Breastfeeding pain

azbird

I've been experiencing nipple pain during and after breastfeeding for 6 months. I've supplemented since my baby's birth because of a difficult delivery/recovery and also because of the pain. I live in a rural community so there's few resources for help here. My primary care physician told me there's nothing they can do to help with breastfeeding issues when I sought help in the beginning. So I saw my ob/gyn who told me that "they're probably just dry" and to "put some bag balm on them." I produce so little milk now because of supplementing and the pain keeps me from nursing for very long or often. Is there anything I can do to help with supply issues and pain at this point? Over the last 6 months I've tried oatmeal, mother's milk tea, lactation supplements, pumping frequently, a shield, and a few home remedies for thrush without success. Thank-you for any suggestions.

MaeMae91

My sister had pain like that when she breastfed her twins, and it turns out they had lip tie and couldn't get a good latch. If there are no lactation consultants you can reach out to, maybe ask your pediatrician to check for lip or tongue tie. If that's the issue, fixing it should help with pain. As far as supply, I don't know about that, but you may be able to find good info on kellymom.com. My lactation consultant says all the info there is research based, rather than opinion based, so it's a good resource

krissyberb

The combo of pain and low supply made me think of ties too. There is a lot of good info here: https://www.drghaheri.com/. Just so you know, not all pediatricians are trained in ties or believe they cause breast feeding problems. My son's did not and we had to fight to get a referral. Dr Ghaheri fixed my son's ties and he's great. He will look at photos--there are instructions on his page. If you are on FB he has a page and is good about responding.

caityrose

Agree with both pps. Was going to say ties as well