Key takeaways: Line your baby up tummy to tummy, nose to nipple. Wait for a wide-open mouth, then bring your baby to the breast chin first. A good latch may feel like a strong tug, but it shouldn’t pinch or hurt throughout the feed. If pain persists, get help early.
If breastfeeding hurts, the latch is usually the first place to look. A deep latch protects your nipples, helps your baby remove milk efficiently, and supports your milk supply. The good news: latching is a skill, and both you and your baby get better at it with practice.
Why the Latch Matters
When your baby latches deeply, your nipple sits far back in the mouth where the hard palate meets the soft palate. There, the nipple isn’t compressed, and your baby’s tongue and jaw can move milk efficiently. With a shallow latch, the nipple gets squeezed near the front of the mouth. That can cause pain, cracked nipples, and less milk transfer, which over time can lower your supply.
Step 1: Get Comfortable First
Settle into a position you can hold for a while. Support your back and arms with pillows. Bring your baby to the breast rather than leaning forward to your baby. Many parents find the cross-cradle or football (clutch) hold easiest in the early days because they give good control of the baby’s head and neck. A semi-reclined “laid-back” position, with your baby lying tummy-down on you, also works well for many families.
Step 2: Line Your Baby Up
- Your baby’s body should face you, tummy to tummy, with ear, shoulder, and hip in a straight line. Your baby shouldn’t have to turn their head to reach the breast.
- Support your baby’s neck and shoulders with your hand, not the back of the head. Babies need to tilt their heads back slightly to latch, like you do when drinking from a glass.
- Start with your baby’s nose across from your nipple.
Step 3: Wait for the Wide Gape
Gently brush your nipple against your baby’s upper lip or nose. This encourages your baby to tilt the head back and open wide, like a big yawn. Be patient. Waiting for a truly wide mouth is one of the most important steps.
Step 4: Bring Baby In, Chin First
When the mouth is wide open, quickly bring your baby to the breast, chin and lower jaw first. The lower lip should land well below the nipple, so your baby takes in more of the areola on the bottom than the top. This is called an asymmetric latch. Your nipple should point toward the roof of your baby’s mouth.
If you’re supporting your breast, keep your fingers well back from the areola so they don’t get in the way. A “C” or “U” hold, like holding a sandwich in the same direction as your baby’s mouth, can help.
Signs of a Good Latch
- Your baby’s mouth is wide, with lips flanged out like fish lips (not tucked in).
- The chin is pressed into the breast, and the nose is clear or just touching.
- You see more areola above your baby’s upper lip than below the lower lip.
- Your baby’s cheeks are full and rounded, not dimpled or sucked in.
- After the first few quick sucks, you see slower, rhythmic sucking with pauses, and you hear or see swallowing.
- Your nipple looks round, not flattened, creased, or lipstick-shaped, when your baby comes off.
What Should It Feel Like?
In the first days, many people feel a strong tug or brief tenderness for the first 30 to 60 seconds of a feed. That usually eases as milk flows. Pain that is pinching, burning, or lasts throughout the feed is a sign the latch needs adjusting.
How to Fix a Shallow Latch
If it hurts, don’t just push through. Break the suction by gently slipping a clean finger into the corner of your baby’s mouth, between the gums, and try again. Common fixes include:
- Bringing your baby closer so the chin presses into the breast.
- Waiting for a wider gape before latching.
- Moving your baby’s body so their nose starts opposite your nipple, not their mouth.
- Trying a different position, such as laid-back nursing.
When to Get Help
A lactation consultant (IBCLC) can watch a feed and help you find what works for your body and your baby. Reach out early if:
- Pain lasts beyond the first minute of feeds or gets worse over days.
- Your nipples are cracked, bleeding, or blistered.
- Your baby can’t stay latched, clicks while feeding, or seems to tire quickly.
- Your baby isn’t producing enough wet and dirty diapers or isn’t gaining weight.
Persistent latch problems can have many causes, including flat or inverted nipples, engorgement, a sleepy or premature baby, or oral restrictions such as tongue-tie. An evaluation can sort out what’s going on.
Call your baby’s doctor if: your baby isn’t feeding at least 8 times in 24 hours, has fewer wet diapers than expected, is very sleepy and hard to wake, or looks increasingly yellow. Call your own provider if: you develop a fever, a red, hot, painful area on the breast, or flu-like symptoms.
The Bottom Line
A deep latch comes from good positioning, a wide gape, and bringing your baby in chin first. Discomfort at the start of feeds can be normal in the first days; ongoing pain isn’t. Help is available, and the sooner you ask, the easier it is to fix.
My book From First Breath to First Birthday walks you through latching, breastfeeding, and every newborn check in detail. [Amazon link]
Sources
- Meek JY, Noble L; Section on Breastfeeding. Policy statement: breastfeeding and the use of human milk. Pediatrics. 2022;150(1):e2022057988.
- Wambach K, Spencer B, eds. Breastfeeding and Human Lactation. 6th ed. Jones & Bartlett Learning; 2021.
- Colson SD, Meek JH, Hawdon JM. Optimal positions for the release of primitive neonatal reflexes stimulating breastfeeding. Early Hum Dev. 2008;84(7):441-449.
- Dennis CL, Jackson K, Watson J. Interventions for treating painful nipples among breastfeeding women. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014;(12):CD007366.
- World Health Organization, UNICEF. Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative: Revised, Updated and Expanded for Integrated Care. Section 3: Breastfeeding Promotion and Support in a Baby-Friendly Hospital. Geneva: WHO; 2009.
- Douglas P, Geddes D. Practice-based interpretation of ultrasound studies leads the way to more effective clinical support and less pharmaceutical and surgical intervention for breastfeeding infants. Midwifery. 2018;58:145-155.
This article is for general education and is not a substitute for individualized medical advice. Always talk with your baby’s health care provider or your own provider about your specific situation. If you think your baby or you may have a medical emergency, call 911.
