Laid back or reclining positions for breastfeeding
Laid back or reclining positions are some of my favourite ones to show new parents.
They can be incredibly comfortable, for both mum and baby, and stimulate a baby’s natural instincts and reflexes. Full frontal contact gives them the stability to self attach and feed.
It is a real confidence booster to see your baby take an active role in feeding, and it can have a positive effect on comfort and milk transfer! It involves the nursing parent to semi recline. You will need to be well supported, so have lots of cushions and props available, especially when learning. Leaning back, in this way, means that you can relax your muscles more, and gravity will assist in holding your baby. It is really good at helping to regulate your nervous system and recovering after birth, especially in skin to skin contact.
I like to say, that ‘mum’s arm makes a hammock’ for the baby to lay on, and that this ‘arm sling’, is like a rudder that can steer the baby into the right position to take the breast - nose to nipple, leading with the chin.
This positional stability is an excellent way for a baby to really focus on feeding and happily gaze into your eyes.
This is the position most IBCLCs would recommend for babies who have:
Feeding challenges
Tongue tie
Receding jaw
Difficulties coping with milk flow
Reflux
Colic
Wind
Tummy upsets
And nursing parents who:
Have sore nipples
Finding most latching instructions tricky
Have a lot of milk/fast flow
Difficulty arranging babies arms
Have multiples
Neck or shoulder pain
Perineum pain
Anxiety
Nancy Mohrbacher, IBCLC, talks about making three simple adjustments:
‘Adjust your body, adjust your baby, and adjust your breast’
She has helpful videos and resources here:
https://www.naturalbreastfeeding.com
Suzanne Colton, a UK midwife, coined the phrase ‘biological nurturing’ and was the first to recognise how laid back feeding assisted parents and babies.
