Breastfeeding can look effortless from the outside, but the first few weeks can be challenging. You may be dealing with sore nipples, a baby who keeps slipping off the breast, or feeds that last 45 minutes without leaving your baby satisfied. It can be exhausting, especially when you are still recovering from birth.
A good breastfeeding latch helps your baby transfer milk effectively while reducing discomfort for you. However, getting the latch right can take practice, and persistent feeding difficulties are not always caused by positioning alone.
Understanding the signs of a poor latch can help you identify what might be happening, try practical adjustments and recognise when professional support is needed.
What Does a Good Breastfeeding Latch Look Like?
A good latch means your baby takes enough of your breast into their mouth to suck and swallow effectively. Your baby should not be sucking on the nipple alone.
Look for these signs during a feed:
- A wide-open mouth: Your baby opens their mouth widely before attaching to the breast.
- Lips turned outward: The upper and lower lips rest against the breast rather than curling inward.
- A deep attachment: Your baby takes in the nipple and a good portion of the surrounding areola, with more of the lower areola often covered.
- Comfortable feeding: You may feel some initial tenderness as your baby latches, but persistent pain, pinching or pulling is a sign to reassess the attachment.
- Rhythmic sucking and swallowing: You can see or hear your baby swallowing as milk is transferred.
- A relaxed baby: Your baby generally settles into a steady feeding rhythm rather than repeatedly pulling away.
Your baby’s chin should rest against your breast, with their head and body aligned. Their nose can remain close to the breast while they breathe comfortably.
After feeding, your nipple should look relatively rounded rather than flattened, creased or lipstick-shaped. These signs can help you assess the latch, but no single sign confirms whether your baby is receiving enough milk. Weight gain, wet nappies and an overall feeding assessment also matter.
6 Common Breastfeeding Latch Problems and What They May Mean
1. Sore, Cracked or Misshapen Nipples
Some nipple tenderness can occur during the early days of breastfeeding. However, ongoing pain, bleeding, cracks or blisters should not be dismissed as something you simply have to tolerate.
A shallow latch is a common reason. If your baby attaches mainly to the nipple rather than taking in enough breast tissue, the nipple can become compressed during sucking. Incorrect positioning may contribute to the problem.
What to try: Bring your baby’s body close to yours and wait for a wide-open mouth before guiding them towards the breast. Aim for a deep, comfortable attachment.
If feeding remains painful, gently break the suction with a clean finger before removing your baby and trying again. Seek help from a lactation consultant or healthcare professional if the pain continues, your nipples are damaged, or you notice other symptoms.
Persistent pain can also have causes unrelated to the latch, including skin irritation, infection or nipple vasospasm. An assessment can help identify the cause.
2. Clicking Sounds or Repeatedly Slipping Off the Breast
A clicking or popping sound during breastfeeding can mean your baby is repeatedly losing suction. You may also notice their lips curling inward, their cheeks dimpling or milk leaking from the corners of their mouth.
Sometimes, the cause is positioning. Your baby may struggle to maintain a deep attachment if their head is turned, their body is too far from yours or their mouth does not open wide enough.
Other factors, including difficulties coordinating sucking and swallowing or restricted tongue movement, may also contribute.
What to try: Check that your baby’s ear, shoulder and hip are aligned and that their body faces you. Allow them to open their mouth widely before bringing them to the breast.
If clicking continues despite adjustments, or your baby frequently comes off the breast and seems unable to feed effectively, arrange a feeding assessment rather than assuming the sound is harmless.
3. Long Feeds Without Your Baby Seeming Satisfied
Newborns often feed frequently, sometimes every one to three hours, and feeding duration varies from baby to baby. Cluster feeding, where your baby wants several feeds close together, can also be normal.
However, consistently long feeds with little audible swallowing, repeated slipping off the breast or continued signs of hunger may indicate that milk transfer is inefficient.
Your baby may be spending a long time sucking without removing enough milk. A shallow latch, sleepiness or difficulties with sucking coordination can contribute.
What to try: Watch for swallowing rather than judging the feed by duration alone. If your baby slows down, gentle breast compression may help milk flow while they continue feeding.
If most feeds are prolonged and your baby rarely seems satisfied, ask a lactation consultant or doctor to observe a feed and assess milk transfer.
4. Slow Weight Gain or Too Few Wet Nappies
A baby who is not gaining weight as expected may not be transferring enough milk, although feeding is only one possible explanation.
During the early days, wet nappies increase as your baby begins taking in more milk. By around day five, many newborns have at least six wet nappies in 24 hours. Your healthcare provider should interpret this alongside your baby’s age, weight and clinical condition.
Other signs worth checking include a baby who is difficult to wake for feeds, persistent feeding difficulties or a baby who does not regain birth weight within the expected timeframe.
What to do: Arrange a weight and feeding assessment with your paediatrician or healthcare provider. In Malaysia, you can also discuss feeding and growth checks at your Klinik Kesihatan.
Do not wait for a routine appointment if your baby is unusually sleepy, has markedly fewer wet nappies or shows signs of dehydration.
5. Engorgement or Breasts That Do Not Soften After Feeding
Breast engorgement can occur when the breasts become overly full, swollen and uncomfortable, particularly when milk production increases in the first few days after birth.
When your baby has difficulty attaching to a very full breast, feeding may become harder. If milk is not removed effectively, discomfort can persist and may contribute to further feeding difficulties.
However, engorgement does not automatically mean your baby has a poor latch, and breasts that remain relatively full do not by themselves prove that milk transfer is inadequate.
What to try: Feed in response to your baby’s hunger cues and seek help with positioning if the breast is too full for your baby to attach comfortably. Expressing a small amount of milk may soften the area around the nipple and make attachment easier.
