How To Avoid Common Breast Feeding Difficulties
Common breast feeding difficulties can often be the trigger that causes women to stop breast feeding and turn to the bottle for nutrition for their infant. These breast feeding issues can be easily overcome with the proper education and support. Unfortunately many women don’t have those resources or the support in their families to continue this process.
Some of the more common breast feeding difficulties are sore nipples, thrush, problems with the let-down reflex, engorgement, low milk supply, and plugged milk ducts. Simple solutions to each of these issues will help to improve your chances of continuing to nurse through the first six months of your baby’s life.
When you begin to learn about breast feeding and the resources in your area you must find a lactation consultant and keep her contact information. This becomes important when you are struggling with an issue and don’t have the time or the energy to begin making calls to find a consultant who can give you advice and support. Oftentimes hospitals which have labor and delivery units will keep a lactation consultant on staff or will know where you’ll be able to contact one in the area. Find this resource and keep her contact information!
Let’s start with some of the most common breast feeding difficulties that face women who are nursing. The first is sore nipples. Nipples can become sore for several reasons, not the least of which is that this sensitive area isn’t toughened. You can’t toughen the nipples before the baby is born so you must wait for the baby to do this himself. While you will feel some discomfort you shouldn’t ever feel pain. Painful nipples can be caused by poor latching on, poor position of the baby or the mother, baby’s inverted lips, or positioning the baby the same way with each feeding. Most mothers report that nipple soreness disappears in the first week or two. Painful nipples disappear after the problem that created the issue has been solved.
Thrush is a common breast feeding difficulty that results from a fungal infection. This fungus, Candida albicans, likes to live in warm, dark, moist areas like the milk ducts and baby’s mouth. Thrush can cause nipple pain, diaper rash, white coated tongue of the baby or pain in the breast. There isn’t a diagnostic test for thrush in the mother and baby combination so if there is just one symptom then your doctor will treat both the mother and the baby. This is because if the infected person is the baby then he’ll transfer the fungi with each feeding to the mother, and visa versa. The medication used to treat Thrush doesn’t actually kill the fungus – it only keeps it from multiplying. This is why it may take up to 1 week for the discomfort or pain to be relieved.
Problems with the let-down reflex will cause the baby to receive inadequate milk supply and mom to become engorged. Both of these are other common breast feeding difficulties that mothers face. The let-down reflex is significantly hindered by stress so the quickest cure is to go to a quiet area that may have dimmed lights, position yourself and your baby in the most comfortable position, play soft music and just relax. Just the act of relaxing will help your milk to let-down and become available to the baby.
Sometimes women suffer from engorgement during the first week or two of nursing, when the baby demands a higher milk supply through a growth spurt or when baby abruptly stops nursing at night. Sometimes this engorgement hampers the nursing process because the baby can’t latch on correctly. The immediate answer is to soak your breast in warm water to soften the tissue to help the baby to latch on. Wearing a good supportive bra can decrease the discomfort and nursing at least 8 times each day for 15 minutes will help to relieve the pressure. Very quickly your body will accommodate to the new needs of the baby and the discomfort will disappear.
Another common breast feeding difficulty that women may worry about is a low milk supply. This low milk supply can happen for several reasons. If your breasts are engorged it is difficult for the baby to nurse – you can soften the tissue with warm compresses or pump for several minutes to soften the tissue. You may feel like your milk supply is low but unless your baby isn’t gaining weight or pooping and peeing enough you probably do have enough. It’s common for women to feel as though they aren’t providing enough when they can’t measure how much is actually being taken.
Women with small breasts have just as much milk as women who are more amply endowed. Babies who are more quick and efficient eaters are getting just as much as the baby who takes longer and likes to linger. But another issue can be that mom has baby on a schedule which doesn’t help to increase her milk supply when baby needs it. Breast milk operates on a supply and demand principle. When baby is hungrier because he’s going through a growth spurt then he nurses more frequently which triggers the body to make more milk. If, however, mom ascribes to a scheduled feeding program then baby can’t get enough milk when he’s hungry and he doesn’t trigger mom’s body to make more milk either. Both of these situations leads to a lowered supply of milk and poor weight gain on the part of the baby.
The last common breast feeding difficulty is plugged milk ducts. A milk duct can become plugged if mom is wearing a constricting bra or if baby isn’t latched on appropriately. Mom might feel a soreness or tenderness in one area of the breast that appears to be warmer or reddened. Sometimes there is a white dot at the opening of the duct on the nipple. Through gentle massage of the breast in that area as well as slightly warm compresses with a well latched baby the issue will clear quickly.
Although these common breast feeding difficulties are easily managed with education and support they are often times the reason that women chose to stop nursing their children and turn to formula for the rest of the infants nutrition. But, with a bit of planning and with the proper support and information moms are able to breeze past these bumps in the road and continue to supply the most comprehensive nutrition that baby will ever need.
