is nipple confusion reversible?

[mellabella]

my best friend from the states just had her baby on the 20th. She said that he was taking to the breast fine while they were in hospital. On the last day they were there one of the nurses gave her son a bottle because she felt that my friend's milk hadn't come in well enough (do not get me started on how infuriating it was to hear that some ignorant lady probably just ruined all chances of my friend having the ultimate bonding experience with her baby!) . Now my friend can not get her baby to latch on at all. I've mentioned some tips that helped me when mine wouldn't latch but I'm just wondering if anyone else was in this experience and whether if she'll still be able to get back on track with the breastfeeding.

replies much appreciated!

Yes, it certainly is. Here is my story;

I experienced the same thing when my 1st dd was around 11 weeks. This was due to me expressing and bottle feeding ? following the advise of an ill informed HV who I stupidly trusted. My dd would not allow me to even hold her in the cradle position without trying to feed her. She would scream so hard that she would loose her breath. Anyway, What i did was ditched the bottles. i would feed her using a large feeding syringe (free from chemist) and also the Medela Softcup Advanced Feeder. This meant that her sucking needs were not satisfied and usually when she was really tired or actually sleeping i could get her to latch onto me using a nipple shield (same texture as artificial teat).

Then i started a mission to get dd to associate my breasts with a "Happy Feeling". The way i done this was by laying dd on the floor and blowing raspberries on her tummy until she laughed, then i gently and quickly touched her face with my bare breast. We done this nearly every waken hour throughout the day for about 10 days then she started to show loving signs of the breast again. She would happily cuddle into my breast and would let me hold her happily whilst i was clothed or not. Then suddenly whilst playing "Happy Breast Time!" she quickly rooted and latched on - i was on all fours on top of her but managed to stay there until she was finished! I honestly felt like opening the house windows and screaming to let the world know how excited i was.. this was around 2 weeks after we started it. Then we spent about a further week around the house.. sleeping together naked, bathing together and playing together naked!

Before long we were back in full swing and the bottles were long in the bin.. we managed to continue BFing until she was just over 2 and she self weaned as i got pregnant again.

anyone??

thank you determination for your reply. she says that he'll take it at first but then starts crying soon afterwards. just feel so bad for her because she's getting frustrated with it and is already willing to give it up.

this may not be nipple confusion though. There may be another reason for the baby to cry during nursing

Def lots of skin to skin, bath together as its very relaxing. Try the biological nurturing technique.

Try cup feeding or syringe feeding without using pacifiers, and just keep offering. She needs to make sure that she expresses really well at least every 3 hours day and night to keep her milk supply going

determination thats a lovely story

MamaG,
It is now that i was determined enough to carry on. At the time though, i felt like the world was against me. The thing i loved most in the world was rejecting me. It was heartbreaking and had me in a down hill slope of PND

This is why mums need the upmost bfing support. Also, this is why all the ill informed HCPs should be put through vigirous training.

i agree determination I was absolutely {angry} when I heard that the nurse told her she wasn't making enough milk. this was only two days after she had the baby. has this nurse ever actually studied anything on breastfeeding before?? after hearing this I've just decided that it's now my life's calling once ds is older to become a lactation consultant. it's one of the most rewarding things i've ever done and for someone else to f it up for mums is just ridiculous.

The majority of HCPs don't know enough about bfing. This is purely because it is such a specialist subject that there is not enough time during their course to get into the depth of it.

determination - gotta disagree with you, there. It would not take a lot of time for healthcare professionals' training to result in a better knowledge of breastfeeding. It is a question of priorities. It's not all that specialist a subject - all babies have to feed, so a knowledge of breastfeeding affects each and every mother and baby they come across. It should be part of every HCP's basic knowledge. The difficult, in-depth stuff could be on offer for those who want to know more about more rare situations (sick babies, VLBW infants, metabolic disorders and so on).

The level of knowledge about bf among HCPs in the UK (and, from what I know, the USA as well) is a scandal. You don't have to know a lot, or in depth, to know the harm early bottles of formula can do, to know the normal needs of a newborn, and the basics of how a baby gets the milk.

Mella - hope you friend gets the help she needs.

thanks tiktok from what i've gathered, she's already too frustrated with the situation and has given it up. she said "if he's happy with the bottle than i'm happy to give it to him" last night so i can't see her trying to keep her supply up either. it's totally up to her to not continue trying and understandably bf isn't for everyone but the fact that someone else made that choice for her by giving her son a bottle is the part that's the really really frustrating. plus being in the states, they just don't have the same level of care after leaving the hospital that we do here. ie-the midwives and hv coming to check on mums and babies so she wouldn't have the guidance to keep it up. just a really sad situation for her

It should be part of every HCP's basic knowledge I couldn't agree more, so why isn't there enough quality support from HCPs?

I have a friend who was having difficulty latching and had a visit from the Hospital LC - who stated that everything seemed fine. Re-arranged to come out the next day, by then my friend had quite and told the LC over-the-phone.. LC said oh ok then, take care