If your baby won’t open wide, keeps sliding off, or you hear a clicking sound during feeds, it’s easy to spiral straight to “does this mean I have to switch to formula?” Latch struggles in the first days are one of the strongest predictors of whether breastfeeding continues past the first couple of months, which is exactly why this fear hits so hard. It’s also one of the most fixable.
A few things worth knowing:
A clicking sound often means your baby is losing suction and re-latching, which can happen with a shallow latch. It’s usually a positioning fix, not a sign something is broken.
Slipping off repeatedly can mean your baby needs a wider mouth opening before latching, more of the areola in their mouth (not just the nipple), or a hold that supports their head and body differently.
A latch that looks “wrong” once doesn’t mean it will always be wrong. Latching is a skill you and your baby are both learning together, feed by feed.
What actually helps
Small changes make a bigger difference than most moms expect. Waiting for your baby to open wide like a yawn before bringing them to the breast, trying a different hold (football hold instead of cradle, for example), and lining up nose to nipple instead of chin to nipple can solve a lot on their own. If it’s still not clicking after a few tries, a lactation consultant can watch one feed and usually spot the fix immediately. This is one of those areas where a 20 minute appointment can save weeks of frustration.
A poor latch in week one doesn’t mean formula is your only option. It usually means you need one adjustment, one better hold, or one extra set of trained eyes, not a completely different plan.
Next up in this series: Blog 4 covers a fear that follows right behind latch worries: watching every cry, nap, and diaper for a sign that something’s wrong with your baby, and what’s actually normal newborn behavior.
Feeding takes a lot out of you while you’re both learning. Shop our lactation cookies at honeysbc.com/shop for something easy to grab between feeds, or reach out any time.