Collection maintained by Heather Madrone (heather@madrone.com).
Last updated 27 October 1997
Breastfeeding should not hurt. Nipple or breast soreness during breastfeeding or pumping is a signal that something is wrong. Nipple soreness is not a rite of passage of motherhood. It's important to treat nipple soreness as soon as possible to avoid damaging the nipples.
The most common cause of nipple soreness is poor
Good positioning at the breast solves about 90% of all breastfeeding problems. It's a good idea to learn about positioning before the baby's birth. Tips on positioning the baby at the breast:
If your nipples are itchy or very sore and red, you may have
thrush. The baby may also have thrush in his mouth or on his bottom. Thrush is a yeast infection, similar to a vaginal yeast infection. With thrush, there may be white patches on your nipples, in the baby's mouth or in the folds of the baby's bottom. If you suspect you have thrush, contact your doctor. You will want to treat yourself and the baby, otherwise you will keep passing thrush back and forth. There are many home remedies for thrush, some of which are quite effective.Inverted nipples are caused by adhesions that tie the loose skin of the areola back to the breast. This makes it more difficult for the baby to pull the areola back into her mouth. To check for inverted nipples, place your thumb and forefinger behind the areola and press them together. The nipple should protrude completely, without any dimpling. If the nipple bends or dents or becomes covered with lots of wrinkles, then there are adhesions. Women with inverted nipples can and do breastfeed, although it may be more difficult at first. The adhesions will loosen over time as the baby nurses. Breast shells can also help loosen adhesions and sometimes a breast pump can help pull the nipple out before a feed. It's important for a woman with inverted nipples to avoid early bottles and nipple shields, as these can make it more difficult for the baby to learn to breastfeed. It's really important for a woman with inverted nipples to get skilled help as soon as possible. Most breastfeeding counselors are quite familiar with inverted nipples and can help the mom and baby learn to breastfeed.
Dermatitis is not a breastfeeding problem, per se, but nipple dermatitis can make breastfeeding very uncomfortable for the mother. It is often caused by a reaction to soap, cream or ointment put on the nipple by the mother. Most breastfeeding counselors recommend that women use nothing on their nipples except plain water. Many lotions contain alcohol or lanolin, both of which can irritate the nipple. Dermatitis can also be caused by sensitivity to laundry detergent. Insect bites and poison oak can also be a problem. Women with eczema or other skin problems occasionally have these problems on the nipples, as well as elsewhere on their bodies. If dermatitis persists, it's a good idea to contact your doctor or dermatologist.
A short frenulum causes the baby to look tongue-tied. Babies with short frenulums have tongues that appear to be heart-shaped. If the short frenulum makes it difficult for the baby to nurse, the frenulum can be clipped. Some tongue-tied babies have no problems nursing, but most do. If you suspect your baby is tongue-tied, contact your doctor. Some babies have receding chins, which can make it difficult to grasp the nipple. There is a special hand position, called the dancer hand position, that can help support the baby's chin while he nurses. If your baby has a receding chin and difficulty nursing, a breastfeeding counselor should be able to demonstrate the dancer hand position for you.
Breast pumps can be a good aid for nursing mothers, but they can also cause problems. A breast pump should never hurt. If using a breast pump is uncomfortable, turn the suction down or get a different kind of breast pump. Also, breast pumps will not solve breastfeeding problems.
If you have breastfeeding problems or questions, there are many resources that can help. Breastfeeding organizations such as La Leche League and Nursing Mothers' Counsel have trained counselors who can help with problem situations. Many hospitals or public health facilities have lactation consultants. Often, the solution to a breastfeeding problem is as simple as a minor adjustment to positioning.
There are many good books on breastfeeding.
La Leche League's The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding is a classic, with a warm, sensible approach to breastfeeding. La Leche League also promotes a particular parenting style, which some working mothers find objectionable.
Kathleen Huggins' Nursing Mother's Companion is a complete guide to breastfeeding. I find the style rather dry and clinical, but it is the most complete non-professional manual around.
Renfrew, Fisher and Arms' Bestfeeding: Getting Breastfeeding Right for You is my personal favorite. The text is warm and non-judgmental. It has the best guide to positioning I've seen anywhere, with lots of photographs and diagrams. The photographs are luscious. The problem -solving section is also very good, although certain special situations are not covered at all.
