blisters and pain in right boob. Mw told me to.just change way of feeding.....

[samie10]

Having just gone through what I assume is my 12 day olds first growth spurt, with feeding pretty much all the time, I am now sporting a blistered right nipple and having burning and pins and needle sensations in my right boob.
the blister is white when I have finished feeding and then turns a bit yellow. I only have issues on the right. The MW told me to try the Rugby hold to change the latch position but if anything this hurts more. I have been feeding laying down. I don't want to give up BF yet but I'm getting g to the point where the right boob is too painful. Any suggestions?

Breast shields?

Help with latch would be my first suggestion. If midwife hasn't been helpful then a local breastfeeding cafe or give one of the help lines a ring.

In the mean time google biological nurturing breastfeeding positions. If a great position for a new baby to get a really good latch.

Does it hurt during the feed?

Whatever position you're using, sometimes the pain (and damage) can be reduced by shifting the baby slightly in the direction of his (her?) feet. Like a millimetre or two. That helps push the chin into your breast, take the nose more clear, and generally improve the latch.

you definatly need to get your latch checked, nct helpline or breastfeeding peer supporter, ask your midwife if there are any near you, often baseda t childrens centres as well so wortha call to your local one. you need to chek that the baby is actually feeding and not just attached to you, chin into underneath, mouth wide and as much areola as possible in the mouth,, the nipple should be pulled right to the back of the throat so while you get a smart for a couple of seconds it should then go as the position is right.

You could try to feed from the other side and express from that side for a couple fo feeds to give the nipple a bit of a rest and rub breatsmilk onto the nipple to soothe it.

Thanks for all the advice. Its hurting so much I may have to admit defeat. Im in Dubai so only have my MW for help. I've tried changing position and alternating between rugby hold and laying down but both hurt. I feel like the the roof of her mouth is biting down and it hurts throughout the feed.
I have just looked at www.biologicalnurturing.com/video/bn3clip.html
Thank you MigGril. I will give it a try and see........

also see if they LLL have a Branch in your country, they are an international breastfeeding support organisation and have help all over the place. www.llli.org/]]

staines, you mean nipple shields I think....breast shields could not help in any way.

Nipple shields can sometimes help with damaged nipples but they don't get to the cause which is usually a result of the baby not being attached as well as he might be.

OP, the suggestions you have been given here are good - hope they help.

OP - if nothing is effective you can feed on one side only. This is normally perfectly ok and makes sufficient milk ('cos your breast ups its production in response). You rest the damaged side - temporarily or permanently if you have to. You would need to gently hand express small amounts for comfort while production slowed down and then stopped on that side.

No need to switch to formula at all :)

Do you think it is a bleb/milk blister? Kellymom has great advice on this (and everything breastfeeding related!). The thought of it is awful but clearing the blister really really helps!

In terms of latching, I was taught the flipple/exaggerated latch which really helped with nipple trauma. I think this animation shows it best but you basically push your thumb into your breast to get the nipple to fold backwards, use the bottom of your areola on the bottom lip and then kind of flip the nipple in.

If you have some breast shells (not shields mentioned above) they are really good for healing as they keep bras/clothing away from the nipple), and its also a good idea to put some antibacterial cream on as its really easy for an infection to get in there. You could also try hand expressing a few feeds from that breast to give it a break if the pain is too much. This is a great video on hand expressing, I always thought it was really hard but its not at all.

There are quite a few causes of nipple pain (and trauma), please come back if you have any more questions or your problems don't get sorted.

Hope things improve for you soon.