The hospital may leave out the parts
about painful feedings, risk of infections or leaking straight through the nursing bra.
This really surprised me as I had imagined that I could completely
avoid painful feeding if I tried biological nurturing from the start and that breastfeeding would be plain sailing this time.
I went through almost a week of excruciatingly
painful feeding sessions, cracked nipples and eventual mastitis until I finally called in a lactation consultant.
Staff may be able to advise about patterns of feeding, avoidance
of painful feeding, feeding from both breasts equally, expressing after feeds, and providing sufficient stimulation (both direct feeding and regular and frequent expression of milk)(Bennington 2011).
The last 7 weeks have been full of different feeding challenges but if you are a mum enduring
painful feeds during that first week please know that it will get better, it can just take a bit of time.
My nipples were now actually bleeding and there had been moments during
painful feeds in the dead of night where I just wanted to wake Oli up and send him to the shop for some formula.
Research shows that a baby with any residual lingual (under the tongue) frenulum, even if it can only be felt and not seen, who is having trouble transferring milk and / or whose mom is suffering
from painful feedings or nipple damage, not remedied by positional changes, should be considered to be tongue - tied and offered a frenotomy as soon as possible to protect the breastfeeding relationship.
This results in a variety of problems, including trouble latching on to the breast,
painful feeds for the mother and slow weight gain.
I'm assuming I'll need to plow through at least a few weeks
of painful feeding... but it would be so much easier this time around, knowing that it won't be 4 months of the same.
I'm cherishing every moment in a way I just couldn't with my first as I tried to come to terms with the huge responsibility having a baby was, while not sleeping well, and crying through
every painful feeding..
If you have an infant who is not gaining weight,
painful feeds, an infant under 2 months, a colicky baby, a baby who arches, screams or sleeps during feeds, you can schedule a full consultation.
It may become a blackened crisp as mom changes baby's diaper and struggles through
another painful feeding session.
Painful feeding could get in the way of baby getting the milk she needs.
It can be
painful feeding a baby when your breasts are ripped to shreds.
Improper feeding can lead to sore nipples,
painful feeding, and even bleeding nipples.