Why would a baby refuse to suckle?
Jul 31, 2011
CLOSE to tears, Tracy Ocheng a first-time mother, painfully walks into the doctor’s room. “Every time I attempt to breastfeed my son, he kicks and pushes the breast aside,†she laments. Like Ocheng, many mothers get frustrated when their babies refuse to suckle in preference for the bottle.
By Agnes Kyotalengerire
CLOSE to tears, Tracy Ocheng a first-time mother, painfully walks into the doctor’s room. “Every time I attempt to breastfeed my son, he kicks and pushes the breast aside,†she laments.
Like Ocheng, many mothers get frustrated when their babies refuse to suckle in preference for the bottle.
According to Eunice Namukoma, a nursing officer at Mulago Hospital, when a baby refuses to suckle, it is having difficulty feeding, which may start at the first feeding, during the learning period or after a baby has been nursing for a while.
Nipple confusion
Dr. Angelina Kakooza, a paediatrician at Mulago Hospital, says this may result from a mother going to work in the morning and returning late in the evening — while she is away, her baby is bottle-fed.
Kakooza says this may lead to bottle confusion, and the baby may end up preferring the bottle teat because its hole allows the baby to suck out the milk faster.
“Nipple confusion has been linked to introducing the baby to formula milk right from birth,†she explains, adding that the practice is common in cases where mothers deliver by caesarean section and are unable to breastfeed.
“By the time a mother tries to breastfeed, the baby is already used to feeding on a bottle and finds breast milk tasteless.†She urges mothers in such a situation to use feeding mugs or cups instead of bottles.
Inverted nipples
According to Dr. Sabrina Kitaka, the president of the Uganda Paediatrics Association, nipples which are retracted into the breast instead of pointing outwards can cause a baby to reject the breast.
Birth defects
Babies born with defects, for example cleft lip/palate, tongue tie, or heart diseases may find it difficult to suckle.
“When babies with heart problems try to suckle, they get tired, sweat and darken around the lips. Darkening around the lips is a sign of inadequate oxygen in the lungs. When the frenulum (small fold of the skin) beneath the tongue is too short or tight to allow full range of tongue movement, the baby does not get full movement of the tongue resulting in difficulty getting the milk he needs.
Namukoma says a baby may be in pain from a birth injury such as a broken collar bone, bruising, misaligned neck vertebrae or a pinched nerve.
“Birth injuries are more common in premature babies and those born under difficult labour,†she explains.
If the pain is aggravated by being held, the baby may cry at its first attempt to suckle.
A baby having trouble coordinating to suck, swallow and breathe may have problems with suckling.
Inversion of the oral cavity may make a baby resistant to anything in the mouth.
A baby born prematurely may not have the skill or strength to suckle well, which greatly impacts on its ability to get enough milk, and cannot stimulate the mother’s milk supply.
Colic
Colic makes babies cry a lot, therefore, the discomfort affects their feeding.
Change in taste of milk
A change in the taste of milk, resulting from eating some foods or medicines may make the baby refuse to suckle after having nursed effectively for some time.
Teething
The discomfort of teething, an injury in the mouth, sore throat, ear infection, stuffy nose, breathing difficulties, stomach upset and mouth infections may cause a baby to reject the breast.
Wayforward
Kakooza says when a baby cannot suckle, the mother’s immediate concerns should be feeding the baby and protecting her milk supply while trying to get the baby to accept the breast. A mother can do this by expressing the milk.
She, however, warns that should a mother offer to breastfeed frequently a baby who is refusing, she should not force the baby to feed because it could upset the baby causing further resistance.
CLOSE to tears, Tracy Ocheng a first-time mother, painfully walks into the doctor’s room. “Every time I attempt to breastfeed my son, he kicks and pushes the breast aside,†she laments.
Like Ocheng, many mothers get frustrated when their babies refuse to suckle in preference for the bottle.
According to Eunice Namukoma, a nursing officer at Mulago Hospital, when a baby refuses to suckle, it is having difficulty feeding, which may start at the first feeding, during the learning period or after a baby has been nursing for a while.
Nipple confusion
Dr. Angelina Kakooza, a paediatrician at Mulago Hospital, says this may result from a mother going to work in the morning and returning late in the evening — while she is away, her baby is bottle-fed.
Kakooza says this may lead to bottle confusion, and the baby may end up preferring the bottle teat because its hole allows the baby to suck out the milk faster.
“Nipple confusion has been linked to introducing the baby to formula milk right from birth,†she explains, adding that the practice is common in cases where mothers deliver by caesarean section and are unable to breastfeed.
“By the time a mother tries to breastfeed, the baby is already used to feeding on a bottle and finds breast milk tasteless.†She urges mothers in such a situation to use feeding mugs or cups instead of bottles.
Inverted nipples
According to Dr. Sabrina Kitaka, the president of the Uganda Paediatrics Association, nipples which are retracted into the breast instead of pointing outwards can cause a baby to reject the breast.
Birth defects
Babies born with defects, for example cleft lip/palate, tongue tie, or heart diseases may find it difficult to suckle.
“When babies with heart problems try to suckle, they get tired, sweat and darken around the lips. Darkening around the lips is a sign of inadequate oxygen in the lungs. When the frenulum (small fold of the skin) beneath the tongue is too short or tight to allow full range of tongue movement, the baby does not get full movement of the tongue resulting in difficulty getting the milk he needs.
Namukoma says a baby may be in pain from a birth injury such as a broken collar bone, bruising, misaligned neck vertebrae or a pinched nerve.
“Birth injuries are more common in premature babies and those born under difficult labour,†she explains.
If the pain is aggravated by being held, the baby may cry at its first attempt to suckle.
A baby having trouble coordinating to suck, swallow and breathe may have problems with suckling.
Inversion of the oral cavity may make a baby resistant to anything in the mouth.
A baby born prematurely may not have the skill or strength to suckle well, which greatly impacts on its ability to get enough milk, and cannot stimulate the mother’s milk supply.
Colic
Colic makes babies cry a lot, therefore, the discomfort affects their feeding.
Change in taste of milk
A change in the taste of milk, resulting from eating some foods or medicines may make the baby refuse to suckle after having nursed effectively for some time.
Teething
The discomfort of teething, an injury in the mouth, sore throat, ear infection, stuffy nose, breathing difficulties, stomach upset and mouth infections may cause a baby to reject the breast.
Wayforward
Kakooza says when a baby cannot suckle, the mother’s immediate concerns should be feeding the baby and protecting her milk supply while trying to get the baby to accept the breast. A mother can do this by expressing the milk.
She, however, warns that should a mother offer to breastfeed frequently a baby who is refusing, she should not force the baby to feed because it could upset the baby causing further resistance.