How your baby uses all five senses to breastfeed
Breastfeeding is a very natural and biological experience for your baby. She has innate senses she uses to find your breast and help the breastfeeding process when latching. After reading this blog post you will know how your baby uses her five senses while breastfeeding.
1) Sight
At birth, your baby’s version is limited to a distance of about 18 inches (1.5 feet). This is also the average distance from a mother’s breast to her face, allowing the infant to begin to map and learn her mother’s appearance right after birth. During pregnancy, your areola and nipple darken which helps your baby locate the nipple by creating a contrast in color with the skin of your breast.
2) Smell
Early breast milk, colostrum, smells similar to the amniotic fluid your baby is swimming in during your pregnancy, this familiar smell helps your baby locate your nipple and entices her to latch on and feed. You may have noticed during pregnancy some small raised bumps becoming visible on your areola, these are called Montgomery Glands. Their job is to secrete a moisturizing fluid that contains odors that babies are naturally drawn to.
3) Touch
A baby’s sense of touch is well developed when you deliver. Babies are able to sense the warmth of their mother’s breasts and use their mouth and facial sense of touch to locate the breast by bobbing their head up and down on the mother’s chest. A sense of touch in certain areas of an infant’s body can illicit newborn reflexes that help your baby latch and feed. The rooting reflex occurs when your baby’s mouth is touched, causing her to turn toward the direction they were touched and open her mouth in search of the breast. When your nipple is placed inside of your baby’s open mouth and touches the roof of her mouth, the sucking reflex is triggered allowing her to begin sucking and drinking milk.
4) Hearing
In utero, your baby learns the sound of your voice as her mother. After delivery, she is attracted to the sound of your voice and will turn her head and even move toward the sound, leading her closer to your breast.
5) Taste
Your baby’s sense of taste begins developing early in your pregnancy as taste buds begin to form. Babies are known to like sweet tastes over sour tastes. Breast milk has a sweeter taste, therefore babies are attracted to it. Studies show that newborn babies prefer the taste of breast milk over other infant formulas after delivery.
Read more in-depth information about how infants use their senses to find the breast
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I am a registered nurse in the State of Florida and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). The content on this blog page is for informational and educational use only. I have taken reasonable steps to ensure that the information shared is accurate, but I cannot guarantee that it is free from errors. The information shared here does not take the place of a medical provider, nor establishes any kind of client relationship with myself as a registered nurse or a lactation consultant. I am not your IBCLC or RN unless you book a consult with me directly and we establish a patient/caregiver relationship.