If you have a problem and cannot find a breastfeeding counselor or lactation consultant in your area, you are welcome to send mail to me, heather@madrone.com, and I will be happy to help in any way I can
Sore nipples are not a necessary rite of passage for the breastfeeding woman. The pain and misery is not something you must endure in order to do the best for your baby. Sore nipples are a sign that something is wrong.
This is a collection of tips for dealing with any nipple pain that persists between feedings or throughout a feeding, with tender nipples that hurt on contact between feedings, and with cracked or bleeding nipples. Please read it at least once before your baby is born, and know how you could obtain the items referred to here quickly. Some things you may wish to buy ahead of time and keep on hand; however most women have no trouble at all with sore nipples and do not need a drugstore's worth of paraphernalia to nurse happily.
Your nipples are not supposed to be sore. If they are sore something is wrong. Ignore people who tell you to just suffer through it. You can find out what's causing it and you can fix it. Waiting to get started on a fix in the hope it will magically go away is likely to make it worse and harder to deal with.
Get a copy of The Nursing Mother's Companion, by Kathleen Huggins.
Turn to the Survival Guide For The First Week and its section on Sore Nipples (even if your baby is older; most of the other sections refer back to this one). This section will help to pinpoint the problem and get started on fixing it. However, and I say this with all due respect to Ms Huggins, DO NOT GO TO PUMPING AND BOTTLES IF THE PAIN IS TOO MUCH. I can't emphasize this enough. Pumping hurts worse than nursing for most women, and bottles may mess up a suck further when the cause of the pain may be messed-up-suck. What should you do if the pain is too much? I spent three days saying "I can't do this much longer." I was sure at any time it would change to "I can't do this." but I took it one feeding at a time and things started to get better.
If you must skip a feeding, hand expression is much easier on traumatized nipples (you can learn from Womanly Art among other places), and use an eyedropper or supplementer tube or cup to get the milk into the baby.
She covers Injured Tips (I had this with Kevin, and identified and fixed it in a day or so with this book), Chewed Nipples, Soreness on the Underside of the Nipples, Irritated Nipples (usually an allergy to nipple cream), and Thrush Nipples.
If your baby is a newborn or if you've had this pain since birth, most helpers fixate on the "poor positioning" solution. That may be the problem, but thrush or nipple cream allergy could be the culprit. Looking at your nipple can give you valuable clues.
If reading this book doesn't leave you feeling "aha! I see what the problem is, and I'll just a,b,c and then off we go" and generally feeling good about nursing, or if you felt that way but it's been a few days and it's not getting better, get another human involved interactively. Face to face. Well, you can send mail to me or post to the net, but getting a person to watch you nurse and look at your nipples would be better. La Leche League Leaders are eager, committed, free, and located in almost every community. Americans can call 1 800 LALECHE for help finding a leader, the rest of us can check our white pages, ask a doctor or the maternity ward, or post to the net hoping to find someone who lives nearby and knows how to find LLL. You may also have access to Certified Lactation Consultants or a doctor who specializes in breastfeeding, like Dr Jack Newman in Toronto.
I have seen nursing problems where the mother was going to wean within days or hours because of the pain, completely turned around on one visit and the pain all gone in a matter of days. The damage does take time to heal and the longer you leave it the more damage there will be, but some horribly bad situations can truly be turned around.
So, you know what's wrong now. You had the baby on wrong or you were pushing on the top of your breast too much or you had thrush (and are treating it with medicated cream and drops) or the baby's mouth is all pursed up at latch on or you have a plugged duct or whatever. And now you're doing it right. But you still have damage and it still hurts to nurse. So...
Painkillers kill pain. Tylenol (acetaminophen) is safe for use during breastfeeding. Huggins says take it half an hour before feeding. Get real! In the first week, who knows when the baby will feed? Take it every 4-6 hours while you're awake, for no more than a day or two. With an older baby, if there's a routine established, you could try to schedule painkillers around that routine.
