Breastfeeding is the healthiest baby-feeding option for both mother and baby.
Babies should exclusively breastfeed for the first six months. Although it may seem natural, breastfeeding is more challenging than it may appear to be. Several things can pop up during your breastfeeding journey, making it more difficult. Knowing how to deal with these challenges is important as you get more advice from healthcare providers. This article aims to give you the best tips on dealing with the most common breastfeeding problems.
The most common breastfeeding problems
Breastfeeding has many benefits for infants, mothers, and society. However, many mothers stop breastfeeding due to difficulties they face. Below are common breastfeeding problems and solutions.
Sore nipples
Sore nipples can happen if the baby is not attached and positioned well at the breast. It is important to continue breastfeeding even if you experience sore nipples. With help, breastfeeding should quickly become comfortable again.
If your nipples hurt during every feeding, have a crack or are bleeding, get help from a healthcare provider as soon as possible.
They can assist you in positioning and attaching your baby to the breast properly while they watch you feed them.
After feeding, flattened, wedged, or white nipples indicate that your baby’s attachment may be incorrect. Your baby might also appear restless after feeding.
Although it can be distressing and stressful to have sore nipples when nursing a newborn, continue to breastfeed or express milk by hand. If you need assistance, get it quickly.
Breast engorgements
Engorged breasts are extremely full, firm, and taut, which makes it difficult for the baby to latch on. Engorged breasts can also be quite uncomfortable for the mother, as is the case with many breastfeeding issues. During the early stages of breastfeeding, when your milk first comes and your body is still learning to control milk production, your breasts may swell up. Engorgement may also occur if your baby isn’t adequately draining your breasts or if you go too long between feedings.
Apart from feeding your infant, you could try expressing manually a small amount of breast milk to help with the discomfort of engorgement. It would help if you only expressed enough to ease your pain, as expressing more will increase your milk production.
Poor breastfeeding latch
The most common symptom of poor breastfeeding latch is nipple pain, which is typically caused by your infant biting on your nipple rather than gumming the areola. Also, if you hear clicking sounds, it means the baby hasn’t latched on correctly and is probably just sucking on the nipple. There are moments when your baby is so eager to suckle that she clings to any part of the breast and sucks until no milk comes out, leaving a painful bruise. Other signs of frustration could be your baby fussing, chewing, gaping, rooting, or even turning red.
What is a proper latch? Developing a good latch can take some time, but it’s essential to increasing your milk production and providing your baby with a healthy diet. To compress the milk ducts surrounding the areola and start the milk flow, a good latch includes both the nipple and the areola. A correctly latching baby will have her chin and tip of her nose touching your breast, her lips flanged out (like a fish) rather than tucked in, and immediately settle into the rhythmic suck-swallow-breath pattern of breastfeeding.
How to fix an improper latch: Practice makes perfect, with a little assistance from a professional as well. After positioning yourself correctly for breastfeeding, squeeze your areola between your fingers. Bring your baby right up to the breast after tickling her cheek to trigger her rooting reflex and make her open wide. Her mouth should cover your areola and nipple when she latches on, though it might not cover the entire area if your areola is larger. Her chin and nose should also touch your breast, her lips flapping outward.
Nipple vasospasm
A nipple vasospasm is a condition where the blood vessels surrounding the nipple contract abnormally, impairing blood flow to the region.
Symptoms of nipple vasospasm
- Severe pain in the nipples after the baby stops breastfeeding. There could be a throbbing, burning, or stabbing pain. Some mothers also observe it when their infants latch on and the milk stops flowing.
- Cold may make nipple pain worse. It also happens when you go outside on a chilly day or move out a warm shower.
- Color changes. Your nipple can change colors from red to purple to blue to white and back to normal.
- Pain in the nipples can last anywhere from a few seconds to several hours in general.
Vasospasm treatment can be more difficult. If you find that your vasospasms worsen in cold weather, try nursing in warm settings, dress warmly, and apply a warm washcloth or breast warmer to your breasts before breastfeeding.
Cover your nipple immediately after your baby stops breastfeeding and put on your bra. Also, you can insert wool breast pads to retain your nipples warmer. Steer clear of caffeine and nicotine as they can exacerbate vasospasms.
To increase blood flow to your nipple area, stretch the muscles surrounding your breasts several times daily. As you take a few deep breaths, raise one arm to shoulder height and press it back behind you. Repeat with the other arm.
Mastitis
Your breasts have a system of ducts that allow breastmilk to flow from you to your child. Occasionally, one of these ducts may get clogged, which makes it difficult for milk to flow. The clogged ducts may cause pain. Mastitis is an inflammation of the breast when a duct does not clear and milk accumulates in your breast. Consult your midwife, breastfeeding consultant, or other healthcare professional if you are in pain due to blocked ducts.
The following are a few reasons for mastitis and blocked ducts:
- Short or infrequent nursing
- Improperly extracting the milk from all or a portion of the breast
- Damaged breast tissue
- Bacteria getting into the breast via a nipple crack
How to manage symptoms and ease pain
- Improving the removal of milk
- Correct poor attachment during breastfeeding
- Dress in loose clothing
- Breastfeed more often
- Massage your breast gently toward the nipple
- Put a warm compress on the hurting area
- Change up the positions during breastfeeding
It’s not a “one woman’s job” to breastfeed, and challenges are quite common. If you have any concerns, speak with your healthcare provider. You can also get support from your loved ones and family during this journey. You got this!