Painful breastfeeding

Mine were a bit sore to begin with, I assumed it was just my body getting used to it as I'm a first time mum. It did get better but it wasn't too bad, just a bit sore. I also used the silver cups and the lansinoh nipple cream which helped

Ive had the same experience first few weeks. What I did was I was expressing milk and giving it to him via bottle and topping him off with formula. I gave my breasts break until the nipples recover. Also apply breastmilk in the bruised nipples and let it air dry. Try different positions as well as sometimes bub latches better in different position. ♥️

Breastfeeding not being painful is a lie imo. The first few weeks suck for everyone. I cried so much and begged my husband to go buy formula on like night 4. Once you get the hang of it, it gets much easier. And then long term it should not be painful. If you are having pain a month in, then I think that could be an issue.

This was me when I had my boy. Latch was fine but feeding was agonising and my nipples were purple with bruising and red raw. I just had to push through the agony, sometimes I screamed into a pillow when he latched. I used so much lanolin cream, silverettes are good as well. It took about 6 weeks for the agony to subside, and by about 8-12 weeks we were finally pain free. I have sensitive skin and my nipples had to toughen up. Also they said I had Reynauds which just adds extra pain to everything. My boy cluster fed so much more than my friends babies so he just ravaged me. The only way through the agony was to force myself through each day. I avoided bottles because I didn’t want to impact milk supply or make the latch bad and compromise our EBF goal.

I nearly gave up breastfeeding for this exact reason, it was agonising. My nipples were dry, cracked, I was bleeding and I had blisters. The midwives at the hospital didn’t really care about checking my latch, they came in for 5 mins and just looked for a few seconds and said it was fine when it wasn’t, my daughter had a shallow latch🫠 my main midwife who I saw through my pregnancy showed me how to do it properly and that helped. I also found feeding in the rugby ball hold helped massively with pain and just ease with feeding. If ever my nipples were sore that hold didn’t even aggravate it due to the angle she was feeding at. I’m not going to lie it is rough for the first couple of weeks (mine was sore until 8 weeks nearly) but it does get better. My little girl with mess around with my boobs and pull on and off the nipple constantly and it doesn’t even hurt now. It will get better! Totally feel your pain though as it’s so sore those first couple of weeks

A top tip is to put nipple cream in the fridge so it’s nice and cold when you put it on your nipples, really soothes them! If your nipples get too sore to the point you’re nearly in tears nipple shields might be a good temporary fix until it heals a little bit. My midwife said to just use them for a short period of time though x

You are right breastfeeding shouldn’t be painful. If you join the Breastfeeding Yummy Mummies facebook group you can post a photo or video of baby feeding and they can give advice on your latch and why it is painful. Has anyone checked for tongue tie?

Search Amazon for “first days hydrogen breast pads” - they literally saved me! You can also buy these weird large nipple shields that provide distance between the nipple and the babies mouth… Haakaa do them but I found the non-branded version on Amazon was more acceptable to my baby. Hang in there, it gets better! I found breastfeeding so hard and excruciating in the first couple of weeks.

I had the same issue. The two things that helped heal for me were - nipple shield, which helped make the latch less painful. It also helped the nipple heal better. - silverette. I know it has not been as helpful for you. But I ensured it always had some milk or colostrum in it and wore it at all times. It helped heal the nipple so well and kept it soothed. Hope your pain alleviates soon. It has been a painful journey for me. It still hurts for me after 3 weeks. I just use these 2 to help cope with the stress.

With all due respect to midwives unless they are also IBCLC they don't necessarily know what they are talking about. I had exactly this and spoke to my local feeding support team and got really good advice which helped. If you can find an infant feeding support team or IBCLC.

It's going to hurt the first couple of weeks, but it gets better. Rub some breastmilk on your nipples after each feed, and that should help with the healing process. BFing is really difficult, but the rewards from doing it outweigh not doing it (imo).

It should not hurt. With how bad the nipples are has baby been checked for tongue tie - by a tongue tie practitioner? Unfortunately doctors, midwives and health visitors are not trained to find them and posterior ones can be tricky to spot.

Every one says it’s shouldn’t hurt but of course your nipples are going to be sore in the first few days and weeks. Think how sensitive nipples are, then you suddenly have something suckling on them for hours. Try letting some milk on them after nursing and let them be out in the air as much as possible. And trust that it does pass.

I have inverted nipples, and BF was excruciating to me. I dreaded feeding my baby :( it was awful. We switched to formula due to the emotional distress, and I’m so glad we did. There are so many formulas now using HMO’s - we love science milk! Even just one bottle a day, one at night could give you a little break? Remember that your comfort matters too, no one gets a medal or gold star for giving everything to breastfeed

Thanks guys, I’ll just persevere through the pain! The midwife said she didn’t have tongue tie on her newborn examination but has a bit of skin attached under her tongue but it is far back or something? My right nipple is sore, but manageable. My left is just excruciating and the pain makes me feel sick, I’d rather contractions 🤣 do I just feed on my right to give the left a break, or shall I just feed through the pain on my left?

If the latch is good then maybe its sore from when you are taking baby off/repositioning? Try to hook a finger inside the corner of their mouth before taking baby off the nipple x

Tongue tie is when a tight band of tissue connects the underside of the tongue to the floor of the mouth, keeping it from moving freely. THATS the thing to go check with your doc. BREASTFEEDING ITS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE PAINFUL! Please please just go check your little one dont blame yourself or your baby.