Breast Pain and Breastfeeding

Good for you, K., for your commitment to breastfeeding! It really is the very best thing you can do for your baby. I'm a midwife, so I've dealt quite a bit with breastfeeding (in addition to nursing my own son for two years). Like the fist poster said, breastfeeding is a matter of supply and demand, so if you feel like your son isn't getting enough, it is a good idea to nurse more frequently and maybe try pumping, also. However, since we can't actually see how much milk is leaving our breasts (unlike with a bottle), sometimes our babies really are getting milk, but we just don't realize it. It's pretty normal for your supply to decrease as your body adjusts to the amount your baby needs--right after birth you'll be HUGE and have tons of milk, but after a few weeks things will settle down a lot. By the time my son was a few months old, my breasts had pretty much returned to their normal size and I had very little leaking or engorgement (except at night, when we were going longer between feedings). The experience of the second poster is really pretty unusual--it's quite rare for a woman's milk supply to simply dry up, even when her cycle returns. It could happen, but don't expect it to.

As for the pain, as mentioned before, it could be from a variety of causes. It probably would be a very good idea to seek some "expert" advice (lactation consultant or La Leche League). Even with all of my prior experience helping others with breastfeeding, I experienced so much pain for the first few months that I actually went to a lactation consultant for help. Since there was nothing apparently wrong, in my situation, I just decided to "grin and bear it"--it did get much better after about four months. But, you definitely want to make sure nothing else is causing the pain, first!

Finally, the advice the other posters gave regarding fluid intake and a high protein diet with lots of fruits and vegetables is absolutely correct! Your body is under a lot of stress right now, so you need to take the best care of it that you possibly can. Congratulations on your new little son and all the best to you! O.

2 moms found this helpful

Contact a lactaion consultant to help with your latch and stop giving bottles. Breast milk is supply and demand, if you give a bottle the demand will not be there to encourage supply therefore your milk supply will go down.

Try a different position. With my first child I had a hard time unless we were side lying. Good luck!

I don't have any answers but my friends really love this site http://kellymom.com/ which is about breastfeeding and parenting.

This does sound like a "supply issue". As Ina suggested, you should up your fluids...and make sure you are getting enough calcium, protein and enough veggies and fruit. You have to eat right if your baby is going to keep breastfeeding. However, another possibility is "growing" pains. Your son is seven weeks old and you are 15 years old. You may not be done developing yet...that's a fact. On top of that your body is going back on its normal cycle. I had that problem with my second and my third. When I went back on my monthly cycle, I found that it got more painful, and within a week of it returning I was dry..not a drop left..I tried to get it back but no luck for me. I was lucky to get those few weeks at least though. I did freeze a lot from pumping too so that helped. If you can get a breast pump..you might be able to increase supply by alternating pumping and feeding. I literally dried up in the middle of the night..seemed for no reason at all..just no more..and it baffled and scared me a little..good thing there was a 24 hour grocery nearby! The second time I just sort of expected it and simply got formula and froze breast milk ahead of time. Glad to hear you are subsituting. At least he won't have to "get used" too formula cold turkey. My son was a bear about taking it..but my daughter seemed to prefer it. But, my guess a combination of things is happening with you and I am sure that you will be fine. However, if the pain is there before and after nursing for very long. (Like if you get all engorged and he's not getting anything for example..you might want to try some warm compresses to help let down go a little easier. If the pain persists, go to the doctor..and definitely do talk to a lactation specialist. Good luck!

i had the same problem a few weeks ago. i got a prescription for all purpose nipple ointment, started letting my boobs dry out after every session then applying the APNO, and within a few days the pain was gone.
as for your supply issue, eat a bowl of oatmeal every day and nurse as frequently as you can. the oatmeal will take a few days to up your supply but it can work wonders. also, http://inclotheslinealley.blogspot.com/2009/06/housepoets... has a recipe for "lactation cookies" that thousands of women swear by. you can get brewer's yeast at GNC, and i always add way more than 1 cup of chocolate chips. mother love makes a tincture called more milk and more milk plus that is pretty pricey but is quite effective, from what i hear, you can find that http://www.motherlove.com/product_more_milk_plus.php. also, pump in between feedings, it will help send the signal to your body that you need to make more.
that said, supply issues can be hormonal, and because you are still maturing that could be part of your low milk problem. hopefully that isn't the case with you. one of my friends had a baby at 16 and was able to nurse her until she was 2, so it is possible. good luck, and if you continue to have problems contact http://www.llli.org/ or your local lactation consultant.

