Baby Won't Latch: Common Causes and What to Try

Written & Medically Reviewed by Dr. G
Board-Certified Pediatrician · About Dr. G

Quick Answer

If your baby won't latch, first check positioning, how widely your baby's mouth is opening, whether the breast is too firm, and whether your baby is calm and awake enough to feed.

Bring your baby close with the head and body aligned. Position the nose near the nipple, wait for a very wide-open mouth, and bring the baby toward the breast rather than leaning the breast toward the baby.

If your newborn repeatedly cannot latch or stay latched, do not spend hours simply repeating the same attempt. Make sure your baby is receiving enough milk and protect your milk production while you get hands-on breastfeeding help.

Key Takeaways

  • Many newborn latch problems improve with positioning changes.
  • Wait for a very wide-open mouth before bringing your baby onto the breast.
  • Your baby's head and body should remain aligned rather than twisted.
  • A very firm or engorged breast can make it difficult for a newborn to attach.
  • A sleepy, frustrated, or crying newborn may have more difficulty latching.
  • Repeated clicking, slipping off, nipple-only sucking, or little swallowing can signal an ineffective latch.
  • Tongue-tie is one possible cause—but not the explanation for every latch problem.
  • If your baby cannot breastfeed effectively, protecting nutrition and milk supply becomes the priority.

Few breastfeeding problems are more frustrating than having a hungry newborn right at the breast who simply will not latch.

Your baby may open the mouth and pull away. The nipple may enter the mouth but slide right back out. Your newborn may cry, fall asleep, or latch for only a few seconds.

Parents understandably think: “My baby doesn't want to breastfeed.”

Usually, there is a more specific and potentially fixable reason.

Why Won't My Newborn Latch?

There are several common reasons a newborn may have trouble attaching to the breast, and more than one may occur at the same time.

1. Positioning Is Making the Latch Difficult

If your baby's body faces away while only the head turns toward the breast, it becomes harder to open widely and maintain suction.

Keep your baby's chest facing your body with the ear, shoulder, and hip in reasonably good alignment.

2. Your Baby Isn't Opening the Mouth Wide Enough

If your baby closes onto the nipple before the mouth opens widely, the latch may remain shallow and unstable.

Position the nose near the nipple and wait for a broad mouth opening before bringing your baby toward the breast.

3. Your Breast Is Too Firm

When the breast and areola are very full, your newborn may have difficulty grasping enough breast tissue to latch.

Expressing a small amount of milk by hand or pump may soften the area around the nipple enough to make attachment easier.

4. Your Baby Is Too Sleepy

Some newborns are especially sleepy during the first days.

Jaundice, prematurity, illness, certain medications around delivery, or simply early newborn behavior may contribute.

A baby who cannot wake enough to root, open widely, and suck actively may have difficulty establishing a latch.

5. Your Baby Is Too Upset

Crying is a late hunger cue.

A frantic baby may arch, shake the head, push away, or have difficulty organizing enough to latch.

Calm your baby first with holding or skin-to-skin contact, then try again.

How Do I Get My Baby to Latch?

Try This Step-by-Step

  1. Get comfortable.
    Support your back, shoulders, and arms.
  2. Bring your baby close.
    Your baby's chest should face your body rather than facing upward while only the head turns toward the breast.
  3. Align the body.
    Keep the ear, shoulder, and hip in a reasonably straight line.
  4. Position the nose near the nipple.
    This encourages a slight head tilt and a chin-first approach.
  5. Wait for a very wide-open mouth.
    Do not rush the nipple into a small mouth opening.
  6. Bring your baby to the breast.
    When the mouth opens widely, bring your baby toward you promptly and gently.
  7. Check the feeding.
    Look for outward-turned lips, the chin at the breast, rounded cheeks, rhythmic sucking, and swallowing.

If your baby attaches but the latch is shallow or painful, see Breastfeeding Latch: How to Get a Deeper, More Comfortable Latch.

What If My Baby Latches and Then Keeps Coming Off?

Repeatedly losing the latch can mean your baby is having trouble maintaining suction or positioning.

