New parents often joke “if only the baby came with instructions.” One particular area that parents look for advice is in how to feed baby. A common question is “Bottle or breast?”
New mothers can get free support from other moms with nurslings by attending La Leche League meetings https://www.lllusa.org/
But even for mothers who feel committed to breastfeeding her baby, how she feeds her infant is not always a choice.
Many babies can’t nurse easily, and more and more pediatricians are looking to see if a tongue tie or lip tie is the problem. If so, the baby is referred to a dentist or pediatric ENT for a quick surgical procedure to release the tissue that is otherwise preventing a good, deep latch. Many mothers report this solving the issue quickly and relatively painlessly for the baby.
However, other times, babies have difficulty either maintaining the latch or transferring the milk well. An assessment with a lactation consultant https://www.ilca.org/why-ibclc can provide a helpful way of understanding the problem, and come up with management strategies of keeping baby fed well and healthy.
It can be rather exhausting for baby to nurse. Babies that are born with low body tone may not have the physical stamina for the muscular action that nursing demands. In that case, a referral to a pediatric occupational therapist will be helpful. https://www.aota.org/About-Occupational-Therapy/Patients-Clients/ChildrenAndYouth.aspx
Here are two videos showing how a 6 week old infant with poor initial oral sensory-motor ability became a 4 month old infant with great integration (and weight gain!)
This infant is going through occupational therapy to develop his oral strength. The exercises include suction, tongue elevation, tongue protrusion, tongue lateralization, and jaw chewing motions.
The benefits of the oral strength training are now obvious, as baby’s mouth has had the sensory awareness that is necessary for motor skill development.