Extremely sore nipples but good latch?

[Delizhop]

Hello!

My little one is 4 weeks tomorrow, she latched perfectly from an hour after she was born. Had a bit of rocky time when my milk came in (solid boobs) but that went in like 2 days. but in the past week and a half I’ve started to get incredibly sore nipples and I can’t figure out why

They hurt when I’m not feeding, more if I’m not wearing a bra, then when she latches it’s painful enough to make my eyes water and gasp but then then the pain goes until she’s finished (or if she goes over half hour or pulls her head back)

I’ve tried changing the latching technique but always mouth wide open nipple up and put on the way I was shown. She doesn’t have a tongue tie I’ve checked. If she lets go of it I pull back and do it properly again. Lie down sit up it’s all the same.

Even going a few feeds on one breast to give the other a break doesn’t help. They aren’t cracked or bleeding. I’ve tried nipple cream it doesn’t do anything (and rather expensive so that’s annoying) Breast milk on it soothes it slightly but that’s about it.

I love breastfeeding and I don’t want to stop but I can’t figure out what’s wrong? (I’m aware I can express but it’s actual breastfeeding I love, I love the bond) Health advisor won’t see me due to covid. I’ve tried everything she has advised on the phone but without her here I don’t know what can’t be done

Any advice would be great

Are you able to get an online consultations with anyone? I know doula and breastfeeding supporters who are zooming clients at the moment.
Its very hard to help via phone/internet, but if you've looked at Kelly mom - a great bf resource, and YouTube for ideas then it might be worth paying for a session.
A latch can look fine but if it doesn't feel fine and hurts then something isn't quite right. It may even be as simple as putting baby in closer to you or making sure body positioning in line etc rather than the latch technique.
As baby gets older it's also an evolving process so positioning etc will have to change over time to allow for growth and development.
We can also get sloppy and one or the occasional not so good latch we didn't adjust can make nipples sore for a while even if the rest of the latches were good.

Forgot to say, is there anyway it could be thrush?

There's the National Breastfeeding Support line? i called them and they were very helpful. You should speak to your GP - you could have thrush and it's very treatable.
National Breastfeeding Helpline 0300 100 0212
Association of Breastfeeding Mothers 0300 330 5453
La Leche League 0345 120 2918
National Childbirth Trust (NCT) 0300 330 0700
The Breastfeeding Network supporter line in Bengali and Sylheti: 0300 456 2421

I know a friend who ended up using this sort of silicone guards on the nipples for the same reason. It took bit for her lil one to adjust, but it was a must, one of her nipples had started sort of detaching a bit from the breast, if that makes sense. Worth a shot.

In my experience, it just hurts until your nipples gets used to it!

Sounds like it might be thrush. Call your GP. Health visitors wouldn't be able to help you with thrush anyway. I really hope it can be sorted soon. I know how painful that can be!

My DC2 is 8 weeks. I’d really recommend generous use of lanolin nipple cream (the purple tube) after every single feed or even more frequent. I know it doesn’t feel like it’s doing much after one use, but it does really help. Even after 8 weeks I’m still using it twice a day. As PP suggested, nipple shields can help if pain gets too much, just whilst they’re healing. Good luck!

I think it's a myth that breastfeeding never hurts if the latch is good. I think it can hurt until your nipples are used to it.

I had something which sounds similar, it was thrush which had spread into the milk ducts. Look up ductal thrush.
If it is you would need to see the Gp for treatment.

I recommend trying nipple shields.

This sounds very much like ductal thrush, particularly as you have pain even when you are not feeding. It's important that you see your GP and get a treatment for both you and your baby. I had this on more than one occasion, the pain is indescribable and I used to dread feeding my son. Thankfully my GP was knowledgeable in this area and prescribed a strong anti-fungal (Fluconazole if I remember correctly) as she said if it wasn't dealt with quickly mother's often stop breastfeeding due to the pain. Good luck, I hope you get it sorted quickly 👍

It could well be thrush, it's very painful! Your HV should be able to identify it but I had to go to the GP for a prescription. (Baby having a white tongue is a clear sign).

My son had a lovely latch. He gained weight like billyo. It still hurt for the first 4 weeks, because my boobs just weren't used to it.

I would say get checked for thrush as that can cause a lot of pain.

Also not all tongue tie is easy to spot unless you have been trained to check for it - have you had baby checked by an IBCLC?

Could it be your let down reflex? Mine is very strong, its like being electrocuted for the first minute of a feed. I also got a lot of spontaneous let down between feeds and I felt every one.

Hm don't know if I would go bu the white on baby's tongues, they pretty much have white from the milk in normal conditions as well, hard to tell it apart.

I had that. Agony. Feeding consultant said the baby was too far away and so things were stretched!
I ended up feeding with DD so close I thought she would suffocate but pain went instantly. It's why they have the noses they do apparently!
No 2 was fine.
No 3 same problem - and when I called, she said same problem as last time I suspect and it was! (I'd forgotten).

Ps I tried cream and nipple shields first to no effect!

I had similar, my GP told me it was normal.
To be fair, after my nipples got used to it, it has been fine. Perhaps get checked for thrush but it may be a case of powering through for a week or two

It hurt me like HELL for eight weeks until my nipples toughened. Perfect latch.

I hate it when people say it shouldn’t hurt if you’re doing it right. It’s bloody painful either way.

Shields if it’s unbearable?

I've always read if the latch is good it shouldn't hurt however I've BF three DC and I always have lots of pain from about week 2ish for about 10 days. Honestly I think its just the nipples toughening up. Mine have always gained weight, plenty of wet nappies and once the pain goes away it's been fine. Horrible at the time, even getting in the shower for me was agony when the water would touch my nipples!

I have said before I don't think breastfeeding advice should say if latch is right it doesn't hurt as I think this confuses a lot of people and they assume things are going wrong, even when they aren't.

Well it may look like a good latch, but looks aren't the whole story - if it hurts then it probably isn't.

Tongue tie is not always visible. My daughter had a posterior tie which was missed my all the HCPs she saw (despite her feeding issues).

I had this, I used those silicone guard things until my nipples toughened up! It’s horrible though, I remember crying at the thought of the next feed as it was so painful

I had a bit of a power shower/leaky tap situation with my boobs! For the first two, I fed from one side only as I felt it was too much. With the third one, I was a bit of a martyr and I perserved with it and it did stop being painful after a couple of weeks.

I had midwives and breastfeeding NCT person check everything and I was also told the latch was good. It just seemed to be less efficient on side so the sucking was harder and therefore hurt more.

Nipple shields saved breastfeeding for me and I was a midwife. I also alternated breast and positions to give them a break but the shields were the key to making it possible.

It does make feeding a little slower but by feeding a whole feed from one breast you do ensure the baby gets a good amount of hind milk and will then usually go longer between feeds.

I used them for five months with baby 1 and two with baby 2.

I had v sore nipples too. Midwife checked latch and said it was perfect. Baby didn't have a tongue tie (apparently). It was just really painful....i agree with some PPs that they should give up this whole 'if it hurts you're doing it wrong / something is wrong' message. Breastfeeding is just really painful for some people. Nipple shields might help give you a rest.