Dear K.,

please speak to a lactation specialist or a la leche league consultant. If you are planning on continuing breast feeding they are so helpful in figuring out what the problem is.
What you are experiencing could be anything from experiencing pain because of let-down to thrush, a common yeast infection of the breast and your infant's mouth.

If your supply is going down start nursing more frequently, even it is is uncomfortable right now. Breastfeeding work by demand and supply, the more frequently you nurse, the more milk your body makes. You should also make sure to get plenty of fluids and nutricious food (especially protein). Right now is no time to"loose the babyweight" and you should consume about 600 calories more than when you are not nursing.

Good luck.

Congratulations on your son, K.!
With my firstborn, I had really intense nipple pain which I thought was thrush. It wasn't, but it was my allergy to the nursing pads I was using. I am also allergic to all maxi pads that have the absorbent materials (the same thing in the disposable nursing pads and diapers) so it made sense to me. It wasn't something that happened overnight, but a gradual sensitivity to it. I switched to cotton nursing pads and the pain vanished and breastfeeding was much more enjoyable!
This may not be the case for you, but this was something I had to figure out for myself, as the medical professionals had no idea why I was having the pain.
Good luck!

It coul be Thrush. There are both homeopathic and antibiotic treatments. Does your little one have wite spots on the inside of the mouth? If so that could be it. Untreated you will pass it back and forth to each other.

It could be a breast infection, and if so, you need to see a doctor about it. Please get in touch with a La Leche League group leader since they'll be a great resource in your breastfeeding relationship! You don't have to be a member to get help from them and they really do have a ton of information to help you. You can find a local group at: http://www.llli.org/Web/Oregon.html and it looks like Eugene is probably the closest, but that's just me looking at the map.

Congratulations on your new baby!

I'm rather passionate about suggesting that it is probably Thrush as I can completely empathize with you...the sharp stabbing pain after nursing was like shards of glass going right through my nipple and into my breast and then being churned...I cried each time I nursed or pumped knowing I would experience the pain. Since it was my 2nd child, I knew it wasn't a matter of my milk refilling in the ducts. My DD had no symptoms (e.g. white patches, diaper rash, etc), so it took almost two weeks to figure out the problem all while in SERIOUS pain (hurt so much, thought about stopping BF'ing altogether!)- thought it was a latching problem, so worked on that for awhile. The Lactation Consultant had me try the nipple ointment which didn't work. Finally the Ped prescribed Nystatin for the baby. Unfortunately, they forgot to prescribe the cream for me and I only figured out that I needed something as well when I wasn't getting any relief. After several days, it went away.

There's a naturopathic remedy called gentian violet but it's supposedly super messy. Otherwise, Nystatin is what your doctor can prescribe. It's important that BOTH you and the baby are treated with Nystatin otherwise it will continue to pass between you two. After you start the tretment, it takes about 24-72 hours to start feeling relief. If you're still not sure it's thrush, it doesn't hurt to get treated for it anyway so you don't delay in getting cured! = )

Good luck!

Hi K., Ouch! I remember how bad it hurt when I first breast fed my daughter, this is what I learned: Try putting more of your breast in your baby's mouth (a lot more), not just the nipple,it will disperse the sucking onto more of the breast and help stimulate your milk supply. Good luck and keep it up, breastmilk is superior to formula in so many ways. You'll both benefit from it.

Hi K.,
I had the same problem. I was treated for thrush, on diflucan for 28 days and my son was on nystatin as well and it didn't get better. Turned out it was a latching issue and his tongue was too short. The dr. clipped under his tongue and that made a world of difference. I also saw a dr. who specializes in breastfeeding and she helped with latching issues. You should also talk to a lactation specialist. They recommended I take fenugreek for my low milk supply and that really helped as well. You will smell like maple syrup if you take it :) It will get better! My son just turned 1 last week and is still nursing full time and it doesn't hurt anymore :) Hang in there!