To think that breastfeeding mothers should be offered gas and air POSTNATALLY

[ReallyTired]

Many women find that breastfeeding is extremely painful at first. Even if they are given good support and a bad latch is corrected breastfeeding can be still painful. It can take days for the damage caused by a baby latching on badly to heal. The memories of cracked nipples bring tears to my eyes.

Rather than bullying do think that decent pain relief would help mothers establish breastfeeding? Ie. if a mother is scared of the pain of breastfeeding then the offer of gas and air might tempt her.

Maybe gas and air would not help, but good medical attention for cracked nipples might. I feel its almost misogyny to expect women to breastfeed without doing something about physical pain.

I firmly believe that all mothers should get a supply of gas-and-air at home. I have never wondered whether it might be useful when establishing breastfeeding - I thought it would be an immense help in getting through the toddler tantrum stage. A few whiffs of G&A and I could have regarded all the screaming with far more equanimity!

at Cruithne's DD latching onto the BF supporter. I imagine that must be quite an occupational hazard!

Lansinoh is wonderful. During one of DS' first feeds I asked a midwife to check everything was okay and she yanked him off me without breaking the latch at all I was most pissed-off, but not in the mood to complain as I had had a baby that day - but Lansinoh sorted it before morning.

I don't know why but I did get a bit of pain about a week later. Perhaps that was just my nipples having to toughen up or something Vividly remember handing him to DH in the middle of the night and telling him to bloody well do it.

I love gas+air, but given it's not on tap in postnatal wards I doubt it would ever turn up. I was supposed to be taking prescribed codiene when ds was born and it took 36 hours of chasing before finally I was given some - at half the dose I'd been taking.
Gave birth to dd recently and they gave me the pills within 8 hours - but on investigation later when I was given a supply to take home, they were only 1/3rd of my usual dose! luckily i'd brought my own...

I'm told my latch is fine (I'm assuming at least one of the 5 bfcs is right there...) but still have sore nipples (forceful letdown) and Lansinoh helps a bit but really isn't a miracle substance. I find a glass of wine more convenient for helping relaxing than g+a though.

Genius is right - g+a would be a lot more useful when a toddler is tantruming!

yanbu about proper pain relief for BFing.

dd wouldn't latch properly, she chomped her way on. after about 4 days i had a huge gaping crack around both nipples exposing raw skin, there were other patches where chunks of skin had fallen off the areola exposing more raw skin. trying to get her latched on left me howling with pain and crying, it was too painful to even have a light cotton shirt touching them and lansinoh did fuck all.

i was very rural at the time so help was non existant as i had a cs so was too ill to go driving into the nearest city where bf help was available.

i gave up on day 6. i tried again about 5 days later when it had just about healed but the milk was gone.

"Genius is right - g+a would be a lot more useful when a toddler is tantruming!"

lol... are you suggesting gas and air for the toddler, the mum or both.

Prehaps brandy is a better treatment for all concerned.

In all seriousness my heart goes out to those on the thread who could not cope with the pain. I feel the early days need to be made better however someone chooses to feed. No one should be in the levels of pain described on this thread. I feel a sense of sadness as imagine that gas and air would probably insufficent.

If you are serious - I can't tell - then they don't give out gas for long term use, or even short term use apparently. I asked when I had a really bad accident once I was on the ward.

I think MW not misinforming me that I couldn't have paracetamol or ibuprofen as I was bf would have been a start with first .

I would have appreciate more help and support with the pain with second DC. I now wonder if he was/is tongue tied slightly.

I'm not sure gas and air would have been the best solution.

Breast feeding was agony for me. It was hideous. My midwife suggested a glass of wine before feeding. Didn't work.

Nearly 13 years on and I can still feel that pain if i think about it.

I was given hydrocortizone cream for my cracked nips, along with strict instructions to make sure there was none left on at feeding times. They healed within about 2 days THEN the lanisol worked a treat.

Gas and air made me high, I'd have dropped my baby and giggled.

