, its causes. 2) if the mother puts herself in the child’s place. He is lying in the crib. Let it be in the most beautiful one with the best toys, but without a mother. “No one will come up or smile. What about mom's heart? I can't hear him. There is no smell of mom. Only baby oil smells. What if I no longer have a mother? Did she leave me? Imagine that the person you love has abandoned you... Or in other words: how long would you like to live? 70 years old? 80? Take a sewing tape measure and measure out as many centimeters as you would like to live. This is your life. Life, busy with your growing up, your studies, your work, your entertainment, your love... Now find your current age and measure one centimeter-year forward. How small and unnoticeable he is, compared to 80 years of life! So, is it really impossible to allocate one tiny centimeter for a child out of all these years of caring for yourself and your loved one?! You can do it! Love your baby and everything will work out for you!

18. MOM DIDN’T WANT A BABY DURING PREGNANCY Treatment: see previous paragraph.

19. NON-DAIRY FAMILY Cause:“No one in our family had milk”, “no one fed for a long time” Treatment: see paragraph 17.

20. INTERFERENCE DURING FEEDING Cause: mother watches TV, reads, talks on the phone while feeding, communicates with friends and relatives and forgets that milk is not collected in the breast from feeding to feeding, but is produced during the feeding itself. In order for milk to flow, the brain must send a corresponding signal to the breast. Remember: you heard a baby crying, thought about the baby and your breasts immediately swelled, milk began to flow... And if you watch TV while feeding, then... well, tell me, why does that aunt from the series need your breast milk? So the brain does not send a signal to the chest. It turns out that the baby sucked the few grams that had accumulated, sucked and sucked at the breast, for what seemed like an hour, but was still hungry. And fell asleep from fatigue. And half an hour later I woke up and cried again... And they told my mother: you definitely don’t have milk! Next thing you know. Treatment: when you feed, feed. Look at the child. Think about him.

Cause: people, noise, conversation, movement of even the hungriest baby will take your mind off your chest, because one of the most basic activities of a child is learning. So he collects information. Treatment: feed in a separate room, where there are no people, noise, TV, radio... be alone with the child. You can turn on soft melodic music. Lock yourself in the bathroom or kitchen, after all!

21. CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCES Cause: In the life of a newborn child, a lot of changes happen at once: childbirth and with it the air, gravity, large bright spaces, blinding light, loud sounds. Therefore, when a child gets used to his crib, room, apartment, daily routine, and relatives, his reluctance to experience new changes is understandable. And these changes include moving to a new apartment, a change in routine, a trip to visit, noisy guests, etc. And if in such a situation the child begins to refuse breastfeeding, any grandmother will say: “The guests have jinxed them.” Treatment: 1) Create as calm an environment as possible. 2) surround your child with his favorite things. 3) All BASIC ACTIONS. 4) If your child reacts so strongly to change, stop making any changes for a while. 5) If you need to leave, take items that are dear to your baby: a blanket, a toy, a lamp, soft bumpers from the crib... Example: Some of my friends always carried with them a piece of wallpaper that covered the nursery. They hung it on the train, above the baby’s sleeping place while visiting...

22. HOSPITAL Cause: this is exactly the case when several negative factors occur at once: a change in the situation, the child’s illness, the mother’s anxiety, unpleasant medical procedures, and sometimes bottle feeding. Treatment: BASIC ACTIONS. You will succeed!

23. PSYCHOLOGICAL SHOCK, Cause: some mentally traumatic situation can lead to breast refusal. For example, mother's departure for a while. Treatment: 1) BASIC ACTIONS. 2) if possible, cancel all long trips. 3) If this is not possible, prepare the child: let him stay more with someone who will look after him while his mother is away. 4) When you return, you will have to pay five times more attention to your child than before leaving. Example: My friend needed to leave twice for a few days. The 8-month-old daughter endured the first trip calmly. And on the second trip, the girl constantly cried, called her mother, and did not sleep. When the mother returned, the baby refused to come up to her, to be held in her arms, etc.

