Not many people consider the anatomy of the infant's head, neck, and mouth. These areas, however, are the most important factors when it comes to the new baby's health in terms of eating.
The nasal cavity is the main passageway for air, which helps in purifying and moisturizing it before entering the lungs. In the front of the cavity, this area is surrounded by a tough, elastic tissue, which is part of the nose.
Underneath the nose, the hard palate provides a firm border between the nasal and oral cavities. The oral cavity has a significant role in the ingestion of food.
It is bordered by the roof and floor of the mouth, the lips, and the cheeks. The pharynx performs the most important job of swallowing and keeping itself open for respiration.
The most significant characteristics during breastfeeding are nutritive and non-nutritive sucking, sucking rhythm, and sucking rate. There are three different types of clefts, including the lip, palate, and a combination of the two.
Most feeding problems stem from the infant not being able to form a sealed oral cavity to generate suction. This may be a result of a short tongue.
It can also be caused by a retracted jaw or tongue. The signs for this symptom is when the baby's cheeks are dimpled or she makes a clicking sound when breastfeeding.
Some methods to improve the situation include making sure that the infant's head and neck are properly aligned or doing exercises where you stroke and apply pressure to the tongue from the tip to the back.
You can also use short-term use of a nipple shield, which is a flexible silicone nipple that is worn over the mother's nipple to feed. Another feeding problem may be micrognathia.
This is a small or pushed back lower jaw, which makes the chin look recessed. In the mouth, the tongue is positioned further back in relation to the oral cavity, which is often related to a wide U-shaped cleft palate and malformation sequence.
With a small or recessed jaw, the tongue may not be able to come forward sufficiently to be properly positioned below the nipple. In addition, the lower jaw may not be well-positioned to compress the areola for productive milk ejection.
A sleepy infant also makes it difficult to breastfeed. Although it is essential to determine why your baby is sleepy, it is also important to work on waking methods so they can eat.
A weak suck can prevent an infant from feeding well. Typically, the nipple continually comes out of the baby's mouth, particularly when the mother shifts even slightly.
Also, milk leaks out of the baby's mouth while he is nursing. Overall weakness can be a contributing factor, or the infant may have respiratory or endurance problems.
Aside from ensuring that the baby's latch-on and positioning are correct, cheek and jaw support are essential. Biting, clamping, or clenching makes feeding difficult both for the baby and for the mother.
Make sure that the infant is very well-supported as this often stems from overactive muscle tone. Excessive tongue-tip elevation can also lead to problems.
This means that the tip of the tongue is raised up against the hard palate, just behind the area of the mouth where the sockets of teeth should be. This makes putting the niopple in the mouth of the infant very difficult.
Excessive jaw excursion is another problem that occurs when babies display disorganized sucking at the breast with a loss of suction and a repeated need to latch back on. To fix this problem, mothers should make sure that the positioning is correct and that the mother gives the baby jaw and cheek support.
If your baby is premature, you may notice that he has a combination of sucking issues. The most common tend to be disorganized or inefficient sucking patterns, weakened lip seal, impaired tongue shaping or movement, weakened stability of the inner cheek, trouble synchronizing the suck and swallow with breathing, poor ability to awaken and to stay alert at the breast, low control of posture, and irritability.
One commonly seen complication in premature babies is Infant Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS). This can have a negative impact on feeding as well, as infant will have difficulty synchronizing their sucking, swallowing, and breathing.
Author Resource:-
Jack R. Landry is a former dental assistant and has authored hundreds of articles relating to oral health and recommends cherry hill dentist. He has been a guest dental lecturer for over 15 years.
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