I learned while pumping for my first that it hurts to have suction on the nipple while you're not letting down. Get that letdown going before you latch the baby on. If you've learned hand expression you can start it that way. Otherwise just look at the baby and think about streams of milk for that little darling. This has the advantage of softening the nipple a bit if you're engorged.
Ice on the nipple is not exactly comfortable, as I can testify, but it does numb you a little and also gives you a pointier nipple which may help latch-on.
Don't hesitate to take the baby off the breast if there is a sudden sharp pain: the latch-on is probably wrong. You do your baby no favours by suffering through ten or twenty minutes of poorly latched-on feeding: with the gums on the nipple rather than the milk sacs your baby will not get much milk anyway. Stick your finger in to break the suction, get the baby off, repeat aloud what you want ("Big open, baby" I would say) and try again.
Even if your problem is not poor positioning, give positioning extra attention while your nipples are sore. With an older baby you may have become more casual and automatic about getting the baby on; it's worth the effort now to make sure your sore nipple is free in the mouth and not trapped between gums or being rubbed by the baby's tongue.
If only one side is sore, you may want to trash that advice about alternating which side goes first. If it's that first hungry latch-on that makes you shriek or brings tears to your eyes, start on the side that's not so sore every time. You can balance the production later. If latch-on is OK, but you really can't take more than ten minutes and your baby likes to take twenty minutes on the second side drifting off to sleep, give the sore side first and let the long session happen at the happier nipple.
When it will hurt to nurse, it's only natural to want to put it off. But more frequent short feedings will actually be better. Realistically, cuts and bruises and burns don't heal in four or five or even eight hours, so stretching the time between feeds or skipping one is not going to get you healed. You're going to have to nurse with damaged nipples and if the baby is starving and angry and screaming it's going to be worse. If you nurse more often than usual the baby is likely to be calm, latch on gently, and not nurse as long as usual.
Don't use a nipple shield, or a bottle nipple over yours, and don't pump and give the milk in bottles. These things will make your pain WORSE, not better. Unless a competent professional (ie not your neighbour or sister or other untrained person) who has checked into your specific case suggests these things, don't do them. And if a professional suggests them, discuss it carefully before doing it. If your baby is physically capable of getting milk out, and your body is making milk, it is rarely wise to interfere.
First and foremost is get air to the damaged skin. Do not let them sit soggy and squished up against a wet pad. Wear as little as possible whenever you can -- no shirt or bra or pads at all if you can. The problem is that sore nipples are often a problem in the early weeks and many women leak like faucets in the early weeks. If you're not comfortable with sitting around with nothing on from the waist up and a towel on your lap, while you read the net or watch TV or chat with your husband, then at least find some way to minimize the number of layers of material between your nipples and the air.
Breast shells sit in your bra and hold everything up off the nipple. They help keep you dry (you can put a pad in over the shell), prevent those painful bumps and pats from older children, and generally speed healing.
Many women swear by many kinds of creams: lanolin, chamomile, Vitamins E, A, D, etc etc. But you may be allergic to these. Test them on the inside of your wrist for a day first. Use only a tiny amount, and don't use anything that must be washed off before nursing. You don't want a greasy slippery nipple because the baby's gums may slide down onto the nipple. You don't want to taste funny either. If you don't have thrush, breastmilk makes a good cream: just express a few drops at the end. More on hand expression later.
Cracked and bleeding nipples hurt a lot, and the blood is scary and gross. Even though it won't harm your baby to ingest some, most people are quite upset by the prospect. And there are a whole other set of problems, like having your nursing pads stuck to you with dried blood, that arise when sore nipples get so bad they split open and bleed. It's horrible. It makes some women wean their babies.
Don't just take recommendations for creams and assume this will last six weeks. Do something about the underlying causes. Take this seriously.
Follow all the steps for sore nipples, if you haven't already. If you've been working with someone and things are getting worse rather than better, go back to the problem solving stage. It's easy to assume all newborn problems are
If you know what's wrong and it's just taking time to heal, use all the sore nipples tips and definitely use a breast shell to protect the injury.
If your baby is on solids, don't put your nipple into your baby's mouth while it's actively bleeding. I got bitten three times that way before I caught on. I was peeling off stuck-on pads, which made me bleed again, and then nursing. My baby didn't taste milk or my skin, so -- chomp! Using breast shells solved the sticking problem.