24. CRISIS OF 3 MONTHS Cause: adolescence is not only the beginning of puberty among adolescents. We experience age-related crises throughout our lives. And one of the first is the 3-month crisis. At this age, attentive parents notice a sharp surge in the child’s interest in his surroundings. But every transitional age is not only positive acquisitions, but also... Well, you remember yourself at 14 years old. Treatment: BASIC ACTIONS and more attention. Please note that, most likely, there is some other reason that has not bothered the child before.

25. NERVOUS MOTHER Cause: mother and child are very strongly connected. Therefore, the mother may feel that something is wrong with the baby. Likewise, the child feels well that something is happening to his mother. Especially when you consider that the mother’s fear hormones, etc., get into the child’s milk with mother’s milk. Treatment: 1) calm down. 2) MAIN ACTIONS.

26. Evil eye Cause: CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCE, NERVOUSNESS OF THE MOTHER, the child gets sick, but so far it is not noticeable and... maybe there really is something like that? Treatment: 1) look for prosaic reasons, 2) BASIC ACTIONS, 3) go to church.

Breastfeeding is an integral part of the full and healthy development of every child.

But, due to problems with lactation, which every third woman has to face today, the feeding process turns into a real torment for both mother and baby, who does not receive the required amount of nutrients. It’s one thing when the problem is a lack of milk, but what to do if the baby refuses to latch on to the breast and remains hungry?

The child does not take the breast: problems with the mother

Often the process of breastfeeding is disrupted due to the special structure of the mother’s mammary glands. If the nipple is very large, flat or inverted, it is difficult for the baby to grasp and hold it in the mouth. Such feeding tires the baby very much and as a result the child remains hungry. If over time the baby does not adapt to such anatomical features of the mother, it is worth using special silicone pads. In some cases, a woman may experience a blocked milk duct or stagnation of milk, which causes hardening and swelling of the nipple, which makes breastfeeding much more difficult. In this case, regular pumping helps.

Sometimes the breastfeeding process is disrupted due to the fact that the nursing woman takes certain medications that give the milk a specific taste. A young mother should closely monitor her health. Incorrect breastfeeding can cause significant discomfort for both the baby and the nursing woman. One of the most important problems is cracked nipples, which cause terrible pain.

To get rid of this defect, use specialized lanonin-based products. Do not use any traditional medicine, vaseline or vegetable oil - these substances can lead to the development of an allergic reaction. In addition, foreign smell and taste can cause the baby to not latch on to the breast. If any breast pathologies are detected, you should undergo timely treatment and be regularly examined by a specialist.

If a nursing woman experiences a disruption in her menstrual cycle or a new pregnancy occurs, the child may refuse to breastfeed due to a change in the emotional state of the mother. Be sure to monitor your diet by completely eliminating caffeinated foods, fatty and fried foods from your daily menu. A nursing woman should not abuse all kinds of nutritional supplements and vitamin complexes.

If you feel the need to take them, consult your doctor first. You should also be extremely careful when using cosmetics, avoiding products with a strong specific odor that may be unpleasant to your child.

In some cases, the problem may be the well-known postpartum depression, when the mother may not respond to the baby’s crying, often leaving him alone in the room, treating her child rudely and inappropriately. Children, despite their young age, very sensitively feel rudeness and cruelty, so they themselves begin to distance themselves from their mother. In this case, you should stock up not only with great endurance, but also with the help of an experienced psychologist who will help you resolve this situation painlessly.

Reasons why a child refuses to breastfeed:

1. The sucking reflex is insufficiently developed - this problem should be worked on by putting the baby to the breast more often;

2. During intrauterine development or during childbirth, the baby had hypoxia;

3. Bottle feeding is one of the most common factors why a child refuses his mother's breast. It is much easier to suck from a bottle, but it takes some effort to get milk from the nipple. Pediatricians recommend limiting a child from bottles and nipples for up to six months, because this is a very important period when all efforts must be directed toward maintaining breastfeeding. After giving your baby formula or bottle water several times, be prepared to face protest and be patient as you wean your baby back to the breast. Even if there is a need to introduce complementary foods, it is better to give the child food from a spoon or syringe.

