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Feeding

Newborn sucking reflex: How to support

Article By
Stu
Published On
17 Jun, 2025
Read Time
5 minutes

The sucking reflex is one of a baby’s first natural instincts, and a big part of how they feed and find comfort. 

In the early days, understanding and supporting the sucking reflex can help make feeding feel a little smoother for both of you. In this blog, we’ll explain what it is, why it matters, and how you can support it in simple, practical ways. 

How the sucking reflex helps your newborn 

The newborn suck reflex does more than just help your baby feed, it’s a key part of their early development. 

  • Feeding: Whether breast or bottle feeding, the sucking reflex helps your baby draw out milk and get the nourishment they need to grow. 
  • Soothing: Sucking isn’t just about hunger, it’s also how babies calm themselves. It’s why dummies, fingers, or comfort feeding can be so effective. 
  • Oral development: Every suck helps strengthen your baby’s jaw, lips, and tongue muscles, important building blocks for future speech and eating skills. 

Supporting the sucking reflex early on can help your baby feel more settled and help make feeds more relaxed for both of you. 

Supporting your baby’s sucking reflex

In the early weeks, there’s plenty you can do to support your baby’s natural suck reflex. 

  • Start with skin-to-skin: Holding your baby close helps trigger their natural reflexes, including sucking. It also makes latching on (to your breast or a bottle teat) more instinctive. 
  • Feed responsively: Watch for feeding cues like rooting, sucking on hands, or lip-smacking. Responding early helps your baby make the most of their reflex while it’s at its strongest. 
  • Offer a dummy when needed: If your baby is well-fed but still wants to suck, a dummy (or soother) can offer comfort. If you're breastfeeding, try to wait until breastfeeding is well established (usually around 4–6 weeks) before introducing one. 
  • Food or comfort?: If your baby is sucking in a steady, rhythmic way and swallowing, they’re likely feeding. If the sucking is lighter and slower, they may just want to soothe and comfort themselves. 

Trust your instincts, you’ll soon get to know what your baby needs, and when. 

Explore the Range

Soothers

When to speak to a health professional about baby's sucking reflex

The sucking reflex usually develops smoothly. But every baby is different, and some need a bit of extra support. 

You might want to speak to a health professional if you notice: 

  • your baby struggles to latch at breast or bottle 
  • feeding feels unusually slow, tiring, or stressful for either of you 
  • they don’t seem to be sucking rhythmically or effectively 
  • they’re not gaining weight as expected 

It’s also okay to ask for help if feeding just doesn’t feel right. 

Whether it’s trouble with latching or knowing if your baby’s sucking for food or comfort, support is available. Midwives, health visitors, lactation consultants, and feeding specialists are all there to help guide you through. 

What is the sucking reflex?

The sucking reflex is a natural, automatic response that helps newborns feed. It kicks in when something touches the roof of a baby’s mouth (like a nipple, bottle teat, or even a finger) and it’s how babies instinctively know to suck, swallow and breathe. 

It’s a vital part of early development, helping your baby get the nourishment they need while also building strength in their mouth and jaw. This reflex supports everything from bottle and breastfeeding to future speech and coordination.  

The sucking reflex starts early at around 32 to 36 weeks in the womb. That’s why some babies are already pros at sucking their thumb before they’re even born. 

After birth, a baby's sucking reflex plays a big role in feeding during the first few months. 

Over time, you might notice your baby sucking less during sleep or not rooting as quickly when something brushes their cheek. That’s a sign the reflex is fading, and your baby is learning to feed more actively and with intention. 

Most babies start to lose the automatic sucking reflex around 4 months old. At around this age, sucking to feed or for comfort starts to become a more conscious action. 

Non‑nutritive sucking is when a baby sucks without feeding, like on a dummy, finger, or thumb. It’s not about getting milk, but about comfort. For premature babies, it can also help them learn to coordinate sucking, swallowing, and breathing before full feeding begins. 

So how can you spot the difference between sucking for food vs comfort? 

  • Nutritive sucking: Rhythmic, steady sucking with regular pauses for swallowing. You’ll often hear or see them gulping milk. 
  • Non‑nutritive sucking: Faster, lighter sucking with little to no swallowing. You might notice this at the end of a feed or when your baby is well-fed and just trying to relax. 

Both are feeding reflexes, but they do different jobs.  

  • The rooting reflex helps your baby find the breast or bottle by turning their head and opening their mouth when their cheek is stroked.  
  • The sucking reflex kicks in once they’ve latched on, it’s the motion they use to draw out the milk. 

A baby’s suck reflex is strongest during the newborn stage and starts to fade around 4 to 6 months, whether your baby is breastfed, bottle-fed, or both.  

It doesn’t switch off the moment breastfeeding stops, but as your baby grows, sucking becomes a learned, voluntary action rather than an automatic reflex. 

When breastfeeding ends (whether that’s months or years down the line) your baby’s sucking needs evolve. They start to use their mouth in new ways: for eating solids and learning to talk.  

Comfort sucking may still happen (on thumbs, fingers, or dummies), but the reflex itself will have already faded. 

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