Remember that this is not something you must go through to prove you are a good mother, and it's not something that all mothers go through. You have been unlucky. Now you want to heal as quick as you can, and weaning is unlikely to speed your healing unless the way you nurse is causing the damage. While many women do wean over cracked nipples, they tend to do so with a lot of tears and anger. Many more get through it, as much by luck as anything else, and you deserve help and assistance if you choose to grit your teeth and work your way through it. If you find yourself grieving for the nursing time you will not have (I say grieve deliberately because it's what I did when I thought my cracked nipples were too much to cope with and I'd have to wean my seven month old) then take a breath and tell yourself you really can get through this. I did and so did many others.
But look, it may be too late. Especially with a first baby there is enormous stress throughout your life. Even without sore nipples the first few weeks of nursing are harder than bottle-feeding (after that nursing is easier by far). Just not doing this any more may seem enormously appealing to you. It is not my place, nor the place of anyone else on this planet, to tell you not to wean. Follow your heart.
Thrush is an often overlooked cause of sore nipples. If your nipple pain is new and your baby is not, if your baby is on antibiotics, if the bottoms of your nipples are more painful than the top, if your baby is acting like a teething, sore mouthed grump, I just bet you have thrush. You don't need all of these conditions, but they are all tip-offs.
Thrush is a yeast infection in the mouth. You can get it on your nipples and your baby can also get a yeasty diaper rash. All of these need to be treated with a fungicide like Nystatin. Depending on where you live, you may be able to get some of the treatment over the counter.
Look in your baby's mouth. Get the baby to really open up wide -- crying works fine. Do you see white patches? Look at the baby's diaper rash. Is it spotty or dotty? Look at your nipples. Are the tips much pinker than usual? Is the border between the very pink and not so pink parts rather irregular? Are there white flakes on your nipples?
If you see any of these things you are fighting yeast. Even if your baby is a newborn you can still have thrush to deal with. I read six different books and pieced together a partial strategy, but I was missing some important steps until I spoke to my LLL Leader. I can swear to you that this anti-thrush list is not in any popular baby care or breastfeeding book.
When I was in hospital after having my son in 1991, we were all told that if we were engorged or had cracked nipples to tell the sister and they would arrange for cabbage leaves to relieve the pain. Apparently the cabbage leaves relieve the engorged feeling. I didn't have to use them but saw at least 3-4 women who did and they all say it helped. Whether this was a placebo effect or not I don't know, but if it worked I don't think it really matters.
How long did your soreness last?
After about day 3 or 4, I experienced sore and then cracked nipples. This lasted on and off for around 4-5 months. Not continuously, but enough to be quite sore at times.
Do you know what caused the soreness? If so, what was it?
Initially it was caused by inexperience. Neither my son or myself had done this before, :-) so we learnt as we went along.
Whilst we were still in hospital, the left nipple was so sore I had to express for a day to give it a break, whilst still feeding from the right. My son wouldn't open his mouth wide enough and therefore didn't latch on properly all the time. We could also hear the clicking noise sometimes. One of the sisters agreed with my theory that I have always had sensitive nipples, so the stimulus of feeding caused initial soreness. Inattention to position etc. caused later soreness. A cracked nipple reminds you fairly promptly to make sure junior is latched on correctly!
If you successfully treated your sore nipples, what worked for you?
I had some non-toxic cream that was soothing. Dry the nipple, preferably air dry, and then put the cream on. Wipe off excess and wipe nipple with a damp cloth before next feed.
Hang 'em out to dry in the sun, but be sure not to get burnt.
What advice did you find most helpful? Least helpful?
In hospital, the worst thing was the conflicting advice. Each shift change brought a new idea. I took the advice of two sisters, who I thought made the most sense to me and with whom both my son and I felt the most comfortable with. There was never any suggestion to give up, just positive encouragement and support. The worst was when I came home and my family told me to give up and put him on the bottle. My husband said he'd support whatever decision I made, but his sisters and my mother, whilst happy for me to do whatever I wished always said bottle was easier. They had never breastfed.
