This is the fourth of a group of emails I wrote for a first time mom to help her be ready to breastfeed and take care of herself and her new baby. See the first post for a list of all the topics covered.
This post is about a common question among first time moms hoping to breastfeed: will it hurt? While there is an amount of discomfort that’s normal in the early days of breastfeeding, it’s important to know that real pain is a sign that something is wrong. I sure wish I’d known this when I was breastfeeding our 10 babies.
Will it hurt?
Dear Mom-to-be,
I hope you are ready for another email about breastfeeding. You are probably on the countdown till your baby is due, even if you have a lot of other things to think about. Hang in there!
So this one is about pain associated with nursing, what’s normal, and what is a sign of a problem. There is some normal tenderness in the first couple weeks as your body gets used to being sucked on. Anything more or longer than that means something is not right.
Most nipple pain in breastfeeding is due to a shallow latch. To unlatch and try again, carefully get your finger in the side of Baby’s mouth to break the suction. If they get a nice deep latch and it still hurts through the whole feeding, something might be off in their mouth, like a tongue or lip tie. Since that would also make it harder for them to get enough milk, you’d need to see a doctor about it. A Pediatric ENT would be the most knowledgable about a baby’s mouth.
Engorgement (being too full of milk) is a common cause of breast pain in nursing. Feeding Baby frequently is very important to help with that. If Baby can’t get a good latch when you’re so full, hand expressing a little, even into Baby’s mouth, can help to soften things up. To hand express, you want to gently massage to encourage let down, then squeeze gently but firmly to get milk flowing. Heat is also helpful. Some people say cold cabbage leaves against the breast between feedings works well to reduce engorgement. (Be careful not to overdo any cold, because it can decrease milk supply.)
Sometimes you might get a plugged duct. That makes a sore, pea-sized lump in the breast. Heat and massaging the spot, especially during feeding, will usually take care of that. Try to position baby so their chin is on the same side of the breast as the clog is to help them suck it out.
Most kinds of breast pain during nursing can be taken care of with – Heat, Rest, Empty the breast. One trick that I’ve used many times in my years of nursing is to soak the hurting breast in hot water with espom salt. It’s very soothing. If you can catch and take care of those problems early, it can prevent mastitis or worse things.
These are the most common types of pain in nursing. There’s no way I can write for you all the possible problems that could arise. If you are hurting and worried about it, please don’t hesitate to ask me or someone you feel comfortable with for help. Nursing should be sweet, not painful.
Your friend, Anne
P.S. Nursing bras are great to have. I like crossover bras for the first few months. They’re so comfortable and give easy access for nursing. (Click here for an example.)
The next post is about self-care when you have a new baby.
