Do you keep feeding through the pain?

[sleeplessinsuburbia]

Just wondering, I tried to bf last time. Everyone said the latch was fine, I thought I might actually succeed but about day 2 the pain was unbearable and the lactation consultant just seemed to dismiss my concerns with a " keep going".
It did hurt less as the feed progressed but the pain when attaching prevent just brushing my nipple made me cry.
I tried nipple protectors then mix fed then gave up.

Was tongue tie ever investigated? That might have been a cause of the pain?

I found the first few weeks uncomfortable but not painful.

I only fed DD1 for 7 weeks as my nipples were shredded and I just did not feel it was a bonding experience when I was dreading every feed. With DD2 she just refused to take a bottle and I was at my wit's end, would definitely have given up if she would have let me.

As it is she has only just taken a bottle at 9 months and I am glad I was able to feed her myself for that long but it wasn't really my decision.

The pain did let up at around 8 wks at which point she was in hospital for a few days and I had to express and this aggravated things so it was painful again until about 10 weeks.

There were times when I wanted to simultaneously push her away and get her to latch on quickly and it was one of the things that made me feel at my lowest ebb during those stressful newborn days. If you really feel this is what you want to do then persevere and possibly get some advice from another source, at least from someone more encouraging. Good luck - it is a lovely experience once things settle down as well as being convenient and cheap!

I don't know about tongue tie, how does that present itself?
20wkbaby: you didn't sell that well! 8 weeks of pain???
I think the pain was like my nipple was raw, I bought an amazing pump but think I left it too late...

Article about breastfeeding and tt

The link takes a few seconds to open, or it does on my laptop anyway....

Lasers are not commonly used here for tongue tie revision, but there is a dentist in Huddersfield who is doing it now.

I did, but I think my pain was just the usual 'toughening up' that the skin has to go through. It was toe curling, and even worse combined with the after pains.

So how do you know if it's normal pain to push through or investigate?
I'll check out the link about tongue tie!

Good heavens, that lactation consultant sounds remarkably unsupportive

Toe curling pain that lasts for longer than 20 seconds is not a normal part of BF - noone should be telling you that you just have to get over it

That sort of pain is usually down to problems with latch, including TT, which can be sorted out with skilled help, often very quickly.

The trouble is, not all professionals are skilled - many don't have the experience to spot an ineffective latch or a tricky TT - and I think it is shocking how some will try to cover their backs by saying "well it looks fine to me". Er, if mum is in agony then sorry but it's not fine!!!

Thanks mawbroon, good link, don't think he has tt. He didn't like me checking!

Thanks Zoob, I wondered if that was normal protocol. I told her I would have to express or ff for awhile as I was losing the will to continue and that was her response.
I don't know if the pain lasted 20 seconds... It did die down...

I had terrible cracked nipples feeding all of mine and the pain was excrutiating. Bf midwives always said the same thing, just keep going, and I actually got very little help.

Finally with my DS4 a male midwife said I should keep plastering on Lansinoh lanolin nipple cream (and should have started in last few weeks of pregnancy) and this really helped soften them up and stop the cracking. My pain did subside though as they toughened up, but they are still more sensitive today (4 yrs since last bf) than they ever were before. I would persevere, as it is worth it in the end - ime - but I do understand your reluctance, and no one should tell you to just get over it. Try the Lansinoh - it worked for me.Good luck.

I am wondering the same as you. How do you know what is normal and what is a problem. My ds was actually diagnosed with tongue tie within hours of birth and we are getting it fixed today. Hopefully that will improve things or he will be on the formula. I would ask your midwife to check for tt and I am going through tubes of lanisoh too.

It might be worth investigating if you have any qualified BF counsellors in your area who might be available to support you next time? Someone with more time and patience who can help you to find a comfortable latch rather than fobbing you off ...

Also attending an antenatal BF class where they cover positioning and attachment might be helpful - NCT run these, there are often NHS ones too.

Expressing can be a useful temporary fix if the pain is unbearable - it keeps your milk supply up and buys you some time to get the underlying problem sorted. In the early days you can do it by hand, actually that can be easier on your nipples than pumping. Sounds like you had the right idea sleepless!

Lansinoh can help to soothe painful nipples, but it isn't a fix - the only fix for painful/cracked nipples is to get skilled help with the latch, cos it's an ineffective latch (sometimes caused by tongue tie) what causes the pain.

