Help! DD is exclusively breastfed, milk coming down her nose WHILST feeding!

[Blottedcopybook]

Oh, I really hope you lovely lot can provide an insight with this one.

My little DD is two weeks old today, she's my 4th child and all her siblings were breastfed so I like to think I know what I'm doing. I was feeding her lying down yesterday and noticed that there was milk pouring out of her nose whilst she was feeding. She was still swallowing and possetted a little when she burped so I'm confident she was getting a good feed.

However, when she woke for her feed during the night I switched on the light to see if it happened again and it did. I'm now worried that this has been happening for every feed she's had during the night and that I just haven't noticed because I tend not to turn the light on to latch her on.

I'm worried because I don't remember this happening with the other three and of course I'm concerned in case she aspirates milk into her lungs. Our health visitor is coming out on Tuesday (and is accessible by phone tomorrow) so I can get medical advice tomorrow. Can anyone shed any light on this in the meantime? Is it normal? Has she got some kind of issue here?

Hi BCB, I don't know what this means but can only tell you DS1 had this and it never seemed to cause him a problem but I did stop feeding him laying down. Hopefully someone else may enlighten us. BTW this does not happen with DS2, odd eh?

Get someone to check for cleft palate tomorrow it can sometimes be missed. (and if it is they operate to cure it) Hopefully its not.If it is it isn't a big problem so try not to worry

Thanks Pipsy that's quite reassuring (although NOOOOOOO!! to the stopping feeding lying down! That's what saves my sanity!)

Nellie Her lip is fine, could cleft palate still be a possibility? I don't want to poke about her mouth now in case there is something there, I think I'd just terrify myself even more

Yes you can have cleft palate without cleft lip. but dont worry because if it is then it is fixed easily enough and is just a bit awkward in the meantime. Just get her checked by the midwife or whoever next sees her. hth

Thanks Nellie, I'll get her checked tomorrow x

It would be very unlikely to be a cleft palate as babies have great difficulty latching on with a cleft palate, no suction! I had a cleft palate and no cleft lip and my Mum could not get me to latch at all. Most people end up expressing. Plus, it would have been like this since the beginning.

One of my twin Mums baby's started doing this at about 3 mths. It did seem to be the position in which she was feeding (rugby ball) as when she fed cradle hold it did not happen as much. However it didn't upset the baby at all, and he just grew out of it.

Just seen the health visitor - it's definitely not cleft palate, the health visitor reckons it's just happened because she's a bit snuffly but we're going to keep an eye on it.

Milk coming out of the nose is not uncommon . Sometimes it is due to the angle the baby's head is at. Tilting their head upwards (towards the upper ear) so that their lower nostril is slightly higher than previously can make a difference.

I am not aware that in itself it is a problem or causes any issues.