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Baby Hints & Tips

Breastfeeding pain at 6 weeks

(Medical disclaimer: Tips provided need to be considered in conjunction with medical advice. For immediate concerns, please contact HealthDirect (Australia wide) ph 1800 022 222 – to talk to a registered nurse 24hrs a day, and in emergencies call 000.)

breastfeeding pain

Community Question: Breastfeeding pain

Has anyone experienced breast pain during and after breast-feeding? My baby is 6weeks old, we have been through the cracked nipples (healed now) and had treatment for nipple thrush (on recommendation from a LC) and I’m still getting quite substantial pain, through most of my day. It’s not mastitis either as I have had that previous babies. I’m ready to give up now as being in constant pain is not sustainable, but I thought I would see if anyone has any ideas for me.

Tongue or lip tie causing breastfeeding pain

  • Have you considered tongue ties or lip ties?? I saw a IBCLC and she picked it up for me – I had a GP and LC not pick it up – it can cause a lot of pain with breastfeeding. Kiri
  • Yep look into lip tie or tongue tie. I had a fair bit of pain at times with my son and didn’t know what it was. Stopped breastfeeding at 11 weeks . Wasn’t until i was looking for teeth a few months later i noticed an upper lip tie! Stacey
  • Lip and tongue ties can cause immense pain when feeding. I just went through this with my daughter. It got so bad I was having to go to physio to have treatment on my nipples for cracks and bleeding! It hurt every time I fed. My CHN picked up the lip tie at 4 weeks, and my pediatrician picked up the posterior tongue tie as well a few days later. Had to get it fixed by a pediatric dentist, and every since then, I have been pain free while feeding! Melanie
  • Our little one had severe upper lip tie and posterior and anterior tongue tie which was causing it be to extremely painful to BF. We got it corrected by laser and it improved quickly. Kanya
  • Not sure if this helps but my bub had a tongue tie which made bf hard as she couldn’t latch properly, getting this fixed helped with time. She also has an upper lip tie, but that apparently doesn’t get touched until they start getting their big teeth at around 5. She is almost 1 now and still breastfeeding. Everything has improved with time. Jenna

Nipple Thrush

  • Quite possibly still have thrush as well, I’d get rechecked for that as well. But definitely check for lip and tongue ties but the LC should have picked it up. Sherrealle
  • Staph infection?? I’ve had both staph & thrush. The staph cleared up quickly with antibiotics, thrush on the other hand is taking time to clear with treatment. My dr did a swab to confirm the staph then a course of antibiotics. Staph can enter via cracks on your nipples. Is your pain deep in your breast? Stabbing pains even after feeding?? Hang in there x Melinda
  • Did you treat both yourself and Bub for thrush? If yes then maybe look into lip/tongue ties. Rachaek
  • Did you treat baby as well. We have thrush nipple and bubs mouth hard to get rid of. I would see a doc probably haven’t got rid of thrush yet. My Bub 7 weeks my breast gets sore when thrush is back. Did u treat baby as well. We have thrush nipple and bubs mouth hard to get rid of. I would see a doc probably haven’t got rid of thrush yet. My Bub 7 weeks my breast gets sore when thrush is back. Joanne
  • Thrush, get bub n yourself treated, even if no other symptoms. Or look in bub mouth for signs of thrush ( white coated tongue and cheeks. Annette
  • Yep. My bub was about 8 weeks before they got better. It does sound like you still have thrush. I’d see doc and get treatment for it again. Nikki
  • You may have thrush again, even though you have already had one treatment. My MCHN said that the usual course of treatment is a minimum of 10 day. I had to do 2 courses before mine was totally gone. Regan
  • Are your nipples shiny???
    I had horrendous thrush that got into my milk ducts, the pain was unbelievable, I had to have a lot of treatment/medication to clear it up. I used to put special fungal cream off that had to be washed off before I fed, and take tablets too to clear it it. My baby never had any clear signs of thrush, his mouth always looked good, but it was right in the back of his throat, we just kept re-infecting one another. I’ve had mastitis and thrush and thrush was unbearable. Good look, hope you feel better soon. Joanne

Blocked Milk

  • When my baby was about 5-6 weeks old I cracked it because of the breastfeeding pain and swore it was time for the bottle. I gave it a little bit more time and eventually my supply settled down (still feeding him at 7 months) and all the hard painful lumps started to ease. If you can see white dots on your nipples that’s blocked milk and you need to try and get it out. Good luck. Try to persevere for another week and see what happens. Sarah
  • Perhaps a blocked duct? I’ve had a couple and they are very painful all the time. Kat

See a lactation consultant regarding breastfeeding pain

  • I’m sure you’ve been told it before, but any pain isn’t ‘normal’ and can be corrected with help – you don’t need to suffer through it! I’d second seeing a lactation consultant (is your child health nurse a qualified LC?) or get down to your local Australian Breastfeeding Assn meeting so that one of their counsellors can have a look (if it’s a latch/positional thing). If it’s really dire, you could express and feed bub with a bottle until the pain has subsided. I know painful BFing is totally soul-sapping, but just wanted to give you encouragement that you don’t have to give up! Sally

Raynaud’s Phenomenom

  • I had excruciating pain on and off for four or five months, saw 2 doctors and 3 lactation consultants and some nurses. No one had an answer. Someone had a theory about Reynaud’s Phenomenon- which I’m not sure if it is or isn’t what my issue was, however following the suggested (non medical) treatments made it better.
    Still BF at 8 months and been pain free since about 5. Kirralee
  • I also had lots of trouble with pain at the start, I had cracked nipples but i also had a staph infection which caused a lot of pain. my thrush also took a long time to get better. but the thing that took the longest to diagnose was Raynauds in my nipples. that is painful during and after a feed and is caused by a flushing of the nipple. are you nipples constantly hard and flushing white or purple? I recommend going back to the LC and asking to be swabbed for thrush. Ellen