It's entirely personal and also depends on what support you have around you. I survived bad latch, shredded nipples, over supply, deep tissue thrush and then undersupply. It took me to 12 weeks to get through the pain.

I'm not a hero, what I did have was a great breastfeeding support network, two brilliant breastfeeding counsellors/HVs at a local group, and a family and husband who approached every problem with "How do we get through this?". There was also a lot of chocolate cake, wine, no cooking, no housework and no shitty nappies for me, and the option of whether I wanted to help bath DD or gibber in a corner. So the real heros for my own breastfeeding difficulties were the people around me who got me through it.

My advice would be, if you really want to bf this time, get that support network in place. Get everyone in your family to read 101 reasons to breastfeed so that they are switched on and committed to supporting you. Get the chocolate cake, bananas, expensive fruit drinks and wine ready and keep your eye on getting through one day at a time.

Good luck.

It is unlikely that midwives or GPs would be clued up about tongue tie.

Believe me!! Posterior tt is hard to diagnose unless you know what you are doing. The obvious ones on Dr Kotlows article are only a few examples of tt, it comes in many guises.

there is a good list of tt symptoms half way down this page, but read the whole article!!

Thanks everyone, I'll try the lansinoh and do a class beforehand, and I have the pump now if I need it for a few days!
So the cracking means a bad latch.... One nipple looked cracked in half.

Good luck!

Lansinoh after a feed really helps soothe your nipples whilst you are sorting out the latch. Also, sometimes, you may feel some brief pain when the milk let down happens in the first couple of weeks. I didn't need Lansinoh after the first couple of weeks.

It isn't easy at first, but it was never really painful for me. It was hard because I was exhausted after a long labour, sleepless nights, and not sure what to do with a new baby.

BF is great, the milk is free, always available for my DS, I don't have to mess around with sterilising.

I did a ten second rule in the first few weeks where if it still really hurt after slowly counting to ten, then I would un-latch and try again. Sometimes even a simple adjustment can make all the difference.

I was initally getting pain as I was holding DD's head to far to the centre of my chest, once the position was tweaked and I shifted her out a tiny fraction, it was much more comfortable!

DC1 breastfeeding was terribly painful. I am a sensitive flower and my nips were so sore and often bled. I did feed through the pain and have memories of DC1 waking in the night for a feed and me refusing to feed her as it hurt so much. I was in denial that she was actually hungry again. DH was my life saver and rubbed my back whilst i fed her and cried out in agony at the same time. To be honest i persevered because of DH, i didn't want to let HIM down (sad but true, if he wasn't there then DC1 would have been a formula fed baby by 6 weeks).

DC2 is almost 4 months and it has been sooooooo easy this time. Don't think i will want to stop! Not sure why the difference, but i had barely any pain this time.

It is true it is to do with the latch, this is what causes the cracks in the first place, but once there is a crack the pain will come however good the latch until it heals. I used nipple shields which sometimes worked but tended to slip around and didn't always kill the pain.

Don't assume that because it still hurts the latch is wrong, you definitely need a good BF counsellor to reassure you the latch is effective. Once that is sorted it is a case of healing the crack that causes the pain, and Lansinoh before and after feeds and whenever you remember - especially after baths/showers will really help soothe and heal them. And they will heal if the latch is good.

A good BF counsellor should be your first port of call if you can find one through NCT or your GP.

Hm, you'd think they would have mentioned this.

I had 'no problems' with breast feeding and still found it painful first time round. Latch was good, baby gaining weight well, nipples not cracked etc but still painful for a good few weeks.

Second time around the let down still hurt for a while but was nowhere as near painful.

Hopefully, your pain receptors are a bit shot away and it will be better this time.

For me latch pain is excruciating for about 15 horrible seconds for the first couple of weeks and yeah I fed through it. Not pleasant considering you could be latching the baby on 25 times s day but worth it and it does pass. If you count to 20 and it still hurts then the latch is wrong and you need to get the baby off and try again.

My first was incredibly painful for a few months, maybe the latch was wrong I don't know. And yes I just fed through it, using nipple shields when there was bleeding.

The second didn't hurt at all. Think my nips had just got used to it. I certainly don't think the latch was any better though dd did feed a lot less frequently.