Breast refusal

Your baby may refuse to feed for a number of reasons: a change in the taste of your breast milk, sometimes caused by a course of medicine or a change of diet, or a change in the taste of the breast, perhaps because you have used a nipple cream. If you have been using a nipple shield (a rubber cap that fits over the nipple with a hole to allow the milk through) , your baby may also refuse your nipple when you stop using the shield.

Remedies

• Identify what is causing the refusal
• Make changes more gradually; for example, continue using a nipple shield, but take it off after a minute or two

More breastfeeding problems and remedies:

Biting baby Biting baby Blocked duct Breast refusal Engorgement Favoured breast Inverted nipples Mastitis Sleepy baby Sore or cracked nipples Thrush

Where to next?

• Return to main menu
• Breastfeeding: the early days
• Breastfeeding checklist
• Expressing and storing breast milk
• Breastfeeding and working
• Breastfeeding twins
• Nursing beyond the first year