supplementing

by Tanya Lieberman, IBCLC, with Amy Peterson, IBCLC

We’re very pleased to share an interview about bottles and breastfed babies today. We asked Amy Peterson, IBCLC, co-author of Balancing Breast and Bottle: Reaching your Breastfeeding Goals, to answer our questions.

For those of you who combine bottles with breastfeeding – whether you’re pumping at work, supplementing, or use a bottle for occasional separations – bottle and nipple selection can be confusing. For those of you whose babies refuse bottles, it can be very frustrating!

We hope that the information she shares below is helpful. Amy offers more information on bottlefeeding breastfed babies on her website.

Many bottles are advertised as “easing the transition from breast to bottle” and back again. What do you think of these claims? Are they independently verified?

These claims are very misleading. Just as every mother’s breast has a unique shape and flow, every baby has a unique suck/swallow cycle. What works well for one baby might be terrible for another. Parents need to observe their own baby sucking on a bottle nipple and analyze if the latch and swallow look similar to that on the breast. In our book, we use a tool called the SIMPLE Method that guides parents step-by-step on how to choose a bottle nipple for their own baby’s unique latch.

We are not aware if such advertising claims have been verified. However, we do know that this type of marketing is in violation of the International Code of Breastmilk Substitutes. This international health policy document, adopted by many countries excluding the U.S., is designed to protect families from underhanded marketing ploys such as words or pictures idealizing artificial feeding. Comparing a bottle to breastfeeding—even if it contains breastmilk—is idealizing that brand.

In our professional experience of helping babies combine breast and bottle-feeding, we have found that the nipples which claim to be best for breastfed babies are often the worst choice. The bottle nipples that are best for breastfed babies have a gradual transition from tip to base.

You and your co-author tested 37 bottles. What were the features you were comparing, and what did you learn about the range of bottles that you’d most want parents of breastfed babies to know?

We tested two different aspects of bottle nipples. First, we measured dripping by looking at the number of drips and the size of each drip. Then we hooked up bottles to a hospital grade breast pump to determine how fast bottles flow. After performing these tests, we compared the results to see if bottle dripping and flow rate were related.

The results were surprising. First of all, about half of the nipples, regardless of a non-“no drip” label stopped dripping within five seconds of tipping them upside-down. That was important for us because many bottle companies claim their nipples are “no drip,” implying that bottles that don’t drip are a better choice. To rule out the importance of dripping, we did further testing.

Second, we measured the size of the drip for those bottles that did drip. The most important thing we found was dripping does not equal a higher amount of liquid. Bottles that appeared to drip a lot often had less volume. Frequently it is assumed that a fast dripping bottle has a large amount in the drip. We discovered that a bottle may drip frequently, but with a low output. So, it is impossible to judge the size of the drip with the naked eye. Stated another way, the number of drips doesn’t mean more liquid is coming out.

As for flow, the term “slow” is not standard. To determine flow, we hooked up bottles to a hospital grade breast pump and measured the amount of liquid collected after 20 cycles. We found there was a wide range of “slow.” For example, the fastest nipple was eleven times faster than the slowest nipple. Following testing, we ranked nipples from slowest to fastest in Appendix C of Balancing Breast and Bottle. This is important because if a nipple flows too quickly, a baby’s suck will become disorganized. Likewise, a nipple might be too slow for some babies. A parent needs to watch their baby’s response to bottle-feeding rather than relying on package labeling. If a parent thinks the bottle is flowing too fast, try a different nipple in the package, and/or try a different brand.

The most fascinating results came from comparing the data of these two tests (drip and flow). Dripping is different than flow; they are not related. Most breastfeeding books suggest turning a bottle over to see how fast it drips in an effort to select a bottle with a slow flow. This suggestion is not accurate. We tested a nipple that dripped an average of 56 times when tipped over, but had a slow flow. Then, we looked at a no-drip nipple and much to our surprise, found it flowed 10.6 times faster. Big difference! Dripping is not related to flow.

Parents are often advised to begin breastfed babies on “slow flow nipples,” but even nipples advertised as “slow flow” can seem very fast. Are there any that are as slow as you think is appropriate?

