Will I have problems BFing?

[AliKatt]

I'm 31 weeks pregnant with my first baby and have not yet had ANY change in my breasts at all - my pre-pregnancy bras still fit fine, the nipples and aureolas haven't darkened or changed in any way... I'm worried that this means that I'll have problems feeding.

Also, my mum (former midwife) said that I should make sure I get some good nipple cream because my nipples are still very soft and will probably become cracked and sore if I BF. Has anyone else had problems with this? If so, did you find anything that helped?

Thanks ladies! Alison

I don't think your breasts being unchanged means a thing.

The thing about breastfeeding is that sometimes - if the baby and mother are a "good fit" (for want of a better phrase) it can go like an absolute dream with no pain at all. I had this the first time and my nips were soft etc. But for lots of other woman/baby combinations it can get a bit sore and takes a bit of practice. When that happened to me, second time around, I used Lansinoh cream and let my boobs air dry between feeds.

Incidentally, I reckon soft nipples are no handicap - the more flexible the better!

I think everything is normal some women produce milk while PG other's have no change at all untill baby is born.

You should only have nipple pain if your latch is poor, maybe a good idea to learn about this before baby is born. Your actualy supposed to get this DVD from your midwife while PG (hum I haven't had one either in case you haven't) www.bestbeginnings.org.uk/

I must admite I did get a tube of nipple cream before I had DD but, 3 years latter it's still unopened in my cupboard. You never now may need it this time round. Does anyone one know if it goes off?

sorry miggril but i have to disagree . I did have some soreness in my nipples in spite of good latch, but this settled down after a few days. The important thing is to get your latch checked, as a poor latch will bruise the nipple, causing ongoing pain and damage. I have several friends who have experienced the same thing, and sadly one who gave up as she thought the pain ment she was doing it "wrong" as hpc's insisted it shouldn't hurt if the latch was correct. Having now bfed my own baby i realise this is rubbish not necessarily the case
I used less than half a tube of lansinol but it was a life saver at the time. I don't imagine it would go off as i think lanolin is pretty inert and sterile if un opened.

I think it means little. I leaked milk from 28 weeks, huge boobs etc then didn't get any milk through for 7 days after birth!

My breasts didn't change much, never had any leakiness while I was pg, had to put bra extenders in as my rib cage had expanded but otherwise wore my pre-pregnancy bras right up until the birth. My nipples stayed the same too. I had no problems breastfeeding and only a little bit of discomfort in the first few days (used some lanosinh sachets the hospital gave me but only used a couple, never bought any).

Thanks ladies, that's really reassuring! I'll invest in a tube of that cream just in case but hope that I don't need to open it