Curriculum Topic: Group Activity, Educator Demonstration
Activity Type: Postpartum, Healthy Birth Practice 6, Breastfeeding
Purpose: A fun way to show the difference between bottle feeding and breastfeeding as well as how well baby transfers milk with both a good and a poor latch.
Supplies: Three seedless orange wedges per person (cut each orange into six pieces)
Napkins
Disposable or reusable straws
Wastebasket
Instructions:
- Start a discussion about getting breastfeeding off to a good start and delaying bottle feeding until breastfeeding is working well or there is a medical need to introduce a bottle.
- Talk about how removing milk from a bottle is much less effort than breastfeeding for the baby.
- Ask the class to each take one orange wedge, put their head back and squeeze the orange so that juice runs into their open mouth. They often sputter and laugh as a gush of orange juice runs quickly into their mouth. I explain about how this can be the baby getting breastmilk or formula from a bottle, in big mouthfuls without a lot of effort. If babies become accustomed to being fed from a bottle, the transition to the breast may be difficult as babies might get frustrated with how much more work it is to transfer milk from a breast.
- Then ask the families to stick their straw into the second orange wedge. I enourage them to suck up some juice from the orange through the straw. Lots of moans and groans about how difficult it is. I encourage them to try harder. No one really has much luck getting orange juice to move into their mouth via the straw. This is how difficult it is for baby to tranfer milk when they are only drawing in the nipple and have a very shallow latch. It is very hard for the baby to move milk. Additionally, it can be very painful for the breastfeeding parent.
- Finally, ask them to take the third orange wedge and place it in their mouth, to try and get as much juice from the orange as they can by massaging the orange with their tongue and lips but not biting it with their teeth. They happily get just the right amount of juice for their efforts. I ask them to notice how their whole mouth (cheek muscles, jaw, etc.) is working to remove the juice from the orange. This is how a baby with a good latch removes milk from the breast, by massaging the breast with their tongue and lips to remove and transfer milk.
Set-Up:
Pass out a napkin, a straw, and three orange wedges to each person in class. Have a wastebasket easily available for after the exercise is complete.
Talking Points:
We talk about how establishing a good latch is an important key to a good breastfeeding relationship, that a poor latch does not facilitate milk transfer and how bottle feeding before breastfeeding is working well can interfere with a successful breastfeeding relationship. I then go on to discuss what are the characteristics of a good latch, and what to do if the latch is not correct, and we continue the breastfeeding class, which is 2 1/2 hours in its entirety moving on to latching on baby positions and more.
It is fun to teach because it is so effective and I enjoy having class members discover how important the tongue and lips (and the whole mouth) are for a good latch and to properly transfer milk.One of the topics we cover is the importance of a good latch for transferring milk and eliminating pain. We also talk about waiting until breastfeeding is well established (around four weeks) before introducing a bottle or pacifier so that the family is assured that breastfeeding is working well.
A baby that is feeding well has a good latch can remove milk appropriately, has a nice weight gain, and can help ensure that the parent's supply is well established. Bottle feeding (even expressed breastmilk) before this happens can interfere with getting breastfeeding off to the right start. This activity offers a fun way to show the difference between bottle feeding and breastfeeding as well as how well baby transfers milk with both a good and a poor latch.
LINK: https://www.lamaze.org/Connecting-the-Dots/Post/brilliant-activities-for-birth-educators-orange-you-going-to-use-this-breastfeeding-class-activity
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