As mentioned earlier, the term “slow” is not standardized. Nonetheless, it is important to begin with a slow nipple. If a nipple flows too quickly, a baby’s suck will become disorganized. For breastfeeding babies, it is best to choose a flow that mimics mom’s flow. For this reason, it is hard to say one or two brands are “best” since flow varies from mother to mother. Likewise, a nipple might be too slow for some babies. This is why we ranked the bottles and listed them in our book.

It is also important to remember that flow is only one aspect of choosing a bottle. If the baby’s mouth placement is wrong, regardless of the flow, baby will bring bad habits to the breast and still be in danger of early weaning.

For parents who are struggling to get their breastfed babies to take bottles, and who are exploring different bottles, what should they be looking for?

Moms need to consider the nipple shape and their baby’s mouth placement on the nipple. Ideally, the nipple chosen will gradually flare from the nipple length to the nipple base. This shape allows the tip of the nipple to reach far back into the baby’s mouth as the breast does, and then helps the baby to feed with the mouth open. Quite often a “narrow neck” nipple has a shape that reaches far into the baby’s mouth and allows for gradual widening of the baby’s lips.

A shape that often does not work well is a wide neck nipple where the nipple length meets the nipple base at a right angle. This nipple shape promotes what we call “straw” sucking, where the baby’s mouth closes around the length of the nipple and doesn’t open for the base. When babies “straw” suck on a bottle nipple, we often see gaps in the corners of the baby’s mouth which leads to leaking milk, gulping air, etc. This is quite different than breastfeeding.

One bottle feeding method is called “paced feeding.” Can you describe it and explain why it might be helpful to a breastfed baby? What are some signs that a baby is becoming overwhelmed while bottle feeding?

Paced feeding refers to helping a baby eat more slowly from the bottle. Pacing became popular in 2002, before flow had been studied. The idea behind pacing is that by helping the baby rest briefly during bottle-feeding, moms can more closely mimic how the baby naturally feeds at the breast. When a baby breastfeeds, the mother has several let-downs during the feeding. Between let-downs, the baby’s sucking slows and baby can rest briefly. If a baby is feeding from a fast flow “slow flow” nipple, the suck/swallow will be disorganized. Pacing helps the baby have rest periods while bottle feeding that naturally occur at the breast. Now that we know flow can be controlled by choosing an appropriate nipple, we have another technique in our bag of tricks to help babies be more coordinated when feeding from a bottle.

It is important to note that most babies can pace themselves once they master bottle-feeding with the right nipple. How do you pace? First, listen for swallowing while the baby is breastfeeding, noting when the baby naturally pauses and rests. Then apply the same rhythm to bottle-feeding. Also of importance is positioning. With bottle-feeding, support the baby in a more upright position because the flow of some bottles increases when the baby is laying back to feed (another element we tested).

Do all breastfed babies require pacing? No, in fact, imposing pacing can disrupt the natural feeding rhythm of a baby and cause harm when over used. Babies who are “good” feeders, meaning they have a normal, rhythmic suck/burst cycle, do not need pacing. It has been our experience that once a baby has mastered bottle feeding, it is no longer necessary for the parent to impose pacing.

Some signs of a poor bottle-feed include gulping, catch-up breaths, fast feeds, leaking milk from the sides of the mouth or down the chin, baby who has a furrowed brow looking very concerned, and a baby who pulls away from the bottle. For these babies, nipple shape and flow need to be double checked, and this becomes a good time to use pacing. Pacing also is an excellent technique for NICU and other high risk babies that are having feeding difficulties.

Lastly, we would like every caregiver who uses a bottle to know that dripping bottles given before a baby begins sucking usually cause the baby to pull back or flat out refuse the bottle. Caregivers need to be sure the nipple is not dripping when the bottle is offered to the baby. Allow the bottle to stop dripping or keep the milk tipped down in the bottom of the bottle. This topic is further explored on our website.