CDC lists repeatedly coming off the breast as one sign of a poor latch. Other clues include nipple-only sucking, inward-curled lips, pain, clicking, or a flattened nipple after feeding.

Try repositioning the baby's entire body rather than simply moving the head.

If your baby repeatedly comes off during most feedings, have someone experienced observe a full breastfeeding session.

Why Is My Baby Clicking While Breastfeeding?

Clicking commonly means the seal around the breast is repeatedly breaking.

Possible reasons include:

  • a shallow latch,
  • unstable positioning,
  • difficulty maintaining suction, or
  • very fast milk flow.

Persistent clicking together with poor swallowing, nipple pain, repeated slipping off, or poor weight gain deserves evaluation.

What If My Baby Refuses One Breast?

Some babies latch more easily on one side than the other.

Possible reasons include:

  • differences in nipple shape,
  • breast fullness,
  • differences in milk flow,
  • position preference,
  • ear discomfort, or
  • discomfort turning the head in one direction.

Try changing breastfeeding positions on the more difficult side.

Persistent one-sided refusal—especially if your baby appears uncomfortable turning the head—should be mentioned to your pediatrician.

What If My Baby Won't Latch Because My Breasts Are Engorged?

This is a common mechanical problem.

When the areola becomes very firm, your baby's mouth may slide off rather than getting a deep mouthful of breast tissue.

Before Trying Again

  • Use gentle hand expression or brief pumping.
  • Remove only enough milk to soften the area around the nipple.
  • Use skin-to-skin contact.
  • Wait for your baby's mouth to open widely.
  • Then bring your baby onto the softened breast.

You do not need to empty the breast before attempting to feed.

Can Flat or Inverted Nipples Make Latching Harder?

They can make early attachment more challenging for some babies, but they do not automatically prevent breastfeeding.

Babies latch onto the breast—not simply the nipple—so taking enough breast tissue into the mouth remains important.

If nipple anatomy is making attachment difficult, early hands-on breastfeeding support can be particularly useful.

Could Tongue-Tie Be the Reason My Baby Won't Latch?

Possibly, but tongue-tie should not be assumed to be the cause of every difficult latch.

The American Academy of Pediatrics specifically cautions that tongue-tie is sometimes overdiagnosed and recommends evaluating the entire breastfeeding problem before deciding that a frenotomy is needed.

What matters is function: can your baby maintain suction, transfer milk, and breastfeed comfortably?

Read Tongue-Tie and Breastfeeding: Signs, Diagnosis & When Treatment Helps.

What If My Newborn Still Won't Latch After Several Attempts?

At that point, stop simply repeating the same unsuccessful attempt.

If Your Baby Cannot Breastfeed Effectively

  1. Get the feeding observed.
    A pediatrician, lactation professional, breastfeeding medicine clinician, or experienced maternity nurse may identify a correctable problem quickly.
  2. Make sure your baby is receiving enough nutrition.
    Your baby's feeding plan should consider age, weight, hydration, jaundice, and overall health.
  3. Protect milk production.
    If your baby cannot remove milk effectively, hand expression or pumping may be needed while the latch problem is being corrected.
  4. Keep attempts calm.
    Short, calm breastfeeding attempts followed by the agreed feeding plan are usually more useful than prolonged crying at the breast.

How Do I Protect My Milk Supply If My Baby Won't Latch?

Effective milk removal is one of the main signals that tells your breasts to continue producing milk.

CDC recommends that when your baby is not breastfeeding at the breast, you express or pump milk about as often as your baby normally eats.

For many newborns, that may mean frequent milk removal across the 24-hour day. Your healthcare or lactation professional can help individualize the schedule.

Hand expression can be especially useful during the early colostrum period when volumes are very small.

How Do I Know Whether My Baby Is Getting Enough While We Work on the Latch?

Watch the baby rather than judging success only by whether one latch attempt worked.

Look at:

  • feeding frequency,
  • swallowing,
  • wet diapers,
  • stool transition,
  • alertness,
  • jaundice, and
  • weight trend.

