Breastfeeding or Pumping Breast Milk
The agony of pregnant ladies continues even after giving birth. Most ladies suffer from severe nipple pain while breastfeeding their newborn child. Breastfeeding is the leading cause of nipple pain. Ninety-eight percent of women who breastfeed their children complain about soreness, tenderness, and inflammation of their nipples.
Nipple pain due to breastfeeding happens due to improper or bad baby latch. A latch is a way a baby accepts and suckles the nipple and areola. A proper latch should be deep, placing the nipple at the back of the baby’s throat. A bad latch is shallow, placing the nipple between the gums and hard palate. Unfortunately, most newborns only suck on the nipple (and not the areola), making breastfeeding extremely painful for mothers. However, given the proper guidance, they will eventually learn how to latch correctly.
Nipple irritation, overstimulation, and pain happen as long as a mother breastfeeds her child. An example is dealing with a newborn learning how to latch, then a toddler who bites, sucks too much, and presses the nipple too hard. These may cause restriction of blood flow, leading to vasospasm. Vasospasm happens when the nipple changes color from white to red, then purple, after experiencing physical trauma.
