Breastfeeding Problems and Solutions
A woman on a message board I recently joined started a thread in the Breastfeeding Support forums asking what advice mothers who have successfully breastfed have for new moms. She was specifically looking for solutions to common problems that arise the first few weeks at home, like baby refusing to latch on, baby can’t latch on or suck, engorged breasts, clogged milk ducts and making enough milk. Here’s what I contributed.
Nursing sucks (no pun intended) the first few weeks. It’s normal to be sore and achy, but if it’s painful and your nipples are cracked or bleeding you must see a certified LC as soon as possible to get help with latch.
If baby won’t latch right away keep trying. Try putting sugar water on your nipples and let baby suck on your finger to practice. If baby still won’t latch after a few days you need to see a certified LC. Nipple shields can often help with latching.
Your milk may not come in right away. My milk didn’t come in for 5 days (but when it was in it didn’t stop!) It was scary because Sam was tiny and hungry, but we kept trying. When DS had lost a full pound (he was only 6 lbs 8 oz at birth so a pound was a lot!) we had to supplement with formula. If you have to supplement use a cup, dropper or syringe for feedings, not a bottle. It will help avoid early nipple confusion.
If you are especially sore on one breast look for what looks like a pimple. It may be red or it may look like a whitehead. It’s probably a clogged duct. Try and get baby to nurse on that side as much as possible with baby’s chin on the sore spot. It will hurt, but it will help get the duct clear.
If your breasts are especially sore and you’re achy and running a low (or high) fever, you may have mastitis. Call your doctor immediately- you may need antibiotics. Nursing often and regularly will hurt but make you feel better. If treated promptly it shouldn’t get too bad and you’ll recover quickly.
Newborns nurse constantly. When you hear that newborns eat every two hours they mean two hours from the start of each feeding. Logistically that means if you feed baby at 6 and baby nurses for 30 minutes on one side burps for 15 minutes then nurses for 20 minutes on the other finishing right after 7, be ready to feed baby again at 8. It is tiring and time consuming but it slows down.
Drink lots of water. More than you think is humanly possible. It will help with energy and milk production.
If you want to pump don’t expect too much at first. You may only get an ounce or two at each session. It’s normal and will probably increase over time. But don’t pump more to get more milk! The more you pump, the more you produce. You may send yourself into major milk overproduction. Just pump once or twice a day for 20 minutes. No more unless you’re replacing a nursing session with pumped milk. Nursing first thing in the morning will usually be the most productive time.
Co-sleeping helps you get more sleep and nurse through the night. But if it scares you or you like your space, don’t feel you have to.
Kelli wrote about her first few weeks of breastfeeding back when her daughter was born. Here’s Day 1 and 2.
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January 10th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Excellent post! Short, sweet, concise. You hit most of the major points on the nose!