If you are one of those mothers who suffer from breast pain after breastfeeding, if you are worried about acute breast pain after breastfeeding, if you are looking for a way to reduce breast pain, read more. Learn everything you need to know about breast pain after breastfeeding.
Breast pain is one of the pains that mothers experience after childbirth and after breastfeeding.
If you have sharp breast pain after breastfeeding or pumping, do not worry, read the following article for more information.
what you will read next :
Breast pain and stiffness during breastfeeding or after pumping
If you have an infant who has his mouth locked around your nipple while drinking milk from your breast, it is perfectly normal to experience short-term pain of about thirty to sixty seconds.
This pain affects the nipple and its peripheral area, (the nipple and areola together), but the pain resolves after breastfeeding or after loosening the baby’s mouth.
What to do if the pain persists?
If the breast pain persists, the best thing to do is to stop breastfeeding for a moment and change the baby’s position on the breast.
If you have a baby who has not learned the right way to drink milk from your breast and mistakenly locks his entire mouth repeatedly around your nipple, you will probably experience breast pain many times during breastfeeding.
Infants who cannot get all of the areola in their mouths It is normal for the mother to experience recurring pain while breastfeeding; they may experience nipple sores and nipple cracks frequently. It is best to consult your doctor in these cases.
Also, if you have pain that occurs when you are not breastfeeding, it is best to consult your doctor for further examination.
Doctors say nipple pain is so common among mothers who have just started breastfeeding Many people consider this pain to be a common accompaniment to breastfeeding, but pain that persists frequently and chronically is abnormal. In this article, we will talk more about nipple pain in breastfeeding.
In the following, we will list the causes of nipple pain.
Nipple pain
If you are in the first week after giving birth, it is perfectly normal to have nipple pain while breastfeeding.
Doctors say that at this time, because the baby still does not know how to properly breastfeed, when he drinks milk, he locks his whole mouth tightly around the mother’s nipple, so short-term pinch-like pain in the nipple and areola will be perfectly normal at this time.
But it is an abnormal pain that continues throughout breastfeeding or persists after breastfeeding.
Sometimes sharp breast pain starts suddenly. Many mothers in the first few weeks after giving birth focus so much on the baby that they do not pay much attention to their breast pain or eat so much that they can get rid of the pain, but indifference is not good for you, you should try to pay attention to all the reactions of your body.
Factors that cause breast pain during breastfeeding
Here are the most common causes of nipple pain in breastfeeding:
- Wrong in the baby to hold the breast in the mouth:
Newborns need time to learn how to properly breastfeed Newborns in the first few days to the first few weeks after birth cannot get enough of the mother’s breast in the mouth, in other words, the mother’s breast does not stick deep in the baby’s mouth, but The baby locks his whole mouth tightly around the nipple
Doctors attribute short-term stinging and sharp pains at this time to incomplete and superficial placement of the breast in the baby’s mouth.
In these cases, instead of putting the breast in the mouth, the baby only tightens the mother’s nipple and causes sharp pain that lasts for thirty to sixty seconds and will be relieved by moving the baby.
If this method continues, it will damage the nipple.
If you see that your nipple has become more prominent or there is a line in the middle of your nipple, this is a sign that your baby does not know how to hold your breast properly and only locks his mouth tightly around your nipple.
If you have this problem, talk to your doctor or midwife. They can teach you how to gradually teach your baby how to breastfeed properly.
- Non-standard breast milk and injury to the breast while using shower milk:
If you use breastfeeding incorrectly, you may develop a nipple injury, which can cause sharp breast pain during or after breastfeeding.
The nipple cover or cap may be too small for your nipple, or you may have increased the nipple suction too much.
Be sure to ask your midwife or doctor to teach you how to use a breast pump correctly.
- Thrush:
If you have a baby who has thrush, it is not unlikely that the infection will spread to your breast.
Thrush infection will cause sharp and shooting pain in your nipple. Infant mouth thrush is a fungal infection called “stomatitis candidiasis” by doctors, which manifests itself in the form of gray bumps on the mouth and tongue.
Nipple thrush is associated with the following symptoms in the mother:
- Redness of the nipple
- Shining of the nipple
- Sharp pain of the nipple
- Stinging pains in the nipple
If you have the above symptoms and despite a few days and the use of common emollients have not improved, it is necessary to see a doctor in the first days, the above symptoms may be considered nipple eczema. However, the presence of pain and persistence of discomfort is in favor of nipple thrush and should be examined and treated by a physician.
