am i unable to breastfeed??

[Jasss123]

Hello ladies,
I get really bad eczema on my nipples which gets really itchy and when I scratch it it can bleed and weep quite a lot and when I leave it, it goes all hard and uncomfortable. I was wondering if this will keep me from breastfeeding or not? its really important to me to be able to. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks xx

Jasss, I had this around 12-14 weeks (I don't know how far you are), I went to the doctors who prescribed me a steroid cream, which I used for a week or two, and the lansinoh religiously for at least 5-6 weeks, as well as wearing nursing pads to protect them. They are now at 32 weeks perfectly fine and back to normal (thank goodness!), and hopefully ready for breastfeeding :)

I am afraid i don't have much experience with eczema, but i would imagine its possible to breastfeed and there are plenty of people who will help you, i would look at your local nct as many areas have baby talk group with breastfeeding counsellor who might be able to help and they would be delighted to see you pre baby, if you are lucky you might also have a pro breastfeeding hv, in west Sussex they have breastfeeding groups again who will be able to offer support. Might be worth building a network pre baby arriving.

Might be worth getting a breast pump and some bottles and express if it too painful?

I want desperately to be able to breastfeed but i have a damaged shoulder that i have to take an opiate pain killer for. As it crosses the placenta i am off all med for pg but when bean arrives i may need to go back on it which means i won't be allowed so i know how you feel at prospect of not being able to.

I can't comment on your specific problem, but when I was first pregnant I had an issue from a previous surgery that I thought would stop me being able to breastfeed. I spoke to my midwife about it and asked her to refer me to the breastfeeding specialist at the hospital before birth so I work out what to expect. As it turned out, as well as the original problem, my son was born with a tongue tie (v common) that caused mega painful feeding and had to be snipped - so I didn't have an easy start to bf, but with the support of the hospital breastfeeding coordinator, and by getting a bf specialist to come and visit and help, I got it sorted by about 2 months. I exclusively bf till weaning and am still feeding my 16mth old now, despite being pg again, and I now find it very easy.

I'd really recommend getting help and an action plan before birth because the early weeks are quite overwhelming and plenty of people will tell you not to feed. Obviously I don't know how it will turn out in your case, but I do know that support makes success much more likely - good luck.

I get excema on my breasts regularly and the nipples crack and bleed, i think that I am not going to even attempt breast feeding when it comes to the time of they are like that. Will try and clear it up with steroids before but think that it will be an uphill struggle as people who breast feed get cracked nipples when their skin is normal to begin with. Don't beat yourself up about it if you can't. I have plenty of friends who haven't breasfed and their babies and fine heathy specimens x

I can't help, but just wanted to say that if for any reason bf-ing becomes so difficult that it is causing you undue pain or distress it is ok, and better for you and your baby to stop. Having a new born is exhausting, bf-ing is doubly exhausting, so be kind to yourself.