How to prevent nipple confusion?

Some mothers tend to provide baby formula milk as they think that they have insufficient breast milk to feed the baby. They feed the baby with a milk bottle and thus baby might have nipple confusion later on and refuse to suck the nipples.

The technique of sucking the bottle and sucking the nipple is different and the taste is different. When sucking the bottle, the baby only needs to open his mouth slightly, hold the nipple, squeeze the nipple with the gums and tongue, and the milk will flow out of the bottle. When sucking the nipple, the baby must open the mouth to contain most of the lower areola, and the tongue and chin are sucked in deeply in order to suck the milk, the milk flow is not continuous.

The baby is too small to distinguish the difference between the feeding bottle and the nipple, which creates confusion. It is harder for a baby to suck through a nipple than to suck through a bottle. It takes 15-20 minutes to suck breast milk once and 5 minutes to eat a bottle of the same amount.

Ideally, mothers should let their babies suck their nipples after labour. They may feed the baby with a spoon if they plan to feed the baby with formula milk.

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