Did you continue to breastfeed or wean as the result of the soreness?
I stuck with it and fed my son until he weaned himself at 11 months, just after he started walking. It never occurred to me to give up. I have always and will always believe it is the best and only real option to breast feed.
What books or other resources did you find helpful or unhelpful?
I found the advice of Nursing Mothers Association of Australia to be most supportive. They have booklets available for around $2 that cover most areas of concern. I'm doing this at work so can't remember all the titles but some example are:
Starting Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding through Toddlerhood
Expressing and Storing of Breast Milk
Breasfeeding a Baby and Toddler
Working and Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding in Hot Weather
When to Wean
How to Wean Gently and Slowly
Breast Feeding a Baby with a Cleft Palate
Introducing Solids
If you want more details of these, email me and I will bring the list in. I also read a book by Sheila Kitzinger, can't remember the name, but it was very positive and practical.
What do you think is the most important piece of advice you can give a new mother who is just learning how to nurse?
Don't give up at the first soreness.
Don't listen to everybody.
Trust you own instincts.
Don't expect that it will come naturally, that you and your baby will automatically know how to breastfeed. You don't, you both have to learn.
Enjoy the closeness with your baby. Noone can ever take that away from you. My favourite times were last feed at night, just me and my baby quietly feeding. It was magic and I'm glad we had that experience.
I have all the general info on sore nipples (I couldn't think of a better name, since I usually call them sore nips, which tends to offend everyone.), but I also have some personal experience that may help someone with more general breast pain.
When my three year old was about four months old, after months of struggle to get her to nurse, I was tired of the MAJOR PAIN in one breast. It was a shooting sensation on one side only, in the areola, at about 4 o'clock, if you were facing my chest. It was killer. I would get hot flashes and chills.
No one could determine what I was doing wrong. I had no nipple redness, no visible sores, no palpable cysts. It was a mystery to my OB, Lactation Consultants, everyone. I ended up nursing just on the right side, abandoning my left. (Thats why you have two, isn't it?)
Later, while at my Lactation Educator training through UCLA, I discussed it with an instructor who said I had a neuritis. Which is an unspecific breast nerve damage. My OB was quick to point out all pain is damaging a nerve, that's why its painful. At least the name made me feel better.
Emily nursed for 11 months, until she self weaned - to my protest.
After I had Haley (now nine months), I started experiencing the same pain on the left side, when she was about two months old. It wasn't as bad, so I stuck with it and tried to figure it out. It turns out that I would drop my arm while supporting her back just enough for her to gnaw on the areola rather than effectivly nurse, brusing my breast tissue. All I had to do was lift my elbow. I still occassionaly get pain, but now I know how to fix it. The most helpful book is the Huggins book, but I bet you already knew that.
The most important advice to new mothers about nipple soreness? If you have more than 10 seconds of pain for a period of 24 to 48 hours, seek advice. This is probably an easily solve-able positioning problem, and someone (LLL or NMC or a Lactation Consultant) can help you. Breastfeeding isn't supposed to hurt.
How long did your soreness last?
In all, about 8 weeks. And it was pretty awful.
Do you know what caused the soreness? If so, what was it?
Well, I'm still not positive, but I believe it was a combination of things:
I am fair-skinned, and my nipples remained pink throughout pregnancy. I think they are just tender
My breasts grew a LOT during pregnancy, ending up a G cup, and even an H for the first few weeks. Also, my areolas were very wide. I think it was just too much for Emily's little mouth! Despite all my readings, support from friends, and LLL, she still kept slipping back some toward the end of the nipple.
Around the end of 6 weeks, just when things seemed to be improving, we got thrush :-(. The soreness changed to a burning sort of sensation. We had a hard time getting rid of it, but when we did, the soreness was finally gone.
If you successfully treated your sore nipples, what worked for you?
They gave me lanolin at the hospital, which helped. Treating the thrush, of course. I tried so many things it was hard to tell - keeping my nipples dry, rubbing milk into them. Different positions (truthfully, it was 3 years ago and that period is a little hazy!)
What advice did you find most helpful? Least helpful?
See above. A friend gave me some breast cream that made Emily scream. I felt awful. It was nice to know that others had been through it. I wish I had gotten a "real" lactation consultant, though.