What worked the best for me was to have my pain acknowledged, rather than dismissed. When one midwife said "you're right it DOES really hurt, and it IS really uncomfortable but it WILL improve" I felt a lot better and carried on... if someone had said 'don't be silly it the most natural thing in the world' I'd probably have given up. She also looked at me, checked my breasts, was sympathetic, gave me tips on increasing comfort and dealing with the pain. If only every woman had her as a midwife, more people would carry on breasfeeding (and because she was so lovely, those that didn't wouldn't feel such failures).

I did 4 weeks. DS1 was putting on weight and was fine. I was a mess, in tears every feed. I sobbed upstairs when DH gave him his first FF downstairs.

My friend Louisa said to me "some of us just don't have the right kind of boobs to breastfeed"

I struggled for 6 weeks with dc1. Even with nipple shields it was a disaster. I spent 10-11 hours a day sitting on the sofa feeding with tears rolling down my cheeks, trying not to disturb dh who was setting up a business in our open plan flat. Finally I got a grip, called the HV who said in a conspiratorial stage whisper "you aren't going to like what I'm about to say... Go to the chemist and buy some bottles and formula". It felt like I was getting permission! I went to the kitchen, cracked open the SMA and got out the stopwatch. My boy guzzled 4fl oz in under 5 mins. Poor little mite was ravenous. I never looked back or regretted throwing in the towel.

With dc2 I thought I'd try again. I was moaning to telling DH how painful it was, unlatched, and he pointed out that I was bleeding. He said "I'll get the book, and we can see why you are doing it wrong". I looked at him darkly, handed him ds, and waddled off to the kitchen for a bottle. DS was 2 days old.

I'm with my friend Louisa.

No amount of G&A would have helped. Not even a G&T.

Sorry for long post.

Just read the OP.

F* G&A, I needed the epidural from the neck down for breastfeeding!

I think it's a brilliant idea

I was lucky in that BF didn't really hurt (was a bit sore) but I was gutted when the "medicine trolley" came round on the postnatal ward and all they had was bog standard paracetamol or ibroprofen - I was like "what about my poor lady parts??"

You should get whatever drugs you want during, after and when you get home IMO

How did women of previous generations manage?

Presumably they just carried on through the pain?

They had wetnurses john

Laudanum?

I could certainly have done with some g&a for the after pains with my 2nd, I rang the buzzer for the midwife as I was convinced there was another baby in there!
Sadly standard pain relief isn't much cop for bf as its skin pain which is very local so topical would be better. Really though the best cure is a good latch, good positioning, and good support. Oh and correct early diagnosis and fixing of tongue tie!
even with a good latch the first few days can be uncomfortable just due to your poor nipples not being used to that sort of attention with such frequency!

Not for bf, but for that horrible bit of the day at around 330: all the toys have been played with; too early to legitimately stick Cbbies on; too late for food; too long until dh comes home.

Bit of G&A would go down a treat then.

Hmmmmm, I had terrible bfing pain with both dc. Ds1 latch was right, but he was starving and I seemed to have empty boobs :( he was admitted to hospital at 5days old very poorly. My nips were cracked, bleeding and so painful I cried though EVERY feed. On being admitted he needed tube feeding as he was very dehydrated. I was given a manual breast pump to try to stimulate my milk supply, on the first pump the bottle turned red as the areola split. The pain was unbearable! Support I received was Crap before he was admitted to hospital and even worse when he was there.

I had very similar problems with ds2.

If we are ever lucky enough to have another I would be requesting morphine to get me through the ordeal of breast feeding! and will have the sma and bottles on stand by just as I did with ds2

Gas and air would have been handy for certain!

I used to fantasise about having my nipples injected with something to numb the nerve endings. I thought if they can do it for your teeth, why not your nipples?!

And I agree about Lansinoh. Everybody raved about it and I had it there waiting as my miracle cream "just in case" I got sore nipples and it didn't do anything. I was using it in the depths of winter and it was very hard to squeeze out the tube and then hellish to spread on my nipples without dragging. I soon learnt to keep it well warmed up!

Terrible pain with DD1. Just when I thought I couldnt take a moment more, it got better. I used to cry with pain.

Fine with the other but the after pains! Good God they were hidious. They do get worse the more you have and by DC 4 & 5 I took co-codemol.

No way I could cope with that level of pain after giving birth and not getting sleep. Thank goodness for homebirths and sensible, experienced midwives.