4. Incorrect posture during feeding - perhaps the baby lies uncomfortably, gets tired very quickly and does not fully eat. The optimal position is the head is slightly thrown back so that the nose is at the level of the nipple.

5. A short sublingual frenulum is a defect that requires surgical intervention. If such a pathology is present, the baby may not refuse feeding categorically, but do it very slowly.

What to do if a child refuses to breastfeed?

Is your baby crying again, turning away from the breast, causing irritation and nervousness? Do not despair and start introducing complementary foods; if desired, natural feeding can always be normalized, ensuring full development of your baby. First of all, it is necessary to create physical contact between yourself and the baby, creating a favorable atmosphere for feeding. Try to spend as much time as possible with the baby, hug and kiss the baby so that he can feel his mother's love and care. During feeding, you can turn on beautiful relaxing music in the room and dim the lights. It is better if at this tender moment there is no one in the room except mother and baby. Try to create a favorable, friendly atmosphere in the house, avoid quarrels and family scandals, which can cause unnecessary worry in the baby. Do not give up night feedings and co-sleeping - this is the best way to improve psychological contact.

The child does not latch on to the breast in late infancy

Has your baby enjoyed breastfeeding since birth and now suddenly begins to refuse breast milk? The problem here lies not in the physiology of the mother and the characteristics of the child’s body. The reason may be an acute respiratory infection, when with a severe runny nose it is very difficult for a child to breathe, stress when changing the environment, various diseases with a pronounced pain syndrome. Also, babies often refuse to eat while their teeth are growing. Again, the problem of giving up breast milk can be starting bottle feeding. The baby will understand that it is much easier to suck this way and will demand a pacifier, flatly refusing the breast.

According to pediatricians, there are often cases when children refuse to take the breast after a long absence of the mother. For example, you urgently left for several days on business or went to the hospital, at this time the child experiences stress caused by separation from his mother. If such a situation occurs in your life, after returning, try to spend as much time as possible with your baby.

After six months, children react very sensitively to extraneous noises. Please note that perhaps some sound in the house irritates the child and he is constantly distracted by it and cannot eat normally.

The baby does not take the breast - in what cases there is no reason to panic

Very often, young mothers exaggerate and aggravate the situation, especially when it comes to their beloved child. If your baby refuses to latch on, maybe he's just not hungry yet?

Record the time between feedings and, if only 2-3 hours have passed, the baby is alert and not crying, you should not suffer and forcefully breastfeed. It happens that the baby sucks on one breast more than the other, which causes concern for the mother. There is nothing wrong with this, perhaps it is more convenient for the child, or you yourself, without noticing it, most often gave this particular breast.

The baby does not latch on to the breast - the three main mistakes of young mothers:

1. When a child at the age of 4-6 months begins to refuse breastfeeding, many mothers perceive this as natural weaning and calmly switch to artificial formula. Under no circumstances should you do this! Physiologically, the body of the baby and mother is ready to complete breastfeeding by 1.5-2 years.

2. Let the problem take its course - if you cannot restore breastfeeding for a long time and the child also categorically refuses to breastfeed, enlist the support of specialists, friends, and relatives who will certainly help you with useful advice. For many mothers, problems with breastfeeding become a real problem and a cause of stress. Don't isolate yourself - you'll only make the situation worse. Read the blogs of specialists, communicate on specialized forums with friends in misfortune, but under no circumstances give up!

3. Never insist or lash out at your baby if he doesn’t want to take the breast. It didn’t work, try after a while and if the attempt is successful, do not take the breast until the baby has eaten and releases it himself.