Read How Do I Know If My Breastfed Baby Is Getting Enough Milk?.

What If My Baby Used to Breastfeed and Suddenly Refuses?

That is a different situation from a newborn who is having trouble establishing a latch.

A previously breastfeeding baby who suddenly refuses the breast may be having a nursing strike.

Read Nursing Strike: Why Your Baby Suddenly Refuses to Breastfeed.

When Should I Call My Pediatrician?

Get Help If:

  • Your newborn repeatedly cannot latch or stay latched.
  • You rarely see or hear swallowing.
  • Your baby misses multiple feeds because latching is unsuccessful.
  • Your baby is repeatedly too sleepy to feed effectively.
  • Your nipples are cracked, bleeding, or significantly painful.
  • Wet diapers are not increasing appropriately.
  • Stools are not transitioning as expected.
  • Your baby's jaundice appears to be increasing.
  • Your baby has concerning weight loss or poor weight gain.
  • You are worried your baby is not receiving enough milk.

Persistent latch problems deserve early breastfeeding or medical assessment because ineffective attachment can reduce both infant milk intake and breast stimulation.

When Does a Latch Problem Need Urgent Medical Attention?

Seek Prompt Medical Care If Your Newborn:

  • Is very difficult to wake, unusually weak, or floppy.
  • Will not feed or is taking very little milk.
  • Has markedly decreased urination or other signs of dehydration.
  • Has difficulty breathing or appears blue or gray.
  • Looks seriously ill.
  • Has a rectal temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher if younger than 3 months.

Dr. G's Pearl

If the latch isn't working, don't repeat the same unsuccessful attempt for an hour.

Reset.

Calm your baby. Reposition the whole body. Wait for the mouth to open wide. Then try again.

If it still isn't working, make sure your baby is fed and your milk production is protected while you get experienced help.

The goal is not to “win” one breastfeeding session. The goal is to keep your baby nourished while you solve the reason breastfeeding is not working.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why won't my newborn latch?

Common reasons include positioning problems, a shallow mouth opening, engorgement, sleepiness, frustration, nipple anatomy, or difficulty maintaining suction. Less commonly, oral anatomy or another medical issue may contribute.

How do I get my baby to latch?

Bring your baby close with the body aligned, position the nose near the nipple, wait for a very wide-open mouth, and then bring your baby onto the breast chin-first.

Why does my baby latch and then pull off?

Your baby may be losing suction because of positioning, a shallow latch, or milk flow. Persistent coming off—especially with poor swallowing or weight gain—should be evaluated.

What should I do if my baby won't stay latched?

Reposition the entire body, wait for a wide-open mouth, and try again. If the problem continues across repeated feeds, have someone experienced observe a complete breastfeeding session.

Should I pump if my newborn won't latch?

If your baby cannot remove milk effectively, hand expression or pumping may be needed to protect milk production while the underlying latch problem is being corrected.

Does tongue-tie cause babies not to latch?

Tongue-tie can interfere with feeding in some infants, but it is not the cause of every latch problem. Breastfeeding function and other common causes should be evaluated first.

What if my baby suddenly refuses the breast after breastfeeding normally?

A sudden refusal after breastfeeding had been established may represent a nursing strike rather than an initial latch problem.

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References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Newborn Breastfeeding Basics.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What to Expect While Breastfeeding. Updated April 16, 2026.

American Academy of Pediatrics / HealthyChildren.org. Ensuring Proper Latch On While Breastfeeding.

American Academy of Pediatrics / HealthyChildren.org. Warning Signs of Breastfeeding Problems.

American Academy of Pediatrics. Identification and Management of Ankyloglossia and Its Effect on Breastfeeding in Infants. Pediatrics. 2024.

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Medical Disclaimer

This information is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for medical care from your child's pediatrician, your own healthcare professional, or a qualified lactation professional. A newborn who cannot feed effectively may need prompt assessment of hydration, jaundice, weight, and overall health. Contact your baby's healthcare professional if you have concerns about feeding or your baby's condition.

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