Did you continue to breastfeed or wean as the result of the soreness?
Oh, I'm pretty stubborn! I kept at it, and ended up nursing very happily and comfortably until Emily weaned at 26-7 mo.
What books or other resources did you find helpful or unhelpful?
I read the LLL material - I actually threw the Womanly Art... across the room at one point, I got so frustrated with it. It just didn't address my concerns at all. Karen Pryor's book was much better.
What do you think is the most important piece of advice you can give a new mother who is just learning how to nurse?
You're not alone, and it doesn't always come "naturally". Some babies don't take to it right away. (Emily wasn't too interested until my milk came in.) GET HELP!!! Do whatever you need to do to find someone who's experienced to help you. Use all resources! It sometimes isn't easy, but hang in there - it's SO wonderful once you get past the bad part.
Also, I would say, don't plan on doing anything but nurse while your milk supply is building up. Line up as much help as you can, especially if you have older children, put your feet up, and make milk! Use this as a great excuse to relax with your baby and marvel at the wonder of it all! (When you're not wincing in pain, sorry, had to put that in!)
How long did your soreness last?
About 6 weeks
Do you know what caused the soreness? If so, what was it?
Not sure. I received a lot of positioning help but nothing seemed to work.
If you successfully treated your sore nipples, what worked for you?
I would put expressed hind milk on the nipples after feeding, let them dry for 10 minutes and then put PureLan from Medela on them. If I did this every feeding it really helped, almost from the beginning. After 10-12 weeks this wasn't necessary any more.
What advice did you find most helpful? Least helpful?
Most helpful was to use hind milk and let them air dry. Least helpful was positioning advice. We couldn't find the problem and it was very frustrating, especially to read all these books saying "No problems at all if you put the baby on right"!
Did you continue to breastfeed or wean as the result of the soreness?
I continued to breastfeed and am still at it!
What books or other resources did you find helpful or unhelpful?
I made sure to get a nurse to help me with every feeding to see it they could detect what we were doing wrong, which gave me some confidence that we were positioning correctly. I had read a lot of books/articles on breastfeeding and they made me feel more knowledgeable but didn't actually help me solve my problems.
What do you think is the most important piece of advice you can give a new mother who is just learning how to nurse?
Call other mothers, lactation consultants, La Leche League. It's NOT you, it can be hard the first time and nipple soreness is VERY common and there IS a light at the end of the tunnel.
How long did your soreness last?
3 mo.
Do you know what caused the soreness? If so, what was it?
No.
If you successfully treated your sore nipples, what worked for you?
Tried different positions.... football hold worked the best.
Magically went away at about 3 months.
What advice did you find most helpful? Least helpful?
Helpful to just Hang in there.
I wished I had known that it can go away after time even if you don't do anything.
Lanolin Helped.
Did you continue to breastfeed or wean as the result of the soreness?
Continued to breastfeed.
What books or other resources did you find helpful or unhelpful?
Bestfeeding was helpful.
What do you think is the most important piece of advice you can give a new mother who is just learning how to nurse?
Contact a La Leche League consultant and have them watch you nurse to make sure you are positioned correctly.
It will get better eventually.
How long did your soreness last?
2 weeks sheer hell.
2 weeks very sore.
2 weeks sore.
2 weeks uncomfortable.
Do you know what caused the soreness? If so, what was it?
Something to do with being very fair-skinned. There does seem to be an inverse correlation with the amount of melanin you have and the amount of soreness. Other pale people and redheads had similar problems.
If you successfully treated your sore nipples, what worked for you?
Walking around starkers as much as possible (difficult at work...) I also tried (successfully) to lengthen the time between feedings to about 4 hrs at 6 weeks or so. This did help a lot.
What advice did you find most helpful? Least helpful?
Most helpful: `Hang in there, it will pass'
Least helpful: `It's all to do with positioning' Bollocks! When Zoe was born she latched on like a wee leech and I was always held out as a perfect example of wonderful positioning to other mothers who were trying to stuff unwilling breasts into unwilling mouths...but they didn't have sore nipples (or nibbles as a Finnish friend refers to them).