If you are unable to establish natural feeding on your own, do not give up and blame yourself for all failures. Contact a breastfeeding specialist who will not only give valuable advice, but also provide valuable support throughout the struggle with this problem.

Nowadays, many maternity hospitals practice so-called natural childbirth. Part of the natural process is that immediately after birth the baby is placed on the mother's chest and soon occurs first breastfeeding. In principle, the sucking reflex in newborns is innate - they suck a finger in their mother’s tummy for a very long time - they develop their cheek muscles in order to be viable after birth and be able to receive food in the most natural way - by sucking on the breast.

Breast refusal

But sometimes it happens that the baby refuses to breastfeed. Doesn't suck it well, and then starts crying from hunger. While the mother is still in the maternity hospital, local obstetricians and pediatricians are monitoring her - and their task is to quickly discharge the mother, and so that the mother and baby are healthy, so that the child does not lose weight (otherwise they will not be discharged). These doctors are not always interested in whether the mother will and will eventually be able to breastfeed - this will no longer concern them. Therefore, if a mother, for example, does not have enough colostrum before the milk comes, or the child does not latch well, they say - buy formula and supplement it. And this is the very first mistake at the stage of breastfeeding (BF).

Formula bottle or breast?

Why? If you are offered two alternatives - ready-made delicious fried potatoes or a shovel and a garden where these potatoes grow, so that you dig them up and cook them yourself, what will you choose when you are hungry? Probably the first one. What does this have to do with potatoes? Yes, despite the fact that sucking the breast for a baby is work. At the same time, it is a lot of work. A newborn’s body temperature even changes when suckling at the breast - it increases, including due to the applied effort. Whether it’s the bottle with the formula - after all, the pacifier is very easy to suck, almost without effort, and the manufacturers of the formula, of course, put enough sugar (or sweeteners) in there to make the mixture tasty enough for the baby, as sweet as mother’s milk. Thus, when a child wants to eat and was unable to latch on, he was immediately (or even if not immediately) offered formula from a bottle, do you think he will want to latch on to the breast next time? No - he will cry and demand the mixture, because it’s easier. Do not make this mistake, as it will be more difficult to persuade your baby to take the breast later. We have already written about that

What to do if the baby does not latch on to the breast?

The first thing is to contact a breastfeeding specialist - not just a doctor from the maternity hospital. It’s better to find (call your friends who recently gave birth) a specialist for recommendation and pay for the consultation - he/she should be able to competently cope with the problem. But, if, for example, it is not possible to seek help from a specialist, you must follow the following rules:

• Definitely exclude pacifiers, pacifiers and non-breast milk/colostrum supplements. The baby will cry - give the breast. If there is milk/colostrum, he will sooner or later start suckling. We must have courage and be patient.
• Constantly suggest baby your breast. Don’t just offer – but persistently insert the entire nipple aureole into the crying baby’s mouth and hold his head in place until he begins to suck. Ask the child’s father or your mother to help you if you cannot immediately cope on your own. It can be difficult to simultaneously squeeze the nipple correctly with the cup and insert it into the baby’s mouth and hold the head.
• It is also possible if the child does not want to close the lips around the breast and suck press on the chest so that milk/colostrum gets into the baby's mouth - this most often helps to provoke the baby's sucking reflex.
• If nothing helps at all, you should try the following method. Undress completely to the waist. Completely undress the child. First, lay it out with your tummy on top of you, in a half-lying, half-sitting position. This provokes the reflex " sissy search“- the child begins to look for the breast, pokes his mouth over the body. Lower the baby to the breast and place the breast correctly in the baby's mouth.
• The child may cry - do not provoke him and do not feed him additional formula. As a last resort, express your colostrum or milk and feed from a spoon, not from a bottle with a nipple. Don't feed too much, just to relieve your baby's hysterics. And continue to insist on offering the breast. Let the baby sleep next to you, constantly be near your breast, and he will definitely take it.

More about that in this article.

Be patient, and breastfeeding will definitely get better!