Join Haakaa Mum's Club
New Arrivals
For Mums
For Baby & Kid
Gift
"As a midwife, I'm frequently asked about breastfeeding with flat or inverted nipples. It's estimated that 10-20% of women's nipples are either flat or inverted. This can sometimes make breastfeeding more difficult to begin with (but not always). If you are planning to breastfeed, there are a few tips I recommend to help make the process smoother, lots of these can be applied to all breastfeeding mamas as well.
1.) See a lactation consultant during pregnancy. This gives you and your partner the foundations for a great start to breastfeeding. It gives you the knowledge, support and some clarity around feeding your bub from the get-go. It's also a great idea to chat with your midwife about this topic!
2.) As soon as bub is born, try to have skin to skin time with your little one. This positively impacts the start of your breastfeeding journey (among many other benefits) and helps your baby to use their innate reflexes to find the breast and self attach.
3.) If bub is having some difficulty attaching, you can use tools like Haakaas amazing nipple correctors - which helps to draw the nipple out just before a feed and enable bub to latch.
You can also gently roll your nipple between your fingers, or use a breast pump for a short time to help draw the nipple out before bub latches for a feed.
4.) Shape your breast, this can be a game changer! Creating a C shape (swipe right) can help bubby to attach.
5.) Try different positions. There are a variety of positions that may help you and your bub. You can try cradling bub across you, laying back, side feeding, football hold and more.
6.) Try a nipple shield. Nipple shields can be such an amazing tool if bub is struggling to latch. Using a nipple shield allows a larger area for your baby to latch on, meaning it is often easier to get an effective and productive latch. During the feed, the nipple is often drawn out with bubs sucking. These are an amazing temporary solution and normally once bub is bigger and more familiar with breastfeeding, you will likely find they don’t need it anymore.” Midwife Aliza from @bumpnbub
What did you find helpful if your bub struggled to latch?
Illustration by Marta Pucci
