Extremely painful nipples - wrong latch

[buzzgirly]

Hi I'm just looking for some advice. My ds is now 4 days old and have been bf since birth. But it is agony! Feels likes he is gnawing on my nipples, I actually cried out a bit when he latched on and it doesn't get any better. The midwife came yesterday sand thinks its the latch, although so many other hospital staff told me it was fine, so I have been expressing for the last 24 hours and feeding ds with that.

The problem is now I am really terrified to try again. When midwife came yesterday and tried to latch him on, I was actually shaking. I really want to get past it and continue feeding, I spent all day in tears yesterday and feel terrible. I managed to bf dd ok and don't remember the pain. Can it get easier? I domt suppose me being stressed will help? Also think one of mybboobs feels like a bouSorry. Sorry for the ramble. Midwife coming later so hopefully will manange something. Anyone managed to continue through the pain and has pain subsided?

Hey. My ds is 8 days. I totally sympathise. Couple of things:

1. The no pain thing is a myth. Until your nipples toughen up, there will be some pain. I understand the variable is whether it hurts (a lot) for the first few minutes, or for the whole feed (the former being acceptable).
2. I was shown a new hold yesterday-and the difference in pain is extraordinary-so I would recommend getting on the phone to a b feeding consultant.
3. I am sure tons of people will disagree, but some nipple shields could help you through real pain in the wee hours. I KNOW people worry about nipple confusion etc, but they WILL protect you in the short term and could just be the thing you need tonight at 4am!
4. Lansinoh (sp?) after every feed helps, as does rubbing your own breast milk on your nipples.

Anyway-tons more experienced people here than me to advise. Just my (limited) thoughts.

Good luck. And congrats on your new baby.

Congratulations on your your new baby boy!

First off, it shouldn't hurt so bad you shake, that is a big indication that something is not right. Has baby been checked for tongue tie? And by checked I mean properly checked not a quick glance in his mouth and a 'that looks fine'.

When you have latched baby on what did your nipples look like after feeding? Did they look like a new lipstick, bullet shaped, wedge shaped, or with a ridge running from the base of the nipple to the tip on both sides? Did they change colour - maybe going purple or white (blanching) then going back to pink? If they did change colour did the pain get worse as the colour went back to normal?

Are there any cracks or fissures on the nipple, or any bleeding?

When you are pumping, does that hurt too?

In order to maintain milk production, pumping needs to happen 8-10 times a day (both sides), less than this and you risk your body stopping making milk as it thinks it's not needed. If you can get hold of a double electric hospital grade pump, that is so much quicker than a hand or domestic electric pump. Hopefully you won't need to use it for long!

Have you tried Biological Nurturing (aka Laid back nursing) with baby (lying/sitting semi-reclined skin to skin with baby in just a nappy) as this can trigger baby's own feeding reflexes and helps with getting good attachment. Some babies don't like to be 'latched on' when they are tiny and their feeding reflexes get in the way if mum is sitting bolt upright.

Don't be afraid to keep asking for help, you may be able to get a referral to a BFing Specialist MW or an Infant Feeding Co-ordinator. You can also phone one of the bfing helplines as they are open at the weekends too.

If you are in such pain, something is not right. My nipples ended up in a mess as I was doing things like putting my nipple in his mouth rather than bringing him towards me while then waiting for a big gape, so he was sucking on the end of the nipple not feeding on the breast tissue behind the nipple.

Pain is unlikely to go away on its own, I went to breastfeeing support groups (search here) and practiced and practiced. Sometimes I was helped by someone and had a completely painfree feed but couldn't manage it at home but it gave me hope. And we got there after a few weeks and it was so worth it.

civilfawlty I know people who have genuinely had no pain. Saying your nipples need to toughen up which will be painful leads women to think they just need to put up with it and so they don't seek help. I was told if there is pain only at the start of a feed is probably because the nipple has been damaged previously and is healing, so being stretched by the sucking into position is momentarily sore.

Happy to stand corrected.