Infection

  • I was in agony 24/7 breastfeeding my son. Felt like my nipples were on fire while he was feeding and they throbbed for hours afterward. Saw LC’s, C&F Nurses and GP and nothing worked. Was also treated for nipple thrush without improvement. I finally saw a senior lactation consultant at a hospital who told me to get Bactroban ointment (need a script for this) and gave me a pair of nipple savers to let the air circulate and keep bra/top off your nipples. Used the ointment on one side and fed exclusive from the other while I rested and expressed and within 12 hours I was pain free and have been since. Now 4 months in and haven’t had a problem since, BF is a lot more enjoyable. If you can get your DR to prescribe the ointment it may just work for you (was advised to use 3x daily for 7 days and didn’t need to wash nipples before bubs fed either). Good luck, I hope things improve soon xx Lana

Nipple Vasospasms

  • It could be nipple vasospasms. So painful. You can get medication to treat it. I had it constantly, medication improved it and it was completely gone by 12 weeks. Sarah
  • Do your nipples turn white and then purple after a feed? It could be nipple vasospasm which I had terribly. Still do get it now with the cold weather. I took magnesium then was finally medicated for it. Speak to a lactation consultant about it. Also try to see a GP who is also a lactation consultant. There are not too many. If you’re in Melbourne look up Anita Bearzarto (not sure of spelling) she saved my breastfeeding relationship by medicating for vasospasm. Sherry

Improper latch, change feeding position

  • I also had pain while bf my first. Bub never latched properly and I didn’t know the difference being my first and my midwives never showed me. I only fed for 3 weeks and my baby lost weight. All I can liken it to is hot needles shooting up my nipple into my breast and I would dread feed time which seemed to be constant because he didn’t latch properly. Good luck and i hope it resolves soon x Alicia
  • I found that I needed to move bub further out (towards my armpit) for us to get pain free attachment. So it can be as simple as changing their position. Moana
  • I had really bad attachment problems that caused severe pain, once that was corrected with the help from an LC it settled down. Leslie

Nipple Shields

  • Try nipple shields. Avent brand are good. My 8wk old got sick and stopped feeding. When he started feeding again he kept biting rather than latching. I used the shields for a few days and things went back to normal. Sometimes I still have pain for the first minute of feeding if my breasts are really engorged due to the pressure build up. Maybe massage before you feed. Just a few ideas. Linny
  • Have you considered nipple shields? I would have given up breastfeeding if it weren’t for the amazing nipple shields. The pain was terrible, but once I started with the shields it all went away. Then at about 3 months old we slowly tried each feed without the shield at first until we no loner needed them. Good luck! Sarah

Improper fitting bra

  • I had pain feeding and all day pretty much for a while after sorting the latch, tongue tie, building supply issues. Turned out that the crop type bras I was wearing of a night time and on lazy days at home were cutting into my Breasts as they filled. So as they got fuller and obviously larger the style of the bra was cutting across and almost causing like a block I guess. Once I stopped with this style I had a lot more relief. Cherie
  • I get discomfort in the side of one breast from time to time. Bub is now 5 1/2 months and it first happened when he was a newborn. The nurse told me it is normal. I second the tight bra suggestion. I also find mine flares up again if it gets squished when I sleep. Maybe give the Breastfeeding Association a call and get some professional advice. Sarah

Lasinoh ointment

  • Lansinoh ointment. Lactation consultant or your maternal child health nurse. I fed football style in a rocking chair with pillows to boost bubs up to my breast. Meg

Try Epsom Salts

  • Try putting each boob in some warm water with Epsom salts. It drains the boobs of the milk and relieves engorgement pain. Natalia

Mastitis

  • Sounds like when I had mastitis!! Go and see your GP. Karen

Give it time

  • Antibodies in breast milk continue as long as you feed, months or years. I had similar and it all just went away when bub was 9 weeks as we both got used to the process. Hang in there, it gets better. Give the ABA a call and maybe get a second opinion. Prue

Some pain may be normal

  • I know everyone keeps saying pain isn’t normal but for me it was terrible for the first 2 months. I had a midwife at every feed and saw a LC at the hospital and home. They all told me nothing was wrong and we were both doing it right. I was about to give up (I was cringing for every feed and dreading it) when a friend said perhaps your nipples are just more sensitive than others. I persisted with feeding and when my supply evened out (around 3 months) the pain eased off and I’m still BFing my 9 mo. In the end I feel my short term suffering was worth the long term benefits he received from it. If you feel that you can’t handle it in the short term though then you have to make a choice. A mentally happy and healthy mother is just as important. I just wanted to let you know that for some people the pain lasts a while and doesn’t indicate anything is wrong. Rowena

Damaged nerve pain

  • Yes!! This is what I had after 1st bub it lasted till he was 12 weeks!  A damaged Nerve. It was extremely painful, even radiated up to under my arm pit. I just took Nurofen when the pain was too bad. Hang in there it will resolve though I’m sure it doesn’t feel like it now. Sharon

Allergy

  • Yes! It took me ages to work out , I was treated for thrush, saw a lactation specialist who couldn’t help, the pain was awful, I was crying every feed and on the brink of stopping when I changed from disposable breast pads to washable and within 2 days no more pain! I was allergic to the breast pads. Might not be what you’re having a problem with but if you’re using breast pads change brands or to washable ones, you never know it could be that simple. Good luck xx Joanne

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