is it normal for breast feeding to be painful in the early days?

[spugs]

hiya, ive attempted to bf both my dd's with little sucsess. with dd1 i managed 10 days but found it constant agony. i was told it would improve in a couple of days and then in the same state a couple of days later the same thing was said again. my mw said the baby was latched on correctly etc.

with dd2 i only managed 24 hrs, it was painful again and my nipple was cracked within this time. i had attended a breast feeding course and told that it should not hurt and that if it does its because the baby is poorly attatched. i had my attatchement checked by several mws and they all said it was fine.

im pregnant agaain with dd3 and would love to manage to feed sucssessfully this time. i know i will do it initially no matter what but i would like to know if the pain is normal or if im doing something wrong. im hoping im even better prepared this time as my sisters friend was trained to be a breast feeding counceller and shes said shes happy to come to the hospital after baby is born and to come out whenever necessery in the early days.

thanks for any advice

Yes, yes, yes. Please persevere though. And don't let anyone talk you into using a nipple shield when you get sore! Good luck.

mw's are not the most qualified in terms of assessing and correcting latch and position. Have the numbers of bfc's handy. I found it hurt for a bit but far less so after a wekek ro so especially with dd it wasn't so bad and varying the position helepd so pressure wasnlt always inthe same place. Found Kamillosan helped too but there are alternatives.

so even if the babies latched on correctly its still going to hurt like mad? is there anything to do to make it less painful? my friends bf both of hers and said its never hurt. does how sensitive you are make a difference? sorry lots of questions. im nearly 22 wks so ive got a while to go yet

yes def get help with positioning. do you know what sort of training your sister's friend has had? is she a counsellor for one of the helplines?

Was for the first few seconds with ds1, then okay. With ds2 was agony for the first 6 weeks and then it calmed down (but he used to suck so hard he had blisters on his lips that whole time). It settle though. Teeth with both have been the next issue - with ds2 particularly when he's tired. Has me constantly saying I have to stop doing it - but see bf as the lazy option.

she was trained as a volunteer for my local hospital, shes also a trainee midwife. just hoping the extra support works. the mws didnt seem to have time last time and the final year student mw they sent to help tried to remove my daughter from my boob without breaking the suction first (now that really hurt)

yes especially if they are small babies as they cannot get enough breast into their month for it not to hurt.

just keep trying at every feed. if only for 10mins. suddenly they will latch well and you will be away!

my ds is 7 weeks now and i have only managed a small amount of bf every day but have found that the agonising pain has gone so am now trying to build it up. any breast milk is better than none.

i would just say don't give up completely as they grow so fast when born and a few weeks makes a difference.

I had DD1 checked by midwife & bf counsellors who all said she was latched on correctly. And yet the pain was astounding - it was OK for the first few days but then my nipples became sore and it was dreadful. I struggled through a very bad week and then it was absolutely fine and I continued to bf her for a year (which was lucky as it turned out she had severe milk allergy)!

Unfortunately DS1 & DD2 were just as painful. First, because bf would trigger the most horrendous afterpains and then because of sore nipples. I remember crying with the pain with DD2 and dreading the next feed. Again, after a week or so it stopped hurting altogether and I fed her for a year too.

Like you Spugs, I suspect some of us suffer more regardless of 'positioning'. Either that or I had very useless bf counsellors.

Wish you the best of luck with it though.

yes it can often be painful/sore in the early days. sore/cracked nipples are common, but there is plenty you can do to help and in most cases it will pass in a couple of weeks.
I think of it like learning to ride a bike or ice skate, your body needs to adjust.

I think it is really unfortunate that people say "if bf hurts, you are doing it wrong"
it is really very very common to have some pain/discomfort in the first few weeks (ime).
my mum fed all five of us for at lteast a year and with me (no 5) she said she thought a bit of her nipples was going to come off
also some women have strong afterpains, and the let down can be painful
but usually only for the first couple of weeks, honestly

Might be worth reading up on thrush, which you can get in the nipple (and then pass to your LO, who passes it back & forth between you unless treated), as that can be agonising. Thrush can often be asymptomatic in babies, so if your doctor suspects it, s/he will probably treat the two of you (or should). Symptoms include intense pain when showering/drying your nipple as well as pain when clothes rub against it, and pain on feeding.

Hopefully it is not thrush, but if you had a difficult birth, and any antibiotics as a result, it could be (as antibiotics, coupled with the damp, warm environment of the nipple, might encourage an attack). To avoid future attacks, use disposable breast pads and change frequently. Wash nipples without soap etc.

www.kellymom.com is an invaluable site for anyone experiencing BF-ing difficulties at any stage.

Good luck - it is really worth perservering with, after a couple of months you'll be enjoying feeds, believe it or not!!

yes it was very painful for me to begin with-I think you just have to try and get through it and it will get better. Slap on lots of kamilosan... and I did use nipple shields for about 24hours when I was bleeding a bit-they helped alot and didn't affect my dd's latch. used them just long enough to heal up a bit.

PS Some women are sensitive to the lanolin in kamilosan and lansinoh, so try other creams if these don't seem to help.

Hi spugs. I've had a very similar experience to you. I fed dd and ds for 10 days each. With ds I thought I'd done really well by getting a Surestart midwife (who is apparently the bf expert) to come to my house to help in the early days but she was useless. The first time she got ds to latch I bled and I didn't trust her after that. I'm going to try again with baby number 3 (whenever that may be) and I'll make sure I have a properly trained bf counsellor to hand. I'll be going to an NCT or LLL meeting to speak to a bf counsellor whilst still pg to talk through the issues I've had with bf in the past. I'll also post regularly on here to get any problems addressed early on.

I agree with foofi re nipple shields. The mistake I made with ds was still using them after the latch was corrected by an NCT bf counsellor. I didn't realise that it should only hurt at the beginning of every feed. Both me and ds got frustrated and I was too upset to continue.

I hope it goes really well for you. Good luck.