Extreme nipple pain

[justamum98]

Hi all, just had my second baby. I’m really struggling to breastfeed. I had this problem with my first but then I was so uninformed about all the different issues that can arise that I just left it and formula fed the baby instead. Not against formula feeding but my second is very very keen on breast milk and so am I, she is 3 days old. As of midnight I just cannot take the pain anymore and switched her to formula to give me some time to figure out what is happening to me.

im getting VERY sharp, excruciating pain in nipples when feeding. The latch is perfect, I’ve had multiple midwives check. No tongue tie etc. Since this morning I’ve got the worst sharp pain all day long. Especially when my nipples harden I feel like crying. When I seek help from midwives etc they just say that I need to work on baby’s latch. Even though they confirmed baby is latching fine.

really confused but also I’m in a lot of pain and I’m not even touching my breasts/nipples.

could someone shed some light on this? The closest thing I can find online is vasospasm it kind of fits my symptoms perfectly but only home remedies for it no „treatment” as such.

Congratulations on your new LO

Gave they referred you to the Infant Feeding Team?

It might be worth speaking to your local LLL for some support abd if you can afford it, a Lactation Consultant should be able to help.

I know that multiple MWs have said that there’s no TT but I still think it’s worth reading this article from Milk Matters, just in case your LO is having any of the symptoms.

It’s probably worth also watching this video on getting a good latch

Check the inside of your babies mouth and your nipples for any white spots, the only time I had pain like you describe was when we both had thrush.

Yep I had that too and it was thrush! Such a relief when it went as soon as we both took the medication for it.

Sounds like thrush. Could also be a posterior tongue tie which are harder to spot. Midwives have breastfeeding knowledge but aren’t lactation specialists so I’d get a consult with a proper board certified lactation consultant before giving up.

When you say midwife say the latch is good, have they watched a whole feed from start to finish. This is the only way to tell if the latch is really good.

I second speaking to LLL or breastfeeding network. Ask if there is a breastfeeding cafe in your area for further support.

Also Google videos from Dr Jack Newman, he's very good. Thrush could be a possibility but unusual this early, but worth being checked for it.