I have watched this procedure, and have seen the results following it. When parent's came they were very nervous, anxious and stressed, as their baby had lost weight despite their best efforts to breastfeed them.

The Mum's very often have very sore and often cracked nipples due to the baby not being able to latch on properly.

After the procedure, which takes only a minute or two to perforn, the baby is taken back to Mum for a breastfeed, this is done partly to see how the baby latches on, but also due to the fact that breastmilk has an anaesthetic quality to it, so minimising any discomfort the baby may feel.

It is lovely to see the babies feeding brilliantly, and to see the look of relief on the Mum's face is just wonderful.

A follow up phone call is made the day after to check on the progress, and in all but a very tiny minority everything is fine.

This of course is only at the unit I work in, I can't speak for others, but I do know it isn't widely available.

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Midwifemissy x

Student Midwife 2007
Student uni rep
Educational Resources Manager

PAB Support Worker