Pain is overbearing!! Cant take it...I just want to quit!

[@llli*lzct]

My baby is 19 days old. My nipples are so raw and sore , I cry and feel like screaming every feeding time. The hospital lactation specialist told us we had a great latch. I use the nipple cream after every feeding, the soothing gel pads, the hot/cold compress.. Nothing is helping! My newborn is going through a phase of wanting to nurse/ use me as a Pacifier 24/7. I just can't take the pain anymore. Nothing seems to help!! I've even tried different positions... They all hurt. I just want to give in to formula but my doctor says baby is doing so so good on weight gain. Breast feeding isn't supposed to hurt I've been told but it sure hurts for me. I'm starting to feel aches in my breast and hot patches. What does all this mean?

[@llli*mommal]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on the new baby! I am so sorry that breastfeeding has been so hard for you so far. It's great that your caregivers are so supportive of nursing that they are encouraging you not to quit, but they should be taking your pain a lot more seriously. You are correct that breastfeeding should not be so painful that you're ready to quit. So I'm going to ask you a while bunch of questions, and hopefully the answers will help us figure out what is going wrong and how to fix it.

1. When do you have the most pain- when baby first latches on, throughout the feeding, at the end of the feeding, or after the feeding is over?
2. When your baby unlatches, what do your nipples look like? Are they symmetrical, like pencil erasers, or asymmetrical/wedged/ridged/creased/shaped like new lipsticks?
3. Do your nipple tips ever appear to blanch (turn white) before returning to a normal color? Do they ever appear bluish-purple?
4. In general, are your nipples more pink/red than normal?
5. Do you have any dry-looking or flaking skin in the nipple/areola region?
6. Do you have any cracks, and if so, is there one large single crack per nipple, or multiple small slit-like cracks?
7. How would you describe the pain you're in- more of a stabbing pain (like someone is pinching your nipple really hard) or more of a burning, itching, or raw/chapped/sunburn feeling?
8. Have you or your baby had a recent course of antibiotics, including for GBS at the time of birth, or following a c-section?
9. Have you had a recent vaginal yeast infection, or has the baby had either thrush (a yeast infection of the mouth) or a diaper yeast rash?
10. Has anyone checked baby for a tongue or lip tie, and if so, what did they find? Can the baby easily extend his tongue out over the lower gumline?
11. Are you frequently or constantly feeling full or engorged?
12. If you pump, how does pumping feel?

At this point, I would encourage you to do the following:
1. See your midwife, obstetrician, or family doctor. Based on the hot patches and aches, I am concerned that you have mastitis. If you do, you may need some antibiotics for that.
2. See a lactation consultant, preferably an IBCLC. Anyone who brushes you off with "Latch looks good, keep up the good work" and dismisses your pain is not doing her job.
3. Practice good breast hygeine- change nursing bras, towels, and shirts daily and wash them in hot water.
4. Stay hydrated, get lots of rest, and keep nursing. I know it's excruciating, but with suspected mastitis you do not want to wean even if you are 100% sure that's what you want to do. Continuing to remove milk from the breast is the best anti-mastitis treatment you can give yourself.

Hang in there!!!

[@llli*maddieb]

I am so sorry you are having such a difficult time. Mommal has excellent suggestions and questions.

Breast feeding isn't supposed to hurt I've been told but it sure hurts for me.

When people say "breastfeeding isn't supposed to hurt' they mean (or should mean) that pain when nursing is a sign something is wrong. For a long time, mothers were told that nursing would hurt the first few weeks but then be fine once the nipples 'toughened up.' but this is not true, at all. While sometimes early days nipple pain does seem to resolve on its own, all too often, if the situation is not corrected, mom ends up in the situation you are in, ready to quit (very understandably) and possibly ill from mastitis to boot!

Please know that this is not how breastfeeding is, normally. No one can feel happy nursing their child while in terrible pain. But pain when nursing is almost surely fixable with knowledgeable assistance and support. Many moms here, myself included, have been through very painful nursing situations and have come through it to nurse our babies happily for as long as we wish.

[@llli*mommy308]

Hi Mommal,

I'm having a lot of the same issues as lzct, no hot patches or aches deep in my breasts though. This is my third child that I've nursed and she is 4 weeks old tomorrow. I've now been pumping for almost a week because it hurts to nurse but I don't want to lose my milk supply. I nurse maybe once a day. Do you mind if I answer the questions you posted?

1. I have the worst pain when she first latches on but it's come to the point where it hurts the whole time I nurse.
2. My nipples look wedged like new lipstick.
3. Yes my nipples turn while.
4. Yes my nipples are significantly more red
5. Yes I have dry flaky skin in the nipple region
6. I have several cracks on both nipples, some small and a couple larger cracks.
7. My pain is more of a stabbing pain during and then my nipples feel like they're shooting flames afterwards.
8. I had GBS during pregnancy and had antibiotics during labor.
9. I have not had a yeast infection and the baby doesn't have any yeast infections.
10. I don't believe the baby is tongue tied.
11. I pump regularly so I don't feel too full or engorged at any point.
12. Pumping is starting to get a little sore because my nipples are so damaged right now. I have to pump on a very low setting.

Everything I've read points to an improper latch but I cannot figure out where we're going wrong! Please help. Thank you,

[@llli*mommal]

Hey Mommy308. Sorry nursing has been so rough for you! Based on what your answers to those questions, I think you probably have a few things going on all at the same time.

First, the lipstick nipple: that sounds like a latch problem. Baby's latching on too shallow, and instead of the nipple sitting in the ideal location on the back of the tongue underneath the soft palate, it's sitting on the front of the tongue underneath the hard palate, where it's getting compressed. Stabbing pain- ouch! Fixing this might just be a matter of time- most babies grow out of shallow latch issues as they and their mouths grow. But it would be great if you could get in to see a lactation consultant, preferably an IBCLC, for some hands-on help with positioning. And you definitely want to experiment with different positions, especially reclined positions.

Second, the nipple turning white after feedings. That's most likely a vasospasm: http://kellymom.com/bf/concerns/moth...ple-blanching/. This is a sudden constriction of blood flow in the extremities (in this case the nipple). Vasospasm can cause a severe and burning pain. It can be caused by compression- it's a common complication of shallow latch issues- and it can also accompany thrush. Try treating it with heat- keep a hot water bottle or heating pad handy after feedings, and slap it on after nursing.

Third, thrush. My guess is that you have it, because you have red, flaky nipples with multiple cracks and burning pain after feedings- these are all classic thrush symptoms. You also had a recent course of antibiotics, and antibiotics kill off the good bacteria that keep yeast in check. This is why a lot of women end up with vaginal yeast infections after a course of antibiotics. Start by reading up on thrush here: http://kellymom.com/bf/concerns/child/thrush-resources/. And make an appointment with your child's pediatrician. If you have thrush in your breast then your baby has it too, and needs to be treated or you'll keep passing it back and forth. Hopefully your pediatrician will be aware of this, but many are not.