Baby bites during breastfeeding

Lactation Specialist Wendy Haldeman, IBCLC, shares advice for breastfeeding mothers on what to do when your baby is biting while breastfeeding
Baby Biting During Breastfeeding - Kidsinthehouse.com
KidsInTheHouse the Ultimate Parenting Resource
Kids in the House Tour

Baby bites during breastfeeding

Comment
58
Like
58
Transcription: 
Biting babies can be understandably quite a challenge because it can hurt. Some mothers assume that this means that the baby is ready to stop breastfeeding, and I would argue that that's not necessarily true. If a baby's actively teething without meaning to, sometimes they will chimp down on your nipple because they're in pain and they feel like it's going to help their teething pain, not realizing of course that it's hurting their mom. So what we would generally recommend is that first of all, try and ease the baby's teething pain through whatever method you choose, homeopathic or whatever you want to try and do with that. And then use behavior modification. Babies are really smart. So if you bring your baby to breast and they start to bite, the baby should be taken off the breast and told, "No biting. That hurts mommy." And leave them off the breast for 5 - 10 minutes, which for a baby is interminable. But they really do get it; they're smart, they want to breastfeed, and they quickly learn, "If I bite mom, I don't get to breastfeed."

Lactation Specialist Wendy Haldeman, IBCLC, shares advice for breastfeeding mothers on what to do when your baby is biting while breastfeeding

Related Videos

Transcript

Expert Bio

More from Expert

Wendy Haldeman, RN, MN, IBCLC

Lactation Specialist

Wendy Haldeman, MN, RN, IBCLC is a co-founder of the Pump Station and Nurtury. She received both her nursing and lactation education at UCLA, is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), and a certified Happiest Baby on the Block instructor. She lectures frequently on human lactation at medical and nursing schools and has been identified by publications, such as Fit Pregnancy, as an expert in her field. Wendy facilitates the New Mother Support groups, and teaches the prenatal Breastfeeding and Baby Care Classes at The Pump Station. She and her husband Tim are proud of their two grown daughters and their 15 month old granddaughter.

More Parenting Videos from Wendy Haldeman, RN, MN, IBCLC >
Enter your email to
download & subscribe
to our newsletter
  Listen or Watch
Must See First Year Videos
Three important rules about your baby's first foods
First year milestones
Postnatal depression and loneliness advice
Baby losing interest in nursing
The importance of spending quality time during early childhood
Narrating an infant's environment
Research based benefits of co-sleeping
Bonding versus attachment
Bonding with your baby after a less-than-perfect birth
Preventing postpartum depression
Play All 34 Videos
Featured Experts: Alan Greene, MD, Lawrence Kagan, MD, Barbara Olinger, MSW
More Playlists >
Transcription: 
Biting babies can be understandably quite a challenge because it can hurt. Some mothers assume that this means that the baby is ready to stop breastfeeding, and I would argue that that's not necessarily true. If a baby's actively teething without meaning to, sometimes they will chimp down on your nipple because they're in pain and they feel like it's going to help their teething pain, not realizing of course that it's hurting their mom. So what we would generally recommend is that first of all, try and ease the baby's teething pain through whatever method you choose, homeopathic or whatever you want to try and do with that. And then use behavior modification. Babies are really smart. So if you bring your baby to breast and they start to bite, the baby should be taken off the breast and told, "No biting. That hurts mommy." And leave them off the breast for 5 - 10 minutes, which for a baby is interminable. But they really do get it; they're smart, they want to breastfeed, and they quickly learn, "If I bite mom, I don't get to breastfeed."