The pain caused by nipple thrush begins with the start of sucking by infants and gradually intensifies. Sometimes the pain may continue for up to an hour after the end of breastfeeding.
If the infection is superficial, the pain is more severe and is usually accompanied by nipple itching.
If the fungal infection has entered the mammary ducts, the breast pain during breastfeeding will be dagger-like, or the infected mother may feel a burning pain similar to a hot rod in the breast, which is also felt at the tip of the nipple and deep in the breast.
Sometimes breast pain even affects the mother’s back, so deeper duct involvement is accompanied by deeper pain. Sometimes the infection starts in one breast and is rapidly transferred to the other breast. The brown halo around the nipple may become red and pink and very thin.
There is usually a slight swelling and scaling is evident. There may be a wound at the tip of the nipple and a fungal infection may enter the wound, in which case wound healing will be delayed. Mothers who have the following conditions are at higher risk for developing thrush:
- Existence of chronic eczema of the nipple and injury and trauma to the nipple
- Immune system disorders in the mother
- Fatigue that will lead to a weakened immune system
- Consumption of corticosteroids
- Use breastfeeding pillows or breast pillows with plastic liners
- Use of antibiotics for a long time
- Improper diets
- Milk bubble:
When a very thin layer of skin grows on the opening of a milk duct, it causes the milk in the duct to become trapped and the duct to become blocked.
A small blister that looks like a white or yellow spot develops on the nipple and there is usually obvious pain at that point and behind it.
This problem is usually relieved by a doctor or midwife removing the grown skin.
If this is not done, it will take several weeks for it to heal on its own.
- Baby tongue disorder:
Sometimes a baby has a sticky tongue on the floor of the mouth, which can cause problems with breastfeeding. It can be treated with a simple minor surgery.
So if you have breast pain while breastfeeding, consult your midwife or doctor so that the baby’s mouth can be examined.
- Nipple herpes:
In mothers who have a history of oral herpes, in the event of a painful nipple blister, they should discontinue breastfeeding with the possibility of herpes to wash off the milk. Rinse and discard milk to prevent breast congestion and pain from breast congestion, as well as maintain milk production. Breastfeeding from a healthy breast is okay.
- Nipple blisters:
Sometimes a nipple blister, which is a clear, yellow or bloody blister on the nipple, causes pain during breastfeeding.
Wrong and stiff suction of the baby, friction between the baby’s lips and mouth and nipple, non-standard breast pump such as improper size of the breast pump or high degree of suction of the breast pump are common causes of nipple blisters.
Reactions to ointments and topical medications used on the nipple can sometimes cause nipple blisters.
In these cases, it is best to stop taking the topical medication and consult a doctor or midwife.
- Vasospasm:
If it happens that your nipple becomes pale a few minutes after breastfeeding, followed by severe pain and sharpness in it, and then returns to normal color, you probably have vasospasm of the blood vessels in your nipple.
A small spasm in the nipple arteries is caused by trauma, nipple compression, or fungus. Talk to your doctor about this.
When should we see a doctor?
If you have a sharp breast pain after looking for breastfeeding or pumping, pay attention.
In the following cases, you need to see a doctor.
It is best to tell your doctor or midwife about any breast pain or nipple pain.
Your doctor and midwife will determine the cause of your breast pain and help you get the right treatment and not have pain. You need to know that you do not have to endure the pain and continue breastfeeding your baby with pain.
Note that breastfeeding is long. If you want to ignore your breast pain, the quality of your baby’s nutrition will decrease and you will get tired of continuing breastfeeding with breast pain.
The final word
We must say that if you are insignificant to your nipple pain in the first weeks of breastfeeding, it is not unlikely that you will get painful sores, and nipple cracks and bleeding in the nipples will make breastfeeding terribly painful.
If your nipple becomes so sore that you cannot stand the baby drinking (some mothers report that they are in so much pain that they are afraid to put the nipple in their baby’s mouth), In these cases, try not to breastfeed for twelve to twenty-four hours. Give yourself a break and breast pump ! in the meantime and feed your baby from your breast milk.
Pay attention to the important reminder of doctors about this.
Doctors say that you should only use a standard-structured breast pump. Standard breastmilk should be adjusted to fit your breasts and fits snugly around your nipples. Be careful that breastfeeding is not painful if you have breast pain while breastfeeding. If you have standard breast pump do not consider this pain normal and be sure to consult your midwife or doctor.