Seek medical advice if you develop a hot, painful or increasingly red area on the breast, especially with fever or flu-like symptoms, as these may indicate mastitis.
6. Concerns About Low Milk Supply
It can be difficult to tell whether you are producing enough milk, particularly when your baby wants to feed frequently or your breasts feel softer than before.
Frequent feeding alone does not necessarily indicate low supply. Babies may feed more often during growth spurts, and breast softness can be part of normal adjustment.
However, if your baby is not gaining weight appropriately, has too few wet nappies or shows signs of ineffective feeding, milk intake needs to be assessed.
Milk production is influenced by how frequently and effectively milk is removed. If your baby cannot transfer milk well, supply may be affected over time.
What to do: Seek support to assess your baby’s latch, milk transfer and growth. If direct breastfeeding is ineffective or too painful, a healthcare professional or lactation consultant can help you plan appropriate expressing and feeding methods while the underlying issue is addressed.
Avoid starting supplements or making major feeding changes based only on the feeling that your supply is low. A feeding assessment can help determine what your baby needs.
When It’s Not Just Your Breastfeeding Technique
Positioning and attachment are important, but not every latch problem can be resolved by changing your breastfeeding hold.
If you have tried adjustments and your baby continues to struggle with attachment, maintain suction or transfer milk, a physical or developmental factor may need to be assessed.
Possible contributors include:
- Tongue-tie: A restrictive band of tissue beneath the tongue may limit the tongue’s movement and affect feeding in some babies.
- Jaw or neck movement difficulties: Limited movement or discomfort may make it harder for a baby to position their mouth effectively.
- Prematurity or sleepiness: Some babies need additional support with the coordination and stamina required for feeding.
- Other medical factors: Jaundice, illness or other conditions may make a baby unusually sleepy or less effective at feeding.
Some feeding difficulties may overlap with the symptoms of tongue tie in babies, including difficulty maintaining a latch, clicking sounds during feeds and poor milk transfer. However, these signs can have other causes, and not every baby with tongue-tie experiences feeding problems.
A diagnosis should not be based on appearance alone. What matters is whether restricted tongue movement affects function, including feeding, and whether appropriate breastfeeding support has helped.
Who Can Help With Breastfeeding Latch Problems?
You do not have to work through persistent breastfeeding difficulties alone. Different healthcare professionals can help assess different aspects of the problem.
A lactation consultant can observe a feed, assess positioning and attachment, and help you identify ways to improve milk transfer and comfort.
A paediatrician or doctor can check your baby’s weight, hydration, jaundice and general health. They can also investigate other possible causes of feeding difficulties.
A suitably trained paediatric dentist or an ear, nose and throat specialist may assess tongue movement if tongue-tie is suspected. This assessment should form part of a wider feeding evaluation rather than automatically leading to a procedure.
Before your appointment, record how often your baby feeds, how long feeds usually last, the number of wet nappies, any nipple pain and your baby’s recent weight measurements. These details can help the healthcare team understand the pattern and decide what support is appropriate.
Practical Things to Try at Home
While arranging support, a few adjustments may make feeding more comfortable. These tips are not a substitute for assessment when your baby is struggling to feed or gain weight.
- Try a different breastfeeding position. Laid-back breastfeeding, the football hold or the cross-cradle hold may help you support your baby’s body and guide a deeper attachment.
- Use skin-to-skin contact. Holding your baby against your bare chest while you are awake can help you recognise early feeding cues and encourage feeding.
- Wait for a wide-open mouth. Bring your baby towards the breast when their mouth opens widely, rather than pushing the breast into a partly open mouth.
- Try gentle breast compression. If your baby is sucking but swallowing less frequently, gentle compression may help milk flow.
- Protect milk production if feeding is ineffective. If your baby cannot breastfeed effectively, ask a healthcare professional how often to express milk and how to provide appropriate feeds while you work on the latch.
Stop and reposition if feeding is painful. If the same difficulties keep returning, seek an observed feeding assessment rather than repeatedly trying new techniques without guidance.
When Should You Get Help Quickly?
Contact a healthcare professional promptly if your baby has significantly fewer wet nappies than expected, struggles to feed or is unusually sleepy. Worsening yellowing of the skin or eyes, signs of dehydration or difficulty waking your baby for feeds also need urgent assessment.
A baby younger than three months with a temperature of 38°C or higher needs urgent medical evaluation.
For the breastfeeding parent, seek medical advice if you develop fever, flu-like symptoms or a hot, red and painful area on the breast.
If you are concerned that your baby is not getting enough milk, do not wait for the latch to improve before seeking help. Your baby’s hydration and nutritional needs come first.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should a newborn breastfeeding session take?
There is no single duration that applies to every baby. Some feeds are short, while others take longer. Regular swallowing, appropriate weight gain and adequate wet nappies are more useful indicators than timing alone. Consistently long feeds without signs of effective milk transfer warrant assessment.
Is it normal for breastfeeding to hurt at first?
Some brief tenderness can occur when you first establish breastfeeding. Persistent pain, cracked or bleeding nipples, or pain throughout a feed should not be ignored. A lactation consultant or healthcare professional can help identify whether the cause is the latch or another condition.
Can a baby with tongue-tie still breastfeed?
Yes. Some babies with tongue-tie breastfeed without difficulty. Others may have restricted tongue movement that affects attachment or milk transfer. Assessment should consider tongue function and feeding effectiveness, not simply the appearance of the tissue beneath the tongue.
Final Thoughts
Breastfeeding difficulties do not mean you are doing something wrong. A shallow latch, frequent slipping off the breast or prolonged feeds can be frustrating, but many problems improve with the right support.
Pay attention to your comfort, your baby’s feeding behaviour and signs that they are getting enough milk. If difficulties persist, seek help early so that you can identify the cause and find an appropriate feeding plan for you and your baby.