Thanks for your messages. allbrecht that sounds exactly like what I'm doing. The midwife said basically he's only getting part of my nipple in, she tried to latch him on today - but it was still uncomfy! Am going to try nipple shields to see if they make any difference and I'm still expressing. I will try laid back nursing truthsweet, I think I just need to persevere through. I can't stop crying, feel like such a useless mother - I can't even put up with the pain! Sorry feeling very sorry for myself!

If you can normally take paracetamol or ibuprofen you can take them whilst nursing (avoid asprin unless prescribed). Just don't take more than the max dose (it's easy to forget how many you have taken when you are very tired and in pain).

You aren't a useless mother, you are trying to get help for this. Please try one of the helplines in the morning or just pester your MW to get you in to see one of the bfing specialists. It's not normal to feel this much pain and it may be something easily rectified.

Thanks truthsweet. Well have had some success, through the night I managed to get ds latched on. It did hurt to begin with but wore off quickly. Managed 2 feeds, and then ds slept for about 5 hours this morning and just wouldn't latch on when he woke up. He kept taking nipple inhis mouth, sucking for couple of secs and spitting it out. I ended up giving him some ebm. Seems to be taking one step forward and then 2 bak. Could th be because I let him slep too long?

Thanks again to everyone

Sorry that message is a bit garbled, struggling to keep my eyes open!

It's fine if it hurts then wears off quickly (say under 30 secs) that is considered normal at the beginning of bf but it will soon go.

5 hours may have been a little long esp. at this young age, it's ok to have one long gap a day (~4 hours pref during the night rather than daytime) but the rest of the feeds need to be frequent (1-2 hourly most likely). You are looking to feed baby an absolute minimum of 8 times a day but more likely 12+ times.

If you can get to do skin to skin, keeping baby close on you and watching for his very early feeding cues so you can get him bfing when he is slightly hungry not absolutely ravenous (which is what happens when they sleep for long stretches). When babies are just a bit hungry they have a bit more patience and will usually be happy to suckle until the first let down happens (you may notice quite frantic suckling - that's fine it's how they get mum to let down).

This page has some great videos to watch to see what 'good' bfing looks like - you def don't want to see 'nibbling' though as that means the latch is shallow and milk transfer is minimal.

Is the MW visiting tomorrow?

Oh and one tip is to aim for an asymmetric latch, not symmetrical. You'll have to google it as /i have a poorly baby and am typing one fingered left handed!

You are not taking 2 steps back, you managed two feeds with relatively little pain so you are getting there. I remember I had all painful feeds, then a minority painfree and then slowly the balance tipped so it was nearly all easy and painfree feeds. I clearly remember thinking I couldn't believe how much better it was.

What helped me was taking him off if it kept hurting as this was probably doing more damage to my nipples. As TruthSweet says it is best to try and feed them before they are really hungry as you could end up with a meltdown (both of you!) if you keep faffing with the latch with a super hungry baby.

I do remember crying in pain and then later it was just a tiny, tiny bit uncomfortable. You need support at this point, to guide you practically in what to do but also to reassure you that you are making progress and your baby is doing alright.

Hi

Thanks everyone for the support - it has been so reassuring to speak to other mums. Today we have managed 3 breast feeds, it did take a while to get him latched on but eventually got there. It's still hurting a bit when he firsts goes on, but then settles down - I think this is ok? He's only going on for 10 minutes before falling asleep, but it's a start! When I have been expressing, I am getting about 40-50 mls in 10 mins so hoping that ds is getting the same. He will feed from one side as nipple on other side has gone a bit flat, but will keep trying him.

The midwife was really helpful, and will check on me again tomorrow. I am still feeling anxious every time I go to latch on especially at night, but I hope this will pass.

Thanks again

Don't worry about the falling asleep, its normal, just cos he feels all safe and happy. His stomach is still very small so fills up quickly - and probably empties quickly too so don't worry if he seems hungry again quite soon.

Glad to hear the midwife is helpful, you'll feel more confident soon as you get more and more successful feeds under your belt.