# Bad latch on one side only?



## Trishy (Oct 15, 2002)

Joe is 8 days old. I experienced some problems with soreness on both nipples but the soreness on the left is almost completely gone and he appears to have a good latch on the left side. The right is a completely different story. He just does not open his mouth big enough and tries to latch onto the nipple only. This, of course, hurts like crazy. When I nurse on the right I must latch and unlatch at least 3 times to get a comfortable latch, and that is usually by me shoving part of my areola into his mouth. Then I end up having to take him off towards the end of the feeding because my nipple just hurts so bad from getting chomped on with the bad latches. I know lots of mamas have much worse problems including cracking and bleeding but I would really, really appreciate some advice here.


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## LovinMyKids (Aug 3, 2004)

This happened to me for a long time. i want to say she latched on poorly on th eright side for about 10 weeks. She is now 14 weeks ( I think) and she is doing great. just keep having him try the right one.. it will get easier!


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## wombat (Nov 3, 2002)

Boobs are usually different sizes so that can be a factor. Also one of my nipples was rather flat and I never realised it and that made it hard to dd to latch onto that one.

Also positioning - we have a natural handedness (left or right) so when you position baby on the other side, you could be doing something different and that could affect latch. I found the football hold easier at the start.


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## BelovedBird (Apr 5, 2002)

Are you using different positions?
I have heard of probs on one side and not the other attributed to issues with baby's back or other bones. Visiting a chiripractor and having baby adjusted would work if that is the problem.

Hope it gets better quick!


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## bikruca (Mar 7, 2004)

I have the exact same problem only on my left side.

I have found that the football hold does help sometimes, also I try moving him there in the middle of the feed instead of starting him there...

other than that I am trying to pump that breast so that I dont get too lobsided and I just keep trying..

It also could be because the baby has a preferance for one side. My lactation consultant said that some babies are 'misaligned' from delivery, this is what she said to me in an E-mail

' Try latching him on the right side first and then after just a minute or two slide him over to the left side. Check him out when he is off the breast. Is he symmetrical? Does he turn the same way to the right as he does to the left? Does he lye on either side or does he prefer his head turned the same way all the time? Does this correspond to the same direction his head is on when he's breastfed? Some babies are a little misaligned and therefore feed very differently on one side then the other. If you think this sounds like Bryce then you might want to consider Cranial Sacral Therapy. It does wonders with newborns to correct this one-sidedness (I know that's not a word). '

I hope this helps, good luck!


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## ShabbyChic (Feb 24, 2003)

Congratulations Trish.
Zane had a bad latch on my right side. The football position helped, but mostly we gave up on the right side. He has fed exclusively off of my left side for the past 4 months and is 6 months and 22 pounds. I know that is probably not what you wanted to hear, but I hope it helps to know that one sided feeding cqan be more than okay.


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## fluffernutter (Dec 8, 2002)

It could be that you're holding him slightly different on one side and aren't quite getting him on right, kwim? You might want to try different positions on the problematic side.


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## wildfarmsmama (Jun 27, 2003)

I'm with Reesesmama. A friend of mine had a 'one side problem' and when I watched her I could see that she was holding the babe more flat on her back and it was really sloppy looking compared to the right side. I bet her rt arm is stronger and better able to hold a good position. Try to pay extra attention, another friend has fed 2 only on one side, so that's OK too. It's hard to be trying to do the right thing and it hurts, keep up the good work


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## EmandZ (Aug 19, 2019)

I just wanted to post my experience for anyone struggling with this issue. I had this same problem for weeks DS is now 10 weeks tomorrow. His latch was so shallow and painful it would bring tears to my eyes and excruciating nerve pain down my arm. It looked as though he wasn’t opening wide enough I tried all different positions and it would always end in both of us crying. So I finally went and saw a lactation consultant and with minor tweaks he is now latching deeply with no pain! She watched me feed and corrected his positioning just slightly so he was more nose to nipple, drawing the breast in from underneath with head tilted back so his mouth really gapes open, how to position my hand to sandwich in a U shape rather than C shape and even though it looked like no room for my nipple to fit in his mouth turns out I just had to flick it just inside and it was drawn in easily. But I would really suggest seeing an IBCLC I read many of these posts and would try by myself without any success ending in tears and feeling like we would never get there. Every baby is different and it may just be a small change you need to make. Also if you don’t get it right away you can pump in the meantime and when babe is a little older and their mouth is bigger try again. Just keep trying and hang in there you can do it!


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## Translunary (Sep 26, 2019)

Keep him on the right side too and this can help.


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