How baby extracts milk

Click here for an awesome animation thanks to @themidwifemumma showing the importance of baby taking a big mouthful of the breast to achieve a deep ‘latch’. The baby needs more than just the nipple to effectively breastfeed.

Check out how the tongue is making wave-like motions to help create an intra-oral vacuum around the breast and draws the milk out. What a clever muscle the tongue is!

During effective breastfeeding - suckling, swallowing, and breathing are coordinated by the central nervous system in a way that allows for the baby to have continuous feeding without breathing interruptions.

Can you see how amazing the epiglottis is, flicking in perfect synchronicity, sealing off the windpipe when the baby has a mouth full of milk, so that it is not accidentally inhaled?!

Something that can look so simple and relaxing, is actually quite complex and very coordinated.

The thing is, we mostly just don’t know how incredibly clever we (and our babies) actually are.