LATCH tool in care planning for breastfeeding women

Kelly Pereira Coca, Professor, Escola Paulista de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.

The article LATCH as a systematic tool for assessment of the breastfeeding technique in maternity analyzed the difficulties of women related to the breastfeeding technique using the LATCH scale – composed of five evaluation parameters from 0 to 2 each, totaling up to 10 points – and verified the relations with social-demographic, obstetric and neonatal characteristics. A total of 162 mother-child couples in exclusive breastfeeding participated between June and December 2015.

The study was developed in a private maternity hospital in São Paulo by obstetric and neonatal nurses specialized in breastfeeding from the Escola Paulista de Enfermagem at the Universidade Federal de São Paulo and the Faculdade de Enfermagem Albert Einstein. The partnership started with a study previously developed for the cross-cultural translation of the LATCH tool into Brazilian Portuguese by nurse Cristiane Maria da Conceição Griffin during her master’s program. The proposal was to continue the investigation and contribute effectively to the applicability of LATCH in maternity hospitals, and help the nursing team with care planning, as the team currently offers more support to women who ask for help, instead of acting based on clinical indicators.

Imagem: iStock

In the study, it was identified that women with children younger than 24 hours of life had less pain to breastfeed; and children older than 48 hours of life had fewer difficulties in relation to latching, audible swallowing and positioning during breastfeeding. The LATCH tool score was lower for women with previous breast surgery, with premature children, weight of less than 2,500 grams and less than 24 hours of life.

The findings will help the nursing team and professionals involved in the care of women and their children in maternity hospitals with planning more frequent visits to guide and evaluate the practice of breastfeeding as lower LATCH scores are presented, considering the child’s age, maternal characteristics and breastfeeding difficulties identified.

To read the article, go to

GRIFFIN, C.M.C., et al. LATCH as a systematic tool for assessment of the breastfeeding technique in maternity. Acta Paulista de Enfermagem [online]. 2022, vol. 35, eAPE03181 [viewed 30 March 2022]. https://doi.org/10.37689/acta-ape/2022AO03181. Available from: https://www.scielo.br/j/ape/a/vK5rHLfYy7djr6JZmT6SGSC/?lang=en

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