Latching on pain

[GrangeMouth]

Hi all,

I'm after some bf guidance / advice. My DS is 3 weeks old and ebf. He's gaining weight well however I'm struggling with bf as when he latches on it causes me toe-curling-sweary type pain. Once he's on it's generally pain free as long as I'm concentrating on his position.

I've had my latch, positioning and nipples checked by the midwife and HV and they think it looks fine.

Can anyone tell me how long latching on pain lasts for and when (if?) my nipples will stop hurting and if there is anything I can do to reduce the pain?

Thanks

Is it just nipple pain or could it be the let-down?

just nipple pain if my understanding of let down is correct i.e. feels like cramp in my boobs accompanied by leaking?

Yes, I found the let-down a bit like pins and needles and quite painful for a while.

If it's just the nipple at latching on, it could be just your ds drawing it into the back of his mouth. It might improve by itself as his mouth gets bigger.

If I were you I'd try to get an expert to check the latch though - a breastfeeding counsellor, or a specialist midwife. Normally midwives and HVs have very little training on breastfeeding so may not be best placed to advise.

I had this too and the HV and MW kept telling me it must be because of his latch (it wasn't I suspect it was cos he was small and my nipple relatively big). I read somewhere that pain on initial latch is normal and as long as it doesn't hurt when you are actually feeding it is okay. I used to latch him on and then curl my toes and count to ten and if it still hurt after that, take him off and reposition - nine times out of ten it was fine.

Like I say the pain went away after my nipples had basically toughened up. I can't tell you exactly when it happened but I realised one day that I had stopped counting - maybe 6 weeks in?. 5 months on and we are still going strong. I would say get it checked first of all to double check there are no problems like Rita says but I just really wanted to say I feel your pain!

Could you have blocked ducts? Letdown might be incredibly painful in that case. I had this and did blockfeeding to deal with oversupply, once my breasts were really emptied the pain stopped.

Good question, OP, & thanks for the advice.

I swear my 6-day-old is a biter, but what do I know, this is the first time we've done this!

Will ask the midwife tomorrow.

thanks all. I am on the verge of giving up on bfing as it hurts so much but will see if I can talk to a specialist first. Would La Leche League be the right place to start?

Also, would expressing be a way of giving my nipples a break or would it just delay the toughening up process?

Re: block feeding - is this where you feed from one side for a couple of hours then switch?

Yes, La Leche League would be good if you can get to a meeting. Also could try calling the NCT breastfeeding line - 0300 330 0771

Petalouda - is it just when the baby latches on that it hurts, or is it all through the feed?

I have same issue and my DD is 5 weeks tomorrow. I have been told its the let down but its def better than it was say 2 weeks ago. Its bloody sore but I hope it will get better. I feel your pain but stick on in there.

I have same issue and my DD is 5 weeks tomorrow. I have been told its the let down but its def better than it was say 2 weeks ago. Its bloody sore but I hope it will get better. I feel your pain but stick on in there.

This sounds like the pain I had in the early weeks. At the time I thought it was to do with the letdown, but in retrospect I think (sorry if TMI) it was because I had very flat nipples, and the pain was it stretching as my DS drew it to the back of his mouth like Rita mentions. I agree talking to someone at LLL/NCT/one of the other phone lines is a really good idea.

If you think this is the same as the pain you're having, then definitely be reassured that the pain will lessen and then disappear as time goes on. Remember you can take paracetamol and/or ibuprofen when breastfeeding (if you can normally), if it helps in the short term. One thing you could try is expressing for a very short time just before you feed your DS, to draw the nipple out, which might be gentler, or at the very least would get the painful bit over with before you start the feed. Lastly, when my DS was this age, I was having problems getting him latched on, on one side and was (badly) advised to use nipple shields to help. They have various drawbacks, in that they can reduce milk transfer (although the evidence is inconclusive for the newer silicone ones, but you'd definitely want to keep a close eye on weight gain) and also that the baby can then refuse to feed without them (which happened to me). However, I did find that when using them, that the pain was significantly lessened, perhaps because the drawing out process was slower. Anyway, if you can avoid them, I would, but if you're going to stop otherwise, then it might be worth a go?

Thanks Ruffles. Not sure if i have flat nipples or not - will do some research! this may be a daft question, but how do you know if they are flat or normal? i know that when i finish bfing they arent as elongated as some of my other bfing friends but though that may be just natural differences between boobs.

Will give expressing before each feed a go to see if that helps.

I really dont want to give up so called the midwives and am going to a bfing support group on wednesday. In the past because he's been gaining weight well (a pound in the last week) and as they thought the latch was fine I'm not sure they took my complaints of pain seriously so will be more forceful in not being fobbed off this time! Think I still haven't got my latch right as I've noticed that my nipple is a bit misshapen when I finish (did a quick google and think it's called lipstick nipple?!) so will ask them about that too.

I had really painful letdown, too - it felt like hundreds of tiny bee stings and made me yelp for the first six weeks, I think. there was nothing wrong - it was just the let down reflex. it got better after six weeks, and now at nine months it doesn't hurt at all.

If the nipple is lipstick shaped it means it isn't going far back enough in his mouth - instead it's being rubbed on his hard palate which can be painful! Might need to work on getting more breast into his mouth.

I had the same thing. At 3 days I went into our local maternity ward (on the advice on my midwife) and sat with a midwife and fed in front of her. She also said that the latch was fine but she did recommend the rugby ball hold instead of the cradle. I came on here for advice because it had come to the point where my nipples felt like they were on fire and I would have to sit there with cold flannels on them! Somebody suggested it could be that the bum and legs were below the level of her head and that she was clamping the nipple because she didnt feel safe. I change the positioning slightly to ensure that the head bums and legs were all the same height and have not had any trouble since (this was also after I went out and got some nipple shields from Boots which are still in the cupboard waiting to be used!).