Child bites breasts: the main reasons and how to wean

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Breastfeeding is not an easy process, it can be quite painful. Unpleasant sensations are primarily associated with causes such as cracks, lactostasis and wounds. The latter appear when the child began to bite the chest. Almost every mother has gone through this ordeal. This phenomenon may have several reasons, but any of them must be eliminated in order to prevent the baby from developing a bad habit. At this difficult stage, many women are tempted to stop breastfeeding, but if there is no medical indication, it is important to try to save it.

Benefits of Breastfeeding

No one has the right to impose someone else's opinion on the mother of a child if for some reason she cannot or does not want to breastfeed her child. But before switching to artificial nutrition, she is advised to carefully consider her decision so that, if possible, neither she nor her baby are infringed. Breastfeeding has a numberundeniable benefits for children.

1. Nature has provided for everything. Breast milk is balanced and contains exactly the amount of proteins, fats, vitamins and other components that a child needs for full development and growth.
2. Breastfeeding according to WHO research improves immunity. This means that the child will be less at risk of contracting respiratory diseases.
3. Babies on a natural diet are less likely to suffer from allergic diseases than babies who eat formula.
4. Breast milk in its composition contains substances that resist the growth of pathogenic bacteria that cause diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and intestines.
5. Specialists who have observed children fed naturally, note their high levels of visual memory and vision. This proves that breastfeeding stimulates brain development.
6. Breastfeeding reduces the risk of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease.
7. Unlike artificial nutrition, breast milk is always at the optimum temperature and always fresh. No need to get up at night, just put the baby next to you.
8. Breastfeeding is an irreplaceable tactile and visual contact. The child feels protected and cared for.

As you can see, there are many advantages for the baby in breastfeeding, so it is important to keep it, even if the babybites the chest. Moreover, this problem is quickly solved with the right approach.

Teething

One of the main reasons why a child may start biting is teething. While he does not have a single tooth, he will grab the nipple with his gums and pull, which is also quite painful. The eruption of the first teeth can leave the mother with such unpleasant consequences as breast bites, sores on the nipples. The situation will be aggravated if the woman also has feeding cracks.

Since it is impossible to stop the process of teeth coming out, it is necessary to alleviate the painful sensations that lead to the fact that the child bites the breast.

Special cooling and anesthetic gels will help in this matter. Teethers, rubber toys, crackers, apples and any safe items can be used as a teether.

Mixed feeding

Sometimes a baby bites the breast because the mother feeds him alternately, then formula, then milk. As a result, he is confused when the nipple is in front of him, and when the nipple is. And the nipple can be pulled and gnawed, which he is trying to do with the mammary gland. Babies who are accustomed to a pacifier also often bite, not seeing anything unnatural in this, because for them it is a habit.

Getting the mixture through the bottle, the little one gets used to the fact that the food goes to him effortlessly, because the mixture itself pours into his mouth. Therefore, often such children end up completely refusing to breastfeed orthey just play with it and don't eat it. If there is a need to supplement, it is recommended to do this with a syringe or spoon.

Baby sickness

Babies are not yet able to talk, so they communicate their problems in ways available to them. If he has a tummy ache, a fever, or some other kind of ailment, he will try to tell his mom about it. To attract attention, the child bites the chest. He doesn't eat, he only hurts. Do not scold the baby in this case, it is better to direct all your efforts to identify the problem and eliminate it.

Separately, it must be said about the common cold. When a baby has a stuffy nose, he cannot fully eat, as breathing is difficult. The kid may get angry because he wants to eat, but he can't. The way out in this situation will be the vertical location of the child, then the mucus will move away from the nasopharynx.

Incorrect latching

A common reason why a baby bites the breast is improper attachment of the baby to the breast. The correct posture during feeding - the baby captures not only the nipple, but also the areola around. The chin and nose should rest against the chest, but so that the mammary gland does not make it difficult for the child to breathe.

If a baby's nipple slips out of his mouth, he can bite it and pull to keep it. To prevent this from happening, the mother should monitor the baby and not be distracted during feeding. Therefore, it is recommended to exclude the phone, TV and other distractions for this time. If the child is in the correctposition, he will not bite his chest.

Lack of milk

During the establishment of lactation or with long breaks in feeding, milk may not be enough. If the baby bites hard on the breast, then this may mean that he does not have enough food and he is hungry. In this case, the baby will try to squeeze every last drop out of the mother's breast, even to the point that he will bite.

To calm the baby, he needs to be fed. If a woman will supplement her baby with formula, it is important not to offer him a bottle, as then there is a risk of completely abandoning breastfeeding.

