BREASTFEEDING destroyed my nips

[FIZZYTEDDY]

Breastfeeding hurts. And it's normal for it to hurt. Let's start normalising this!!

I have a DS 7 months old and I'm still b/f. When I started b/f day 1-2 my nipples were literally DESTROYED. DS latch was good from the start and he had an incredibly strong suck!

All I ever got from midwives was "he mustn't be latched on properly" "it shouldn't hurt" blah blah blah...turns out 90% of the mums I spoke to had the toe curling raw nipples for about 2 weeks and then it gradually got easier!!

My baby spewed up bright red blood in those early days because he was sucking on cracked nipples!!

Please can we normalise and let new mothers know that your nips will be RAW. But to keep going!!! It gets a LOT easier! And it's just because your nipples are going through severe trauma/work/sucking which they're not used to...it's a bit like having a blister on your heel but rather than resting it/not wearing those shoes...you just keep destroying it 😂

Lol is this like a secret that midwives keep to themselves to stop new mums from being put off b/f?!

And to anyone starting off....

Lanolin ointment
Silver cups
Heat pads

Repeat

P.s I'm aware there is a percentage of women who don't experience this at all...lucky bi**hes!!

It can be normal for you/your baby. But it can also be a sign of poor latch or tounge tie. As such, it should be investigated, imo, by someone who actually has a clue (hint, that's not all midwives).

No, it's not normal. Breastfeeding should not be painful.
Unfortunately many midwives are not properly trained in breastfeeding support so are unable to spot or correct a poor latch.
An IBCLC or infant feeding specialist will assess both mum and baby, proper positioning and attachment and support mum correct her latch.
I actually think trying to normalise something avoidable can do more harm than good.
If you need help with breastfeeding contact your hospitals infant feeding team, the national breastfeeding helpline or your local branch of the Breastfeeding Network for support.

My nipples just needed to toughen up a bit. It did hurt at first but that's partly because DD had an awful latch. After a few weeks they were tough as old boots

In regards to breasts changing, pregnancy did that to mine as they grew tremendously in the first trimester and I got stretch marks all over them. After I finished feeding DD they kind of looked a bit sad and empty for a bit, but then they sort of filled out again. And now I'm pregnant they are gigantic and full again!

And I think pain is normal or at least sensitivity is at the start - all my friends who breastfed and who I've spoken to about it have said there was some element of pain in those first couple of weeks. Not always excruciating and not blood but an intake of breath and a bit squirmy until things settled down. Nipples are very sensitive and having something suddenly sucking on them for hours a day is of course going to be an adjustment!

Hahahaha what a load of bollocks

In the same vein, the first time I used a breast pump it felt like my nipple was going to be pulled off even on the lowest setting. A few months in I could easily use it on the highest as my nipples had just toughened up and got used to it all.

Same experience here for me, OP! But worth it, I battled through and it got easier. Fed both DC exclusively to 9m when they both got the hump at the same age and I was shunned 😆

Yes it should be made clear. I gave up breastfeeding both of mine by 3 weeks, due to pain/bleeding. If I'd known that was fairly normal I may have persevered to see if the end was in sight

I found it excruciatingly painful at first with my second and was bleeding within moments of him latching on. That was because of a tongue tie. Once the tongue tie was fixed, it was still sore and painful but I think my nipples just needed to toughen up and get used to being stretched and sucked very forcefully!

I described it as feeling like a fish hook had been inserted and was pulling on the nipple for the first few weeks. That went away eventually and I then found breast feeding much more convenient and easy than bottle feeding. But nobody had told me that sometimes a baby will go through periods of non-stop feeding. I did find the six hour long on and off feeding sessions difficult.

I had my first 14 years ago and there was almost no help for breastfeeding mothers. I had serious birth complications and we were separated for quite some time. I only managed to breast feed for a few weeks and then moved to bottle feeding. Despite having given me no guidance or support, the medical professionals dealing with us had plenty of time for judging me 🙄thankfully, things improved within the next eight years and I received a lot of support with feeding my next baby.

I have felt the same way about a few of the new mothers I've known - that you are really unprepared for how difficult/painful/exhausting it can be to establish breastfeeding at first. Quite a lot of them stopped because they thought it was supposed to be easy and couldn't deal with it long term. I think they might have carried on if they'd known that this was quite normal and often something which settles down given time.

I haven't read any studies so this is only anecdotal but with me any my friends every one of us experienced pain and soreness ( me bleeding) within the first couple weeks. But where I am we were told that this is very normal and will sort itself out, and it did. After about a couple of weeks it just didn't hurt at all and everything went smoothly.
I remember it hurting with my second child too, but cos it was the second time around I just expected it to happen.

Oh, and another thing. After breastfeeding for 2 years total, my nipples looked and felt differently to before, but in my experience both breasts and nipples returned to, if not exactly as before, but more similar, around 2/3 years after youngest child had finished feeding.

