Let's Breastfeed

Side step painful feeds with inverted nipples

There are many mums who breastfeed their babies successfully with inverted nipples.

However, many mums assume there is no point in trying to breastfeed, as they believe they will experience extreme pain and give up breastfeeding after weeks of guilt and tears. If you have been told that you have inverted nipples and that they will cause you problems, put that to the back of your mind for now – don’t focus on it!

Once you have had your baby, put your baby onto your chest as soon as possible and see what happens. If your baby latches onto the breast and the nipple pain is bearable, you may be able to correct your nipple over time and enjoy pain free breastfeeding within a few days.

If your nipples begin to crack and bleed within a couple of feeds, you could start to hand express both breasts every 2-3 hours. Your midwife will show you how to do this if you ask her. Collect your droplets of colostrum in a syringe and give this to your baby.

As your supply increases, you can start expressing using a double pump. This will reduce the amount of time required and will also increase your supply substantially, as you are stimulating both breasts simultaneously! The more you express, either by hand or pump in the first 2 weeks, the more you will produce long term.

This is good to remember, as your baby will grow and will be able to scoop up more breast tissue over time.

Ultimately, the more breast tissue your baby can scoop up, the more milk he/she will be able to drain from the breast and the less pain you will experience, regardless of whether you have inverted nipples or not. Some inverted nipples are so extreme that breastfeeding is never going to be comfortable, which is why you need to explore your options and find a solution that is right for both you and your baby.

It is a challenge to keep positive in this situation, however I would like to remind you that your baby will work with whatever shape or size your nipple is. You just need to learn together and use tools along the way.

One such tool is the humble nipple shield. This looks like a little Mexican hat that just sits on the breast over the nipple. It allows your baby to latch onto the breast via the shield and transfer milk.

If you are seriously considering giving breastfeeding a miss, I would like to offer you a couple of alternative options. Naturally you are concerned about your baby’s well being and I want to show you that there is a way that you can still give your baby the benefits of your amazing milk without the tears and long nights.

Whilst your baby will drain the breast more efficiently than any breast pump, this is only true for babies who are breastfeeding without any problems.

There are many reasons for breastfeeding, but one that is often overlooked is that breastfeeding can be extremely enjoyable when it works!

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