Nipple Soreness When Pumping

Congratulations on the new baby!! When mine were sore, I had an infection. My daughter had thrush. I was told to treat it with an antifungal foot cream. beleive it or not, the dr said it was OK to still nurse with the cream on.

If that is not your problem, you might wantto get another pump. I tried one that hurt so bad, I had to stop using it and go back to my hand pump.

I pumped exclusively for a while, and had the same problem... I would hand-express a little milk first and rub it on my nipple to provide lubrication~that helped quite a bit. My LC also told me to rub the milk on after pumping and let that air dry before re-hooking my bra... and to let them get as much air as possible to promote healing.

I had problems with the elasticity of one nipple. No matter the size of the breast-shield, it always hurt to pump or nurse on that side. You might consult your doctor to find out if there is anything you can do.

The shield could be too big or too small. Do you have a breastfeeding supply place anywhere in your area? La Leche league, breastfeeding support group or maybe contact the lactation consultant at your local hospital. One of those can surely take a look and give you suggestions.

And bravo to you for pumping when you may not have been able to nurse! It is tough. I pumped round the clock for 12 weeks for my preemie till he learned to nurse. Congratulations to you on all your hard work!

Hey there,

I had this problem when I first started pumping. My problem was that the shield size that came with my pump was too SMALL. I had to back to the place I bought mine from (I got it from a hospital) and they measured me and determined I needed a larger sized shield. After that, NO ISSUES!

I have this issue with my left breast, the nipple isn't as streachy as my other side, I can however pump on a low setting but breastfeeding is out of the question. I have found a bigger flange works better for me. My nipple likes to pull out thick not thin and long. I would try and get into the LLL or hospital and see if you can try a different flange (is that what they are called?!)

Yes, get your nipples "sized" either with a lactation consultant or a Medela salesperson, or at the hospital store.

I used the Lasinoh creams while pumping, or expressed a small amount of milk to "wet" my nipples and that helped GREATLY to get the suction working well and with rubbing/abrasion/soreness.

YOU GO GIRL! WAY TO MAKE IT WORK!