Does a good latch ALWAYS matter?

[ag123]

I have been exclusively breastfeeding my 12 week old for um...well...12 weeks now (duh!) and all is going well now.He was born at 11lb and all the terribly unhelpful midwives that we saw after he was born suggested to me in a not-so subtle way that there was pretty much no way I would be able to keep 'such a big baby' satisfied by breastfeeding alone. Anyway he has kept nice and firmly on the 95th centile thank you very much (this is a little beside the point and possibly an opportunity for me to feel a bit smug :-s). Don't get me wrong,it was unbelievably hard work for those first few weeks and I used all the help I could,going to several breastfeeding support groups every week. At the groups,the lactation consultants would obviously always focus on our latch, which has never been great. One of the main points is that he wasn't opening his mouth very wide ever,and the few times he did I could never seem to get him there fast enough. They said he would learn this as we went along,and i would also learn to get him in the right place more easily too. Anyway to cut a long story short I don't think he ever has learnt the wide gape. I pretty much always feed him lying down nowadays as I find it so much easier,but he only ever opens his mouth a little way and seems to suck the breast in. He never seems to have that double chin that they refer to,and you can also see very small indentations in his cheeks which I remember them saying was an indication that he doesn't have enough breast tissue in his mouth. Given his very healthy weight gain and the fact that I no longer have any soreness whatsoever, do I need to worry that we don't have a good latch?

Very good question! DS is EXACTLY the same. Never learned to open his mouth, just sort of hoovers up the boob. I also had a LOT of problems at first but now pain free.

So I would say we've never had a textbook latch, but he is 75th centile and never dropped an ounce. So perhaps it doesn't matter, however I've been wondering if it will start to matter again when he cuts his top teeth. Slurping up my boob is fine for the moment but slurping past sharp baby top teeth sounds toe curling!

My DS is also exactly the same! Never had a good latch, plus he had tongue tie (snipped), and he went from 25th to 50th centile and stayed there. And now, Mombojobo he DOES have teeth, 6 of them. I have permanent indentation marks around my nipple. I think it's too late to reteach him to latch at 9 months but fortunately it doesn't hurt too much!

Yes, that's exactly what I was wondering-will it have implications sort of down the line?

my DD was like that initially - not really opening up wide enough. With my first child I had a fab midwife who taught me to encourage DS to open wider right from the start. I was knackered with DD and got into 'bad' habits so we did have a few problems in the beginning (sore nipples mainly then thrush). However as she has grown it has resolved itself and she is growing fine. I think sometimes there is a bit too much emphasis on a 'textbook' latch which has to be taught exactly. Surely this is a modern thing? Babies will latch on by themselves and they won't have read how to ;) I guess as long as it feels ok and they are growing well then everything's great!

Well, I would argue that if he is gaining weight well and you are no longer sore then by definition it is a good latch!

I guess what I mean, (and OP may also) is that DS's latch would never make a picture in a breastfeeding information leaflet! It doesn't look anything like any of the pics I've ever seen, which, even when the pain disappeared made me worry we were doing it wrong.

I agree with Felicity that too much emphasis is placed on it looking exactly 'right', when there's no one-size-fits-all approach to BF.

I think possibly that if you have lots of milk + weight gain is fine, latch isn't as important as long as YOU are comfortable and not getting blocked ducts etc.

So basically, I think it's fine.

ag - no need to be in the least concerned for one second about this. Why are they worrying you about his latch???? If you are comfortable, if he is comfortable, if he is thriving, then it really does not matter what it looks like.

I doubt you have seen 'lactation consultants' at the groups you went to - were they not peer supporters?

Part of the peer supporters' training is to help mothers worried about their babies' positioning and attachment - and you have probably gone to the groups and fretted about this, and rightly, they have peered at you and lo and behold they have found something to worry you about :(

But this has stayed with you, instead of your confidence being built up - and despite the fact your baby is fine you are worrying that a less than textbook latch is storing up problems for the future. I think you can feel reassured on that point.

Agree with everyone else! All 3 of mine were the same - never the big wide gape (or they would do it until just before clamping down, then close it up tightly just in time!) Like Felicity, I suppose I trusted my babies to know how to do it - no-one teaches baby animals how to latch on do they?

If its not hurting and he's growing I can't see why it would be a problem and by the time teeth are an issue, he'll be old enough that a short sharp 'no' when biting should deter him!