Ah so glad others are sharing similar stories!! I was so baffled at the start because anytime I spoke to a bf mother they agreed with me and had similar experiences then midwives just kept telling me it shouldn't hurt, which never really encouraged me to try and improve...it only made me feel angry and deflated that I was failing in some way and also that every other person I knew had pain like me.

DS always latched on really well and ticked all the boxes so to speak re:latch..midwives that checked were probably expecting him to to be sucking on the very tip or something 😂

I'm a nurse so I understand that midwives have to do their jobs properly and seek out bad latches/educate etc I get they have a duty of care.

But also as a nurse I get that an area as sensitive and with such a high blood supply as a nipple (your lips/mouth/vag are all similar 🙈) will inevitably breakdown, bleed, be red raw if constantly stimulated without a good opportunity for healing...lol I stick by my blister analogy! And this is what new bf mothers should be aware of..not to scare them off but to reassure...your nips will heal, and they heal faster than normal cuts so chin up 😆

I got awesome advice from a very experienced midwife friend about changing up the position of feeding as it changes the angle baby is latched on thus giving certain areas a break/drains the breast better, Rubbing the breast milk on your nips, letting your nipples air etc

Oh I completely agree with you OP and was literally only discussing this with my DH the other day! My nipples were SO sore and painful at the beginning despite being told by midwives and a lactation specialist that baby's latch was perfect. I persevered (although it was tough!) and after about 2-3 weeks the toe curling pain just disappeared. Your blister analogy is spot on!

It is unhelpful (and misleading in my opinion) to tell new mothers that it isn't normal for breastfeeding to hurt at the start. Every single mother I know that tried bf reported the same experience as me and so it is definitely very common.

That being said, it is v hard and I almost gave up a number of times in those first few weeks. I think a big part of why I was able to carry on was because my mum basically moved in and kept me fed and hydrated 😂 - which is obviously not an option for everyone. But having support around you in some shape or form is important, in my opinion.

And @Honaloulou.... c'mon, you're having us on aren't you? What a load of old tosh!

@GeorgiaMcGraw

Me! I often find myself scratching my breast while she’s feeding!

For nipples I found the Multi Mam compresses and balm far better than the lanolin creams.

I suffered for a couple of weeks. I found the lactation consultant at the hospital extremely patronising, she was determined to tell me everything I was doing wrong but when I went home her method didn’t work which made me feel that I’d never get it right so what was the point? In the end we muddled through using a combination of all the tips we got from the midwives on the ward and the community nurse who visited. Turned a corner at about 2 weeks old. Also as they get older they are better at correcting the latch themselves which is a great help. We’re 7 weeks feeding now and I love it but it’s not for everyone for a multitude of reasons.

My nipples didn’t hurt much really, red raw & bleeding sounds shocking. For the first few weeks it was a little painful for a few seconds but nothing like has been described.

DS is 13 months and they hurt now when he bites down! 😫

I didn’t have any pain with breastfeeding and my nipples never got sore, however, breastfeeding with mastitis, my god!! That’s on the pain level next to birth I tell you haha. Every suck was like giving birth through my nipple 😂.

My SIL had terrible sore nipples and she kept saying I’d get it, but never did. I think it’s kind of 50/50! But she said that Lansinoh lanolin cream worked wonders for her!

I was one of those who had little pain.

i attribute it to the fact all the reading I did said about the latch being difficult, painful etc, so I figured I could just not do that!

so I left her latched on. I never took her off, just let her doze and feed for hours. The only time she wasn’t attached was when she went into a deep sleep and unlatched herself.

got a lot of comments from m/w about “feeding again” and offers to try formula. But tbh I was fine sitting watching tv, eating, and just leaving her there.

no pain on latching doing that :). Also did a great job of stimulating supply.

Well breastfeeding never hurt when I did it (five months with baby 1, a year with baby 2). If it hurt that much I'd switch to bottle.

Breastfeeding never hurt me and I never bled.
Just for balance, it can be straightforward and painless.

I tried with both of my children. The pain was incredible. My toes curled, I felt sick and I would dread the time I had to feed them. I tried everything for 6 weeks and ended up crying most of the time. A friend came to visit. Saw me, went to Boots and bought formula for me and I never looked back.

@pollywoddles thank you!

@GeorgiaMcGraw

It’s a weird one, almost like the itch is on the inside for me or something. Hard to explain!

I don’t think it is normal though. I breastfed as did every mum in my NCT and lots at playgroups etc and no-one had this. Nipples are made to be sucked, it’s not like a badly fitting shoe giving you a blister.

Thanks for posting this! I had similar experience with my first baby. It took a good three months and using nipple shields on and off before my poor nips fully healed and feeding became comfortable. I think sheer bloody mindedness got me through. Baby two was no problem and neither was the third so I think it was that initial stage of my poor nipples getting used to it (and I have really sensitive skin anyway). I also discovered I'm allergic to teething so itchy uncomfortable breasts from that with all three! I finally finished breastfeeding about 5 months ago and I still have a little milk there and still get the booby tingle occasionally but without the leakage.

@Gilesgoesformiles that's a bit like saying vaginas are for birthing a baby so they shouldn't be sore or sustain trauma....