Baby-led feeding is new to the western breastfeeding "book of knowledge." Dr. Tina Smillie, Pediatrician and Breastfeeding Medicine Specialist, has done extensive research on the the baby's ability to seek out the breast and grasp the breast by itself. Mom provides the stable position so baby can use her instincts, but the baby does the grasping by herself. Dr. Smillie chooses to use the more accurate term grasping instead of latching.
Most of the mothers in the United States end up with nipple pain--anywhere from mild to severe. We are just now learning some incredible information about babies and and how they grasp the breast for feeding. Breastfeeding should never hurt, though it often does . Nipple pain is an indication that the baby is not latched deeply enough and is just on the nipple. Is this because we or someone else "puts" our babies on the breast? Is it because most of our brains have imprinted what a baby looks like when bottle feeding, but not when breastfeeding? Is it because we do not let baby seek the breast and go through her natural feeding sequence?
In her new DVD, Baby-Led Breastfeeding...The Mother-Baby Dance, Dr. Smillie shows many babies finding the breast on their own. I have witnessed hundreds of babies doing just this. It is truly amazing. Dr. Jack Newman says that letting babies latch by themselves decreases damaged nipples significantly. Sue Cox, IBCLC, RM, RN in her DVD Mom and I Can Do That shows baby Eva seeking the breast and latching by herself.
Join my live mini-breastfeeding class to see an excerpt of Dr. Smillie's DVD and learn how you, too, can Breastfeed with Confidence and Joy.