Bleeding nipples - still ok to feed?

DD2 is a week old tomorrow and I've been having a lot more trouble getting BF established this time around.

Since my milk has come in I haven't been able to get her attached properly because they are just so full - and that has started a slippery slope to completely destroying my nipples.

Last night I noticed my nipples are now bleeding when she attaches and are just left so raw that I have no idea how to help them recover between feeds - and it hurts so much!!

Anyway - I am hoping that it's still ok to feed her if there is blood involved. I don't want to make her sick or anything - but I'm not sure what other options I have?

I have just spent over an hour reading about attachment and stuff so hopefully I can really work on that for the next few days to get it right again.


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This was my biggest problem with DD. the mw at the hospital advised me not to feed, instead we expressed into a syringe and fed that way. We got some lansinoh and used that, and within a day, I was okay to start feeding OB one side again, with the other side the following day.

Thanks pac - did you hand express? Can you remember how much they suggested you give her each feed?

I know they don't have very much colostrum at all but my milk is fully in now and I have no idea how much. I've been thinking about calling the ABA helpline - is this the kind of thing they can help with?

I think she is getting enough because she is sleeping for 3-4 hours at a time - its just hurting me so much I'm starting to dread the idea of her having a feed at all.


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Ash congrats on your little bundle of joy.... :)

can you use breast sheilds?

Is there a reason why they are bleeding as in infection thrush or just ?? You pour thing you must be in agony as i could imagine with let down and her sucking and you being full can iniatially hurt like hell and more so with an infection or cracked nipples or whatever in the cause for the blood. Can you either talk to ABA or your DR?

:)

Apart from that how you going ?

I honestly don't remember how much they wanted me to give her, but the syringe was only one of those 10ml ones (like you get in the Panadol boxes) and I wasn't able to fill it. The midwives were happy with that. I did hand express.

Give the ABA a call, they will absolutely be able to help. I would have done that at the time, except being in hospital meant I got good support there so it wasn't necessary for me. I do remember thinking that the mw who suggested Lanisoh was an absolute godsend because we got relief and fast.

Ash, it is fine to still feed and in fact, if you can tolerate it, it's probably the best way to empty them and reduce the risk of mastitis. If you are so full, not emptying them as much as possible will increase your chances of mastitis. And the blood will not harm your DD.

I do also recommend getting as much help as you can with attachment - have a look at the attachment information on the ABA website - there are clips there of Baby Led Attachment that might really help. If nothing you try helps, I would consult a good Lactation Consultant to check for things like tongue tie (some are really difficult to spot so they are not always picked up in hospitals).

Otherwise, how are you doing?

I fed DD3 for about a week with bleeding nipples. Very gross thought to be giving my baby blood, but I was told what MantaRay said about it being the best way to continue. I was worried I would start down a path I couldn't come back from if I bottle fed when DD3 had such bad attachment

I can almost feel your pain!! I had a similar problem and would give each nipple a rest from bubs (but still pump on that side) for about a day each to give them a chance to recover.
Also, hand or machine express a little before each feed so they aren't as full and attachment is easier.
Good luck, I hope they heal soon.

Thanks for the replies - apart from the feeding issue, everything else is just going well - I just really want to be able to feed my baby!!

I've just tried a football hold instead of cradle hold and it really didn't make much difference - still a lot of pain, mis-shaped nipple at the end and blood in her spit up too.

I'm a bit scared if trying infant led attachment - I feel like it will hurt even more than me putting her on while she is figuring it out. I'm just not sure I can go through it if it hurt anymore than it already does.

I'm going to give ABA a call when she goes down next - I'm pretty determined to tolerate the pain as long as it's safe for her. I know we'll get it right eventually but gosh it hurts at the moment!


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Oh hugs Hun. I've had bleeding both from the nipple and deeper down in the breast (after mastitis-don't worry, got it checked out and it's all ok). Perfectly fine for bubs, although they might chuck up a bit more than normal as it irritates their tummies. Also, poo can be quite dark as a result (theirs not yours lol!).

In terms of the pain, you can have nurofen and panadol (at the same time). I lived on them in the early days.

Most importantly, get yourself some hydrogel breast discs (riteaid brand available at Coles but not ww). They are AMAZING for healing.

Good luck! Xo

Call the ABA hun. They will definitely be able to help.

Re baby-led attachment, I know it can seem daunting but she was born with the instincts to attach herself to your breast and it really does work - I have seen it. Sometimes when we try to help, we can get in the way of their instincts. That is ok if it all works well but if something goes wrong, we can try and get her to tune back in to her instincts.

Something to think about anyway.

Ash try and keep her feeding, as MR says, it is the best way to drain your breasts. Try hand expressing a bit before she attaches to the breast, so they aren't so full for her little mouth.

If you do want to give them a rest to heal, you'll need to pump/express to ensure your supply continues to establish.

Try and avoid nipple shields if you can. Might just complicate things further.

:hug: Hang in there.

Just popping in to second the hydrogel pads. They were a lifesaver for us. I kept them in the fridge and applied after feeds. They do have a bit of a funny smell though, so I removed them about 20-30 mins before the next feed.

