Science You Can Use: Can skin-to-skin and laid-back breastfeeding help older, non-latching babies?
by Tanya Lieberman, IBCLC | March 14, 2013 6:12 am
We all know about the importance of skin-to-skin contact in the early hours and days of breastfeeding.
But a new study from Sweden takes a look at a different question: can skin-to-skin contact and a laid back position resolve severe latching-on problems in older babies?”
In this randomized, controlled study, researchers recruited mothers who reported that their infants were having severe latch-on difficulty. The average age of the infants at the time of the study intervention was 3 weeks, and most were being fed by bottle.
A latch-on problem was defined as any of the following infant behaviors, as reported by the mothers:
- did not latch-on at all (roughly 60% of the total participating babies)
- would start to latch-on on but discontinue
- latched-on superficially without or with a nipple shield
- latched-on only on one breast
Nearly all mothers reported being instructed about how to breastfeed with “hands on assistance:” the sometimes forceful traditional method of breastfeeding instruction in hospitals (one hand on baby’s neck, one hand on breast, connect!). Mothers were asked about their babies’ reactions to this technique, and some reported “strong reactions” such as panicked, frenetic crying or “screaming hysterically.”
230 women volunteered for this study. One interesting note is that in 127 of those cases, the study’s screening process seems to have resolved the latch-on problem! That left 103 mother/infant pairs for the intervention.
And here’s what the intervention looked like:
In the intervention group, mothers lay in a reclined position in a hospital bed, and the baby was placed prone between her breasts. Her upper body and the baby were unclothed and in skin-to-skin contact. Mothers were encouraged to allow the infant to crawl while holding a protective arm lightly over the baby. They were encouraged to continue this practice at home as often as they liked. The mothers recorded how often they did this, and the median number of skin-to-skin sessions in this group was a little over one per day (8.5 in 7 days).
In the other group, the mothers and babies were fully dressed, and the mothers were usually seated in an arm chair. They were asked to start breastfeeding as they usually did. They were then instructed to continue this practice at home.
The pairs were then assessed for the mothers’ emotional and pain response, whether the babies latch-on problems resolved, and how long it took for the latch-on problems to resolve.
Here’s what they found:
- Mothers in the intervention group scored higher on the measure of emotions about breastfeeding than mothers in the control group, though this difference faded by four months.
- Mothers in the intervention group scored lower on the measure of pain (reported less pain) than mothers in the control group.
- The percentage of babies starting to latch-on and suckle did not differ significantly between the intervention and control groups.
- The time it took for babies’ latch-on difficulty to resolve was significantly shorter in the intervention group (2 weeks) as it was in the control group (4.7 weeks). The percentage of babies regularly latching within 3 weeks was 74% in the intervention group compared to 39% in the control group.
- Among babies in the intervention group who began latching well within 3 weeks, 94% had had a “strong [negative] reaction” to “hands on latching,” as described above. This compared to 33% in the control group who began latching in the same time frame.
- In total, 81% of the infants’ latching problems eventually resolved, at a median infant age of over 7 weeks (a range of 2 weeks to 5 months!).
There are a number of interesting conclusions to highlight here. One is that skin-to-skin can speed babies’ return to the breast. And time is of the essence, it seems to me, since many women can’t or won’t keep trying for a month to get their babies to latch regularly (median infant age at resolution was over 7 weeks*).
Another is that “hands on assistance” is causing latch-on difficulties for some babies. This skin-to-skin intervention was of particular benefit to those babies, but you have to wonder how many of these problems could have been prevented by the use of a different method from the start.
There are a few ways in which this study combines different variables so that these conclusions seem a little muddy to me. The emphasis of the paper is on skin-to-skin contact, but the intervention also involved two other factors: a laid-back position, and self attachment (babies allowed to crawl to the breast and latch on independently). So while we can say that this combination of things helps, it’s not clear how much is attributable to skin-to-skin and how much to a reclined position or self attachment. Practically speaking it probably doesn’t matter, but it would be interesting to know if you get the same results with just a reclined position, for example.
And finally, it’s hard not to miss that over half of the women who initially volunteered for the study were excluded because the help they got through the study screening process resolved the problem! So for many women, this kind of longer-term skin-to-skin intervention is not even necessary. Just some good basic help goes a long way.
Did you have a baby with “severe latch-on difficulty?” Did you try skin-to-skin contact? Had your baby had a bad reaction to “hands on breastfeeding” help? What ultimately resolved the problem, or did it persist?
*Recall that this study was conducted in Sweden, which has among the world’s best maternity leave policies. Mothers are under far less pressure to return to work and likely have more of an opportunity to work on breastfeeding problems such as these.
Source URL: http://www.bestforbabes.org/science-you-can-use-can-skin-to-skin-and-laid-back-breastfeeding-help-older-non-latching-babies
