According to Lora Schwacke, a Bradley Certified Childbirth Educator in New Jersey, there is a very simple way to stop nipple confusion before it even starts. Nipple confusion is a process that occurs with many infants, when the parents switch between breastfeeding and a bottle. Babies often decides that they prefer one form of feeding over the other, and will even go as far as to refuse to eat with the other method. For mothers who wish to breastfeed, but also desire a break from the task, there is a simple answer to heading nipple confusion off at the pass.
The most important thing to remember is to not offer a bottle until your baby has successfully been breastfeeding for a minimum of three weeks. By doing this, the baby has had the chance to get used to breastfeeding, and the work that he or she must do to feed correctly. Once the baby is secure in their breastfeeding strategy, then the parents can add bottle-feeding of breast milk into the routine. If the infant takes longer to become adept at breastfeeding, then hold off longer on the bottle. Nipple confusion can be avoided that easily.
If, by chance, the baby starts to show signs of nipple confusion weeks after that point, the best solution is to remove the bottle from the mix, and go back to straight breastfeeding for a while. Lora Schwacke has helped many women in the New Jersey area, stop nipple confusion in its tracks.
