10 days old distressed when feeding - what is wrong?

[pomadas87]

My DD is 10 days old and we seemed to be getting on okay with breast feeding however in the last few days she has become (what seems to be) very distressed when I try to feed her.
I have to feed lying down still as I'm recovering from a bad tear and can't sit down yet. So it it begins by me lying her down with me on her side and she is usually bright red and crying all of of sudden, then she thrashed her head around and kicks her arms and legs. I try to guide her to my nipple but she doesn't seem to be taking enough in now, despite her doing it perfectly before.
The latch is incredibly painful on the left and bearable on the right. She feeds intermittently, coming off and on, for about 15-20 mins making loud sucking and gulping noises.
Afterwards she seems sleep initially but when I pick her up she is so distressed - rapid breathing, kicking limbs, shaking head from side to side. I thought it was wind but she never seems to produce much.

What is the problem and how can I make it better? I know feeding upright is better for wind but I just can't at the moment because it's too painful for me to sit.

Any advice would be great please

Has she been checked that she isn't tongue tied? My daughter got incredibly unhappy when trying to latch as she was finding it so difficult and after she got the snip feeding Completely turned around

3 things that come to mind.

1. Tongue tie - the sooner this is checked/sorted the easier it is fixed
2. Reflux
3. Your let down is fast and causes the gulping - you can help this by hand expressing a Little first.

Get your midwife or health visitor to watch her feed and they should be able to help. Good luck it sounds very distressing for both of you!

Thank you for replying - is there a better position to feed her in if I do have fast let down? I'm wondering if this is the problem as milk seems to spill out the sides of her mouth when she's feeding sometimes?

A good position for fast let down is to lie on your back with your head and upper back propped up on some pillows and have the baby’s tummy to your tummy. Google ‘biological nurturing’ or ‘laid back nursing.’