Tanya Lieberman is a lactation consultant (IBCLC) who has helped nursing moms in hospital and pediatric settings. She writes and produces podcasts for several breastfeeding websites, including Motherwear, Motherlove Herbal Company, and the Best for Babes Foundation. Tanya recently authored Spanish for Breastfeeding Support, a guide to help lactation consultants support Spanish- speaking moms. Prior to becoming a lactation consultant she was senior education policy staff to the California legislature and Governor, and served as a UN civilian peacekeeper. Tanya is passionate about supporting nursing moms, and especially to eliminating the barriers so many moms face in meeting their breastfeeding goals. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, her 8 year old son and her 1 year old daughter.

Nipple confusion, bottles, and alternative feeding options

February 6, 2012 by theleakyb@@b

On January 17, 2012 in the United States, Medela, best known for their pumps, launched their latest “feeding innovation”, the Calma. The Calma is a bottle that seeks to eliminate nipple confusion and flow preference by making a bottle fed baby work for its milk, similar to how your little one must compress and suck at your breast to get milk out. According to Medela, this “supports an easy transition from the breast to the teat and back.”

As a registered International board certified lactation consultant, I am very skeptical of these claims.

I have often heard that nipple confusion is a myth, foisted on mothers to keep them stuck to their brand new babies, to keep them from leaving the house, to subjugate us all. This is simply not true. Nipple confusion happens. I have seen numerous cases of it in my practice. Babies become nipple confused for three reasons – flow preference, difference in movements, and difference in feel. Medela has the right idea on part of the equation. Babies that are given a lot of bottles in the early period can decide that it’s not that fun to work a breast when this plastic thingy is way easier. Most bottles, even the slowest flowing, flow faster than milk from a breast. However, your baby also moves their mouth differently to get the milk from a bottle than from a breast. The jaw and tongue movements are not even close to the same, and trying to transfer the movements from one to another can frustrate and upset your baby. After all, if your baby is new, this whole eating thing is new, too. Why complicate it? There’s a bonus too: a baby nursing at the breast will develop their mouth in a way that will help with prettier smiles and better speech, too!

The third part of the equation is the different feel. If you are giving your baby a softer breast and a harder silicone, they may very well like the way that a bottle feels more – especially since that silicone is, again, delivering milk faster and the mouth movements are different. Medela hasn’t really done anything to cure that. I’ve seen and felt the Calma, and, I assure you, it will not be mistaken for breast tissue anytime soon.

The easiest way to prevent nipple confusion is by waiting to introduce a bottle until four to six weeks (three to four at the earliest) and to simply offer the breast more than the bottle. Some families have other situations, though, that don’t make the whole four to six week thing possible. So what is a modern mom to do? For many of us, it is not feasible to never give milk from anywhere but the breast. We have work, and school, and other children, and obligations, and, man, sometimes Mommy just needs a day (or an hour or two) off. But babies still have to eat during that time! And what if your baby has issues with latching at the breast, or you are inducing a supply, or you need to do some supplementing?

Luckily, being a modern mom means that we have some awesome options available to us. There is spoon feeding, where you can hand express colostrum or milk directly into a spoon and give it to your baby. This works best in the beginning, when your baby isn’t taking in much milk yet – it would be a fairly long process for a family feeding an older infant. To spoon feed, you simply use a clean spoon, hold the baby in an upright position (like sitting) and put the spoon at the lower lip, giving small amounts and letting the baby go at their own pace. A spoonful can be considered a full feeding if you are dealing with a newborn.

Cup feeding is another option. Cups are widely available, cheap, and easy to use. Your infant won’t take the cup from your hands and drink like a big kid, of course, but will instead lap at the milk kind of like a baby animal might. There are special cups sold for cup feeding, but it might be easier and cheaper to just use a shot glass. With cup feeding, like spoon feeding, you’ll hold the baby supported and upright. You’ll put the cup to the lips and tilt slightly so that the baby can easily lap at the milk (not so it’s pouring into his or her mouth.) Allow the baby to eat at his or her own pace. It may take a while, but that is ok! Babies shouldn’t be gulping down their feeds – when they do, they often overeat, which can hurt their tummies and set a bad precedence of wanting more than they need.