To establish lactation, you should regularly put the baby to the breast, and also eat lactogenic foods, drink more fluids to stimulate milk production. If necessary, the pediatrician will prescribe stimulating medicinal teas.

Child does not want to eat

The reverse side of underfeeding is that the baby is full, does not want to eat. Most often, children of the first year of life, having eaten, want to sleep. If he wants to take a nap, but his chest is shoved, the baby begins to be mischievous. Signs that he does not want to eat - the child bites his chest, turns his head.

Force-feeding can provoke rejection and even complete refusal of the baby from natural nutrition.

Getting attention

A young mother has a lot of housework. In addition to taking care of the baby, she has other duties such as cleaning, cooking, shopping. And also a woman wants to spend some time on herself. PerWith all this turmoil, the fair sex does not always have time to play with the baby, read a fairy tale or just talk.

Despite the fact that children at this age do not speak, they are very fond of communication. They need their mother's attention all the time, she represents the whole world for him at the moment.

If a child bites his chest with his teeth, it is possible that he lacks attention. To understand that this is the reason, you need to make sure that the baby is not sick, his teeth are not being cut and he is full.

It is very easy to fix this situation, it is enough to allocate more time just to be with the baby. And if possible, transfer part of their duties to someone from the household.

Baby playing

Besides all the mentioned reasons, there is also the simplest, but no less common one. Often, if a child bites his chest, he indulges. This phenomenon applies to children older than six months. The kid wants to be naughty and play with mom. Usually at such a moment, the bully has a sly look on his face, and a sly light in his eyes.

The play of young children often makes others wince in pain. Children can hit, pull hair painfully, pinch and bite. Parents need to stop such games in advance, until their baby has become a habit.

How to wean a child from biting the chest?

Whatever the reason for the fact that the baby bites during feeding, it must be eliminated. Otherwise, the mother will not receive any joy from feeding, she will becomeeach time subconsciously prepare for pain and negativity. To children, these emotions are transmitted along with milk. Breastfeeding should not be a feat on the part of the mother.

So what if the baby bites the breast? In the matter of weaning from this bad habit, it is important for the parent to be patient.

1. If a baby has bitten a nipple, you can't yell at him or even raise your voice. A loud reaction can scare the baby to tears. In the worst case, he may even refuse to take the breast at all, remembering the negative reaction.
2. When you bite, you need to look at the baby, calmly remove the chest and explain that it hurts mom. This will most likely need to be done several times, but soon the baby will understand the relationship that as soon as he bites, the source of heat and food moves away from him.
3. As soon as a woman feels pain, she needs to release the mammary gland from her grip. It is not recommended to pull the breast, trying to pull it out of the child's teeth. He won’t let her go like that, and the nipple can be injured. An effective way is to put a finger in the corner of the crumbs' mouth. Then he will bite him, and the nipple can be easily removed in the meantime.
4. If the baby cries as soon as he loses his breast, he should not immediately give it back. The child should be calmed and after a couple of minutes, continue feeding. If mischief is repeated, the procedure is repeated.
5. When the baby eats calmly, mom needs to praise him, pat him on the head. Under no circumstances should you do this when he is biting, or he will learn that his mother likes it.
6. As soon as the baby fell asleep, you need to carefullyremove the nipple from his mouth so that he does not pull it in a dream.

Breast Care

Even if the baby does not bite, at the beginning of the path of breastfeeding, the mammary glands suffer greatly. A woman who has recently given birth has cracks, stagnation of milk. This can lead to serious illness. Therefore, the fair sex should not be negligent about the condition and hygiene of her breasts.

Mammary glands should be washed daily with water at room temperature, the optimal amount is 2 times. For water procedures, it is important to choose a liquid soap with a neutral alkaline balance. It is not recommended to wipe with hard towels, it is better to blot moisture with paper napkins. A breastfeeding mother should not take a bath that is too hot or cold, or rub her bust with a hard washcloth.

For the speedy healing of bites and cracks, ointments with retinol are used, as well as lanolin - natural animal fat. These agents effectively soften and heal wounds. A manganese solution should be used to disinfect injuries. Do not smear injured areas with iodine, brilliant green or alcohol, they tend to corrode the skin when they enter the wound.

Experts recommend using breast pads and changing them as often as possible. The nipples must be isolated from constant moisture, otherwise the injured areas will heal for a very long time.

To relieve pain from bites, compresses from cabbage leaves will help.

Cracked nipples can be treated with silicone pads. If the wound is only on one breast, it is recommended to startfeeding from a he althy breast.

Many young mothers at one time or another think about how to wean the baby from biting the breast while feeding. Some of them prefer to endure pain, but in fact, breaking a bad habit is simple, you just need to show a little patience.