Good Noises to Hear During Breastfeeding

When you first start breastfeeding, you might be paying too much attention to your baby's latch and to timing the feeding to sort out the sounds you hear -- or should hear -- as your baby nurses. But it's helpful to listen as your baby nurses; the pattern of his sucking and swallowing can reassure you that he's nursing effectively and getting enough to eat.

Steady, Strong Sucking

Breastfed babies have to suck effectively to get milk out of the breast; unlike a bottle, your baby controls the flow of breast milk by his sucking. Your baby sucks when the nipple touches his palate, the roof of his mouth, toward the back. At the start of the feeding, when milk flows fastest, you can hear him sucking more frequently. If you watch his ears, you'll notice that they wiggle with each suck. If he gulps or starts choking, milk might be flowing too fast. Express a little at the start of the feeding until the flow slows a bit to make it easier for him to drink.

Swallowing

Your baby needs to coordinate swallowing and breathing with his sucking; the ability to coordinate the three is called the suck-swallow-breathe reflex. At the beginning of the feeding, you should hear your baby swallow frequently -- about one swallow every one to two sucks. Swallowing sounds like a soft, nasal exhalation, somewhat like a "cuh" sound. If your baby sucks four or so times to each swallow at the beginning of a feeding, he might not be getting enough milk, either because he's not latched on well or because your supply is low, according to the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative. Most often correcting the latch solves the problem. A suck-to-swallow ratio of 5:1 or more indicates non-nutritive or flutter sucking.

Ending the Feeding

At the end of the feeding, sucking slows and sounds less vigorous as the composition of the breast milk changes to a lower volume but higher fat content milk. Your baby needs this milk to grow, so don't see this as a sign that he's done eating or that he's just using you as a pacifier, the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative advises. Let your baby decide when he's done feeding; if you no longer hear him swallowing, he looks relaxed and the nipple falls easily from his mouth, he's finished.

The Absence of Clicking

The absence of clicking or clucking sounds is a positive sign as your baby nurses; these sounds generally indicate that your baby doesn't have a good latch-on. If you hear clicking sounds during nursing, take the baby off the breast and reposition him, making sure he draws a good portion of the areola, the brown area around the nipple, into his mouth. You shouldn't be able to see any of the nipple as he nurses.