You can also use what’s called a supplemental nursing system, or SNS. SNSs are generally a bottle type thing hooked to a long tube. You put the milk in the bottle part, and then you can do one of two things with the tube. First, you can use it on the breast, either by sticking it in a nipple shield (which you should only use if followed by a lactation consultant for sizing and to negate any potential complications that might arise) or by taping the end near the nipple so that the baby gets an extra boost of liquid while nursing. This can be really helpful if you’re relactating or increasing a milk supply, if your baby needs to be supplemented but is nursing well, or if you have a preemie or baby with suck issues that maybe doesn’t milk the breast as effectively as they should be. You can also use a SNS to finger feed your baby. With that, you attach the tube to your finger, and the baby sucks the finger to get the milk. A lactation consultant can even help you use this method to train or retrain your baby to suck properly. SNS systems can be hard to clean, so please carefully read the instructions and check with a health care provider for any extra precautions you should take if you have a preemie or immune compromised baby.

If you have an older baby (4 months or so) that’s just now getting around to taking milk in another way, you can try forgoing bottles altogether and working on cup training or using sippy cups. Sometimes the difference is interesting enough for an older baby who has rejected bottles. As with any of the other methods, the goal is to allow your baby to learn and go at their own pace. Be prepared for this to be a messier endeavor with an older baby who is starting to show some independence. You will probably have to help them to hold and tilt the cup – they may not be content with the idea of you holding it all yourself, and you may have some spills in the process.

But what if none of these methods work for you? Maybe your care provider is balking, or you are annoyed and uncomfortable with one or all of the methods, and you really, really just want to use a bottle. In that case, instead of purchasing the reportedly $15 a piece Calma, I would try Fleur at Nurtured Child’s method of baby-led bottlefeeding. In fact, any time you are bottlefeeding, you should use this method. It is the ideal way to feed a baby from a bottle and encourage any care-takers that will be feeding your baby with a bottle to utilize this method as well. In choosing a bottle, there is no really good evidence that I have seen showing that a certain bottle or nipple is better than another for breastfeeding. There are a lot of nipples that are supposed to be similar to your breast in look and feel, but in my time in the bottle aisle, I never saw any that made me go, “That looks EXACTLY like my boob. That one, right there, with the wide base and medium sized nipple!!” My kids never really liked the wide bottomed nipples, although they are often touted as being awesome for breastfeeding babies. When it all boils down to it, most of that is hype. When selecting a bottle, select the one you think might work that is in your budget.

If you are giving milk due to a breastfeeding problem, be sure to discuss methods and supplements with a medical professional with good lactation training. Ask a lot of questions. If supplements are ordered, get a LOT of information on them. Why do you need to supplement? How long does your medical professional want you to supplement? How much should you supplement? How often should you supplement? Can you use your own expressed breast milk? What is the plan of action for weaning from supplementing? If your baby isn’t nursing well at the breast, you will likely need to do some pumping along with the supplementing to keep your supply healthy while you work through the problem. Find out how often you need to pump and how you should store your breastmilk – especially if your baby is hospitalized and you are transporting it.

There are other feeding options for more serious problems, such as cleft lip/palate as well. That type of situation needs to be followed very closely by a lactation professional and physician to ensure that the baby’s unique situation is being addressed.

If you are going to be separated from your baby for another reason – work, school, or just going out – remember to think of your magic number. This is the number of times your baby breastfeeds in a normal day (and, yes, that can vary. Just take an average.) You want to be sure that you are replicating that amount of times by a combination of pumping and nursing. This will help to keep your milk supply plentiful.

In the end, there is no product on the market that can magically be just like your breast and provide your baby the exact same experience. Luckily, there are many options for your baby and your family that will help you to achieve your breastfeeding goals.

Star Rodriguiz, IBCLC, is a breastfeeding peer counselor for a WIC in the Midwest and has just started her private practice as an IBCLC (her Facebook page is here, go “like” for great support). She also sits on the breastfeeding task force in her town, is helping her community’s Early Head Start redefine their breastfeeding support, and is the driving force behind a local breastfeeding campaign. In the remainder of her free time, she chases around her nursling and preschooler.

Bottle Feeding Breastfed Babies

Nipple confusion, bottles, and alternative feeding options

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Nipple confusion, bottles, and alternative feeding options

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