Should BFing really be painless?

[mum2b09]

gave birh to my beautiful baby girl 3 days ago and have been breastfeeding since.. she seems to be latching well an settling after feeds shes using her bowels regularly and all seems well..

however my boobs are quite sore and it can become quite painful whulst shes feeding.. im almost positive shes latching as my mw said she was when she visited and i feel my pain in my uterus whilst im feeding

should breastfeeding really be painless? does it get any better and how long des it take?

im using kamilosan to ease the pain xx

It does get better, I was in pain for at least 8 weeks, was stubborn though and wasn't giving up. Managed to bf till 14 months though. I used lansinoh cream. Hope things get easier for you.

Ditto the lansinoh! V sore and bleeding nips for 1st 4 weeksish. Then until she got teeth-only ever discomfort when breasts v engorged.
Hang in there, it will soon be a truly lovely, pain free experience.

another vote for Lansinoh

I personally think my discomfort in the early days is to do with the size of the baby's mouth in relation to my nipples1

have you got cracks in them?

I had a cracked nipple for 9 weeks with ds (really hard to latch him on one side properly) but I went on to feed him pain-free for 2.5 years

have you tried biological nuturing position? has really helped me with dd2 (who is 4 weeks old and doesn't like opening her mouth as wide as I'd like!)

here

Congratulations .

If your nipples are sore, especially if there is any sign of damage, then this indicates that there is room for improvement. I'd suggest you talk to a bf expert by calling one of the national helplines, who may have more training in bf than some midwives. Afterpains are not necessarily a sign of good attachment. Twiddling your nipple between your fingers can cause a contraction, without ejecting any milk.

Having said this, some women do find their nipples are sensitive in the first week or so. This is different from feeding being painful, though. Sometimes the first 10 seconds of a feed can hurt a little as the nipple is scopped right to the back of the baby's mouth.

You could try looking at the video clips here to see if you can pick up any tips about improving her latch. Do call the experts though, if you feel very sore it's always worth a second opinion.