Flat Nipples - Help

[ca3004]

I have very flat nipples and my boy (3.5 weeks) will not latch on without nipple guards.

I have tried cutting down latex ones, but he has rejected those too, so back on the silicone ones.

But he does not seem to be getting enough milk. Have resorted to giving him 1 feed with formula per day to fill him up, but would rather he had breast milk.

Any suggestions on either how to get him to latch on, or increasing my milk supply so he gets enough.

He is gaining weight.

Any suggestions welcome.

With dd the milk used to just pool in the nipple shields then leak down my front so I'd just put them on for the first few minutes of a feed to draw out the nipple then whip them off and put her directly on the breast-it seemed to work for us and after a month or so I didn't need to use them anymore as my nipples were no longer as flat.

I had flat nipples before feeding ds1. I was told that it was all in the technique, and that getting the latch right would mean that ds1 would draw the nipple out for me, which he did. We spent days and days getting help to get our latch right. As far as I remember, there were no specific tips, just al the normal advice about the angle baby should be coming in at, making sure his mouth is gaping etc. However, I did want to encourage you that it can work, if you have a good bfing clinic near you.

PS Now don't have flat nipples! However, our clinic lady had had one lady with inverted nipples who could only feed from one side - she was left for life with one inverted nipple and one projecting one!

Thanks for the advice. My HV is coming in on Monday to have a look at how I am BF to see if she can help.

Any suggestions on how to increase my milk supply as I am concerned it is declining.

I have them too but (and forgive me if i am wrong here) I don't think they cause any problems as babies don't latch onto the nipple, they latch onto a much greater area of the breast. I am not a professional and only have one baby so this is just opinion, but I think the cause of the problem is something other than the nipple flatness.

The only way you can increase your supply is by feeding more. Can you drop the formula and offer the breast more often? Even if you are feeding constantly? After a couple of days your supply will have increased. I know this is crap advice if DS wont latch properly so i think you need help with this ASAP.

Hopefully someone with more experience will be able to help you soon.

Agree - feeding is the answer to supply. You could try expressing between feeds. That might help the nipples too. I used the Avent Isis hand pump, and expressed as often as I could - two or three times/day - whilst we were getting feeding established.

i have inverted nipples and am currently feeding baby number 4 who is 4 weeks old. babies have to work harder but can attatch well with patience, i found using a pump before feeding and stimulating my nipples in the early days helped to draw the nipple out and stop the babies from sliding off the breast. nipple shields have never worked for me. now my son has no problem latching on and does so frequently.

perhaps you could do with some expert advice from a counsellor? do you have helpline numbers, well worth a try.

not a good idea to give formula this early, it will interfere with your supply. why do you think he is not getting enough milk, if he is putting on weight etc? does it hurt?

i had quite flat nipples and a lot of trouble with latching early on. they are def not at all flat now after many months feeding!

The only way to increase breast milk is to feed the baby more often. You should consider dropping the formula milk, especially as you say he's gaining weight.

As someone else mentioned... babies breast feed not nipple feed and so the shape/size etc of your nipple doesn't matter.

Hope it resolves quickly.