Paying Attention Is Important to Breastfeeding Success
By Teri Brown
Perhaps the most important part of breastfeeding your baby is, well, the breast. How well you care for your breast during breastfeeding, especially those critical first few months, is crucial to your ultimate breastfeeding success. So what exactly does breast care entail and what can happen if you put it off?
Susan Illis of Marietta, Ga., suffered with cracked nipples for quite some time before the problem was taken care of. In retrospect, she feels that she could have been more aggressive in finding a solution to the problem. “I would have sought medical help sooner, instead of suffering,” she says. “I’m 34 weeks pregnant and planning to do it again. However, if I have problems again, I will be far more proactive in finding a solution!”
Potential Problems
Many women learn to breastfeed their babies without a hitch. Others run into difficulties that could have been avoided with proper breast care and technique. One of the biggest problems women have is ignoring pain. Dottie James, Ph.D., an associate professor at Saint Louis University School of Nursing, agrees. “A woman should know that breastfeeding should not be painful,” James says. “In addition, should she notice a warm, swollen area anywhere on the breast, she should contact her obstetrician or midwife immediately.”
Ignoring pain can be an invitation for a serious infection. Sometimes the lack of breast attention and care can result in any of the following:
- Cracked nipples – often caused by incorrect positioning of the baby during feeding, or improper breast care.
- Clogged ducts – also can be caused by incorrect positioning problem or occasionally the result of a poor-fitting bra.
- Mastitis – caused by blocked ducts and/or lowered maternal defenses from things like stress and fatigue.
- Thrush – an infection with candida (yeast).
- Galactoceles – a milk-filled cyst that sometimes occurs while breastfeeding, usually represents a chronically blocked duct.
- A white bleb – a single, painful, tiny cyst at the opening of a duct, probably milk that has seeped into the tissue under pressure.
Preventing Problems
James believes that early identification of a problem and appropriate intervention can usually correct the problem and allow the woman to continue to nurse her baby. “A nursing mother should assess what causes the pain: When in the nursing process does it occur? How severe is it?” she says. “Then the new mother can examine her nipples, looking for redness, swelling, breaks in the skin, color changes (red, white, yellow) and noting any drainage from these open areas.”
Once the skin is broken, nature’s protective barrier can be breached by bacteria in the environment, resulting in an infection. Knowing what the breast typically looks like and paying careful attention to the nursing process can prevent a serious infection from occurring.
Dr. Susan Rothenberg, director of obstetrics at the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, N.Y., believes the most important part of preventing breast problems is position. “Proper positioning of the baby at the breast right from the start allows proper sucking and drainage of the breasts, dramatically decreasing the risk of many common breastfeeding problems,” she says. “Certain self-prescribed ointments or other remedies may block the flow of milk, irritate the nipples or cause allergic reactions in the mother or infant; only treatments specifically recommended to the mother by a healthcare professional – doctor, midwife, lactation consultant – should be used.”
Other breast care tips include these:
- Be alert for possible allergic reactions to breast shields, creams or other ointments applied to the breast.
- Don’t allow your breast pads to remain against the skin when damp, because breakdown and cracking of the nipple may occur. Should this happen, opening the nursing bra – permitting the breasts to air dry – may correct the situation. Some women may use a hairdryer on the lowest setting to dry the nipples, but care must be taken not to burn the breasts.
- Inspect your breasts daily, looking for red areas, small white cysts and basically any abnormality.
- If using a breast pump, take care that the directions are followed exactly and avoid excessive pressure or using the pump for long periods of time without stopping.
- Wash breasts with water only. Using soap can dry your nipples and cause them to crack.
- Express some milk on your breasts after breastfeeding and let your nipples air dry.
- Make sure you begin nursing on the side that you finished with during the last nursing session. This alternates the increased pressure of a hungry baby and may prevent soreness. If you can’t remember which side you ended on, use a reminder like Fresh Baby’s Mama Jewels.
- A good, supportive nursing bra will make you feel much more comfortable.
Remember, making sure the equipment is in proper running order ensures that the equipment is there when you need it to be! Taking care of your breasts while breastfeeding can avoid many possible problems and help keep breastfeeding an enjoyable experience for both you and your baby.