Hope your poor nips feel better soon hon.

I recently read about a way of reducing the engorgement so that baby can attach more easily

From here https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bf-...um/engorgement

:

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‘Reverse pressure softening’: The aim is to push fluid in the tissue under the nipple and areola further back into the breast, to relieve the pressure. To do this, apply pressure with two or three fingers of each hand placed flat at the sides of and close to your nipple, and hold for 1–3 minutes. Or use all fingertips of one hand around the nipple and push in, holding for 1–3 minutes, until the tissue softens. More information on reverse pressure softening, including diagrams showing how to do it, can be found here.

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http://www.salactationconsultants.co...0Softening.pdf

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I'm a bit scared if trying infant led attachment - I feel like it will hurt even more than me putting her on while she is figuring it out. I'm just not sure I can go through it if it hurt anymore than it already does.

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I understand your concerns. We're doing this now and it has improved things for us. No matter what way I tried to attach her it didn't work, and leaving her to dp it herself doesn't work 100% of the time, but she does it better than me!

Thanks so much for the replies - I will definitely look into the hydropads. I have been using purelan which was recommended by the chemist but since I've been researching all I have seen mentioned is Lanisoh - maybe I should get some of that?

I have tried to contact my local ABA group but have had no luck - hopefully I will hear back tomorrow.

I am planning on pushing through the pain and coming out the other side - I'm mostly worried about how they will heal if I can't figure out the attachment problem. I will try pressing like that article says tonight and hopefully get to see someone from ABA soon to fix the attachment or help me with the baby led attachment.

Thanks again!!


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Hun don't forget you can call the 24 hr aba helpline - 1800 mum 2 mum.

I dont know what purelan is, but lanisoh is just sheep fat (lanolin) so purelan might be th same thing.

Oh sweety, Im sorry you are going through this.
I have been through this with all 3 of my kids. With ds1 it got so bad his reflux was blood.
1 thing that saved me was expressing. It gave my nipple time to heal and when i could feed without fear my "mothering side " could heal.
Some ladies find shields help.
I hope you too can heal soon
Hugs

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Wow! I just toughened up and tried the baby led attachment and it blew my mind!!

I can't believe how well she found it and got on - AND I could barely feel her at all once she was attached!

My nipple was still misshaped when she came off though - does that mean she still wasn't attached right or does the fact that it wasn't hurting enough mean she was?


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If it's kind of house shaped or lipstick shaped then she didn't have enough in her mouth - but that may just be that she has to grow a bit more. If it's not hurting then let it go for now - as she gets stronger it will start to hurt you if she hasn't got enough nipple in her mouth, but her mouth will also be bigger so you have a better chance of fixing it then.

My dd used to leave my nipple misshapen. She had a very strong suck and used to shred my nipples too. I was told, as long as there is no pain the shape isn't really a problem in itself. It should correct itself as she gets older. I had very flatnipples, so dd had to draw it out a lot and I think that's why mine used to hurt in the early days.

I have fed through so, so many cracked and bleeding nipples. Weeks and months of them, and I can safely say the worst part is the thought. Breast milk is essentially white blood, so real blood won't harm them. Poor you though!!

I've never expressed to heal nipples, just kept feeding and trying to attach baby away from the crack, by twisting my breast to ensure the crack is to the side of their mouth, not the gummy top or bottom.

Good luck. Keep an eye on the type of pain too. If it starts becoming deeper into your breast you might want to get checked out for an infection like thrush or a bacteria...that can cause persistanr cracks in the nipple.

Yay for BLA!

Babys really are clever things!
How did you go overnight?

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I had issues with engorgement early on with DD2 and found putting pressure on the breast just behind the nipple and pushing back helped immensely together her attached (as mentioned above in the article by hotl). Cold packs and Lansinoh for the bleeding and it really helped. I kept her on the boob only, not expressing because I didn't want to increase my supply anymore then I had. Good luck with it, it does get better!

Thanks so much for the encouragement - I'm feeling a lot better about it today.

I got myself some of those hydropads from Coles and I can really see a difference in the healing between feeds.

The baby led attachment worked well last night but I've tried it a few times today and she doesn't seem to be able to get on at all, instead she just seemed to get frustrated so I take over for her - maybe I haven't been giving her enough time though so I'll try again tonight I think. I am so amazed by the way she wriggles herself around to find it!

So I've still been attaching her today the best I can and then I've been taking her off once I hear her start to drink faster (after my let down) and then reattaching her because everything is softer and she seems to end up on a lot better after that.

I'm feeling a lot more in control over the whole thing at the moment - I think just acknowledging that I'm not prepared to give up had helped me deal with everything a lot better.


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Hope you have a good night again tonight.
She maybe really hungry when you are trying to start feeding her, see if you can recognise her early hungry signs. Alot of babys start opening their mouth, putting their hand to their mouth alot.
Once she has a bigger tummy and feeds less often your poor sore nipples will heal between feeds.
Well done for hanging in there :) your baby is lucky to such a good mummy

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