The Baby Rejects the Breast
The difficulty that a baby has in latching on to the mother’s breast, does not necessarily express a refusal, but rather the presence of a problem, which must be recognised, met and overcome. More often than not, these involve difficulties that arise during the feeding, for example the baby is in an uncomfortable position, or it finds it difficult to suck correctly because its nose is blocked, or the flow of milk is too abundant or rapid. In addition, following an excessively long interval between one feeding and the next, the baby can be over hungry and not manage to co-ordinate its movements and latch on correctly.
If the baby continues to reject the mother’s breast on a number of consecutive occasions, it is advisable that the mother extracts her milk and tries to offer it to the baby in other ways, while patiently trying to solve the problem. In this period, the mother must be careful to meet the needs of her baby in regards to the mother-child contact. It is important that she receives practical and emotional support and help until there is a return to normal breast-feeding.
Breast-Feeding Premature Babies
A premature baby, especially if born before the 32nd week of pregnancy, has an insufficient development of its sucking, swallowing and breathing functions, which are the basis of the independent capacity for feeding. Such newly born babies are therefore fed through a gastro-nasal probe until they are sufficiently mature to be fed by the mother.
These babies can be helped to develop or increase their capacity to suck and swallow with the help of a soother, moving gradually towards independent feeding, with the breast or the feeding bottle.
Studies have also shown that non-nutritional sucking reduces the stay in hospital, and improves the sleeping and waking pattern, together with movement in the youngest newborn babies.
 If your baby is still not able to suck at the breast, you should extract your milk with a breast pump every 2-3 hours, that is, as many times as there would be breast-feeding sessions. You should begin as early as possible, because the colostrum is particularly important for your child. The milk should be stored in specific sterile or sterilisable containers. In hospital, paediatricians feed the baby with milk using a probe or a feeding bottle. When your baby will be able to suck by itself, it is possible that it will not be easy to latch it on to the breast at the beginning. Persist patiently, without getting discouraged. If the baby does not manage to feed at the breast, it is important that you continue to feed it with your milk.
Maternal milk is more precious than ever for a premature child. The immune properties of maternal milk, in fact, protect the newly born baby against illnesses to which it is more vulnerable because it is premature. Moreover, this type of milk is easy to digest and does not tire its little body. Feeding the baby with her own milk, also helps the mother to overcome this delicate moment, knowing that she is doing something very important for her child.
Labiopalatoschisis
What Is It?
Labiopalatoschisis is a congenital malformation of the lips and palate that affects one newborn child in every 1000, with various degrees of seriousness. The ability of the baby to feed itself independently can be compromised, according to the degree of seriousness of the malformation, but not made impossible.
It is believed that, if the mother has very prominent nipples, the baby will be able to feed itself at the breast, especially if the mother is given support by hospital staff and the people who surround her. These babies, however, tend to get tired easily and, for this reason, the use of a feeding bottle is often adopted.
In the case of labioschisis, it is possible to use soft teats with large openings to help the flow of milk.
In the event of Labiopalatoschisis, before adopting a palatal plate, it is advisable to use a large teat.
However, after the adoption of a palatal plate, a teat of smaller size works perfectly well.
After the lip operation, the baby can be fed with a soft, silicone spoon. After the operation to the palate, a cup with a soft spout can be used.
For further information, it is possible to contact: Labiopalatoschisis Association – Milan – Via Cernaia , 4 – 02- 6598951 – website www.associazionelps.it. Otherwise, consult the website www.chicco.com in the From 0 Months + Breast-feeding section
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