Painful Breastfeeding: Causes, Diagnosis and Main Remedies
Introduction
Painful breastfeeding is often a daily occurrence for new mothers.
Since the causes are different - the same can be said for the remedies - I have prepared this article that aims to help you clarify your ideas.
To complete the useful information on such a precious topic, you can discover the video course “Al Profumo di Latte”, designed for you by Doctor Maria Chiara Alvisi, the midwife of the Yule Center in Seregno .
If, instead, you are also looking for advice on how to prevent problems such as colic or how to best follow your child in motor development, you can visit my Instagram profile @drsilva.com_official .
Painful Breastfeeding: How Long Do the Symptoms Last?
Let's start by saying that painful breastfeeding is not normal .
As Dr. Alvisi recalls in this video , breastfeeding your baby must be, for a mother, an experience of well-being.
When there is pain , which can last throughout the feeding and even for several hours after weaning the puppy, it is necessary to intervene to resolve the problem.
Follow me in the next paragraphs of the article to find out how.
Why does my nipple hurt when breastfeeding?
Breastfeeding, as already mentioned, must be synonymous with well-being and pleasant cohesion between mother and child.
Unfortunately, painful breastfeeding often makes it difficult to experience all of this first-hand.
When you notice that a burning pain persists at the nipple level throughout the entire feeding and even beyond, it is time to investigate further.
The causes , in fact, can be different and almost always require a multidisciplinary approach.
Cracks
Wounds that can be more or less bleeding and involve, in addition to the nipple, also part of the areola, cracks are one of the main causes of painful breastfeeding .
Caused by an incorrect latch of the puppy - the newborn who is unable to open his mouth correctly takes the nipple at the tip and stretches it - they can be prevented by immediately contacting a midwife and an osteopath.
The first professional is responsible for recommending positions that favor deep attack.
The second, instead, is to resolve any contractures at the mouth level that prevent optimal opening of the latter.
If they do occur, to relieve the pain it is important to let the breast breathe - it is not necessary to stop breastfeeding - and to spread a few drops of breast milk on the nipple.
To promote healing, calendula mother tincture is excellent.
Vasospasm in the breast
Breast vasospasm is another cause of painful breastfeeding.
An annoying problem and, as I mentioned here, often difficult for professionals who deal with breastfeeding to recognize, is a situation in which the newborn, latching on at the tip, compresses the superficial blood vessels of the nipple.
The latter, who at the end of the feeding is struck by a strong and burning pain , changes colour and takes on one close to white.
A problem favored by critical issues related to peripheral circulation, for example Raynaud's syndrome, breast vasospasm can be forgotten by improving the newborn's latch.
The support of the midwife, who can suggest positions that encourage deep attachment - for example biological nurturing , with the newborn literally sitting on the mother's legs - is essential.
When the help of the midwife and osteopath , who act by improving the opening of the mouth through manipulations indicated when the newborn presents mandibular contractures caused by factors such as poor positioning in the uterus, does not bring results, the doctor can prescribe drugs .
The main treatment for painful breastfeeding caused by vasospasm in the breasts is nifedipine , which helps the blood vessels to relax.
Short lingual frenulum
Congenital anatomical alteration that makes the filament that connects the tongue and the floor of the newborn's mouth shorter than physiologically, a short lingual frenulum is another cause of painful breastfeeding .
It can, for example, cause anal fissures, but also the aforementioned vasospasm and mastitis , which is a real infection that is an extreme consequence of breast engorgement .
Short lingual frenulum, the diagnosis of which is a pediatric competence, involves a limitation of tongue movement.
In fact, it prevents that peristaltic wave that is essential for talking about nutritive suction.
The result?
Non-nutritive sucking and painful breastfeeding , with the unpleasant consequences mentioned above.
A team consisting of a pediatric surgeon and an otolaryngologist evaluates the situation and decides whether there are the right indications for frenulectomy surgery.
The procedure, non-invasive and immediately effective, may involve the use of scalpels, scissors or laser.
Nipple candidiasis
Infection caused by the abnormal proliferation of the fungus Candida albicans ,candidiasis of the nipple is one of the causal factors of painful breastfeeding.
This is a pain that can be defined as atypical.
Similar to the prick of many pins, it can reach up to the back.
How to solve the problem?
- Checking the newborn: sometimes, in fact, it is the little one who transmits candidiasis to the mother. Among the symptoms to watch out for in the puppy we find the presence of a white coating on the tongue and diaper rash;
- by promptly contacting your trusted doctor to obtain a prescription for local antifungals . The newborn must also be treated.
It is also very useful to adopt specific dietary measures and, for example, reduce the intake of simple sugars.