Did you continue to breastfeed or wean as the result of the soreness?
Kept at it. Who wants to pay good money for something that comes free?!
What books or other resources did you find helpful or unhelpful?
None, apart from being constantly irritated by reading everywhere about the `positioning' aspect. Took all the baby books back to the library and took out detective novels instead.
What do you think is the most important piece of advice you can give a new mother who is just learning how to nurse?
Hang in there, it will pass, but if you can't stand it, give up WITHOUT GUILT!
How long did your soreness last?
About 4-6 weeks.
Do you know what caused the soreness? If so, what was it?
Poor positioning - Helene didn't open her mouth wide enough and was mashing my nipple in her mouth.
If you successfully treated your sore nipples, what worked for you?
Expressing a little bit of hindmilk really helped.
What advice did you find most helpful? Least helpful?
I went to a lactation consultant who helped me with positioning. She showed me how to open Helene's mouth by sort of pressing on her chin (actually, in the indentation between the mouth and chin) as she latched on and to make sure her lips were pursed open while she nursed. The least helpful advice was to wean her!
Did you continue to breastfeed or wean as the result of the soreness?
I continued breastfeeding.
What books or other resources did you find helpful or unhelpful?
I read The Nursing Mother's Companion several times, and the net was wonderful.
What do you think is the most important piece of advice you can give a new mother who is just learning how to nurse?
If you have problems, get help from someone knowledgeable - a lactation consultant, LLL, whatever. Try to take it a day or a week at a time - if you can keep going for one more week, maybe you'll see some improvement. Although sometimes it may seem that if you just weren't nursing life would be so easy, it's probably just life with a newborn that's overwhelming you. The demands are constant no matter if you nurse or formula-feed. And over time, nursing gets to be much easier.
How long did your soreness last?
5 weeks.
Do you know what caused the soreness? If so, what was it?
Adhesions behind the nipple prevented the baby from taking the nipple fully into her mouth, even though the latch-on looked okay from the outside.
The baby was 2.5 weeks post due, (so) her suck was very strong. (I wonder if there's any correlation between a baby being post due and the mother having problems with cracked nipples.) (I also wonder if "older" first-time mothers have more problems with cracked nipples.)
If you successfully treated your sore nipples, what worked for you?
What advice did you find most helpful? Least helpful?
I got lots of support from friends who had had problems with sore nipples. This helped.
I thought that the constant admonitions that "sore nipples are always due to improper positioning" were more than just unhelpful, they were judgmental and discouraging. I knew what proper positioning was, and I was using it! I tried to use hind-milk on the cracks, but there usually wasn't much left after the baby got through!
Did you continue to breastfeed or wean as the result of the soreness?
Continued to breastfeed; breast fed exclusively until 6 months, and am still nursing and pumping at 7 months.
I was very committed to breastfeeding because my husband's family has many allergies, and I wanted to provide her with as much allergy protection as I could.
Having said that, I do feel that mothers who experience the pain of cracked nipples have a *very* good reason for discontinuing nursing, and they should *not* be made to feel guilty for their choice to do so.
What books or other resources did you find helpful or unhelpful?
Helpful: The Nursing Mother's Companion- this is a good book in a lot of ways, with a problem-solving section that focuses on all the *different* ways the nipple can be sore: cracks, bruised tips, lower lip burn, dermatitis, thrush, etc...
I am personally not fond of the LLL book.
Calling the advice nurse didn't really help, but what did was talking to one of the midwives, who was also a lactation consultant; she gave me "permission" to use the Vitamin E, with the caveat to wipe it off before nursing.
What do you think is the most important piece of advice you can give a new mother who is just learning how to nurse?
Get support from anywhere you can, keep trying until you get advice that works. Remember that healing is necessarily slow because the baby is stressing the nipples 8 times a day.
To contribute to this collection, please send e-mail to me at heather@madrone.com and ask me to add your comments to the FAQ file on Breastfeeding: Nipple Soreness. Please try to be as concise as possible. These FAQ files tend to be quite long as it is. And, unless otherwise requested, your name and e-mail address will remain in the file, so that interested readers may follow-up directly for more information/discussion. For a list of other FAQ topics, tune in to misc.kids.
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