What is nipple confusion?
The term ‘nipple confusion’ (or ‘nipple preference’) describes a baby’s frustration when switching between the breast and a baby bottle or pacifier. Read on for some tips to help your child with those tricky transitions.
What causes nipple confusion?
When breastfeeding, babies control the flow of milk by coordinating their sucking, swallowing, resting, and breathing. Bottle feeding, however, works a little differently: milk often flows more easily due to gravity and the design of bottle nipples, which provide a steady flow without requiring as much effort. (Some babies may even develop a preference for bottle feeding because it requires less effort to extract milk.)
These differences can sometimes cause nipple confusion (also referred to as nipple preference), where a baby struggles to transition between breastfeeding and bottle feeding because the milk flows differently. Additionally, if the bottle nipple fits and feels too unfamiliar, some babies may struggle with latching right from the start. Bring a pacifier into the mix, and the situation can become even more complex. If the shape of the pacifier nipple is also different from a bottle or breast, some babies may struggle to effectively between all three.