Helping your nipples to heal Lightly press a warm water compress (e.g. using a soft washcloth) onto your nipples after a feed. Gently smear a little breastmilk onto your nipples and let it dry. Keep nipples dry between feeds. Change breast pads regularly if you're using them.
Apply emollient creams, such as lanolin-based creams or coconut oil, to the nipples after breastfeeding. This can soften the skin and reduce cracking. Some people even apply breast milk to the nipples and allow it to dry, which can prevent cracking and has antibacterial properties.
The duration of the healing will vary. Superficial and recent soreness may clear in a matter of hours or days. However, long-established and profound wounds may require a up to 2 or 3 weeks to be entirely resolved even after the cause of the soreness has been eliminated.
If your nipples are cracked or bleeding, it's okay to continue breastfeeding your baby. To help relieve your discomfort, use the care tips given above. Call your doctor or a lactation consultant if you find it too painful to breastfeed or if you've tried home treatment for 24 hours and it doesn't help.
First – on their own, sore nipples won't cause your milk supply to decrease. Milk supply is primarily driven by demand. That means that the more milk you remove from your breasts (either via your baby nursing or a breast pump), the more milk your body should make.
Usually, nipple fissures appear because your baby isn't latching onto your breast to nurse correctly. Your baby may struggle to get enough milk, putting more strain on sensitive nipple tissue as they try to feed.
Research shows warm, moist heat is soothing for sore nipples and can help your skin heal faster. To use moist heat, run a clean washcloth or cloth diaper under warm (not hot) water, squeeze out the extra water and place it directly over your nipple.
It doesn't matter how well your baby latches—if your nipples have cracks or cuts or are bleeding or bruised, breastfeeding can hurt. That's why it's important to give them as many opportunities to heal as possible.
Breastfeeding or Pumping Often to Avoid Engorgement
The truth is, frequent feedings and pumping sessions help to prevent breast engorgement. Empty your breast every 2-3 hours during this time. Keeping the milk flowing will help avoid excess build-up of milk, causing pain and sometimes cracking of nipples.
If your sore nipples are causing you so much discomfort that you feel like you need to take a break from breastfeeding, don't worry! You can still use a breast pump to express your milk. This will give your nipples a rest, while allowing you to continue to give your baby all the benefits breastmilk can provide.
If you can, continue breastfeeding (it is quite safe for baby to feed on a bleeding nipple). But if it's too painful, you may need to take your baby off the breast for 24 to 48 hours, rest the nipple and feed your baby expressed breast milk.
Air-dry your nipples or dab them gently with a towel. Women used to be told to rub their nipples to toughen them up, but this isn't advised any more – thank goodness! There's no need to clean the breast or nipples before breastfeeding.
Some women find rubbing breast milk onto their nipples can be soothing. Products like Vaseline or lanolin can help with dry or cracked nipples (although there's little evidence to show what really works well). After each feed, let your nipples dry before getting dressed – change your breast pads after every feed.
Laid back positioning.
A study by Milinco, et al (2018) showed that these positions can reduce the numbers of mothers experiencing nipple pain and damage by 58%. In these positions you recline back to an angle of between 15-65 degrees and baby lays on his tummy on your body.
Some women find that the friction from pumping frequently can cause cracked nipples, even if their breast shields are properly sized. One thing that can help with this is lubrication.
Nipple pain is common in the early days of breastfeeding. This is because your nipples are not used to breastfeeding. The pain lasts for a short time, usually around 1 week. Soreness that continues throughout the breastfeed, or lasts for more than 1 week of breastfeeding, is not normal.
What causes it? Mastitis most often happens when bacteria enter the breast through the nipple. This can happen when a nursing mother has a cracked or sore nipple. Going for a long time between nursing sessions or not emptying the breast completely may also make mastitis more likely.
Pushing the Tongue Down and Out
Turn the finger over slowly so that the finger pad is on the baby's tongue and push down on his/her tongue while gradually pulling the finger out of the mouth. Repeat this exercise several times before latching the baby onto the breast.
Signs of a Poor Breastfeeding Latch
Your child is sucking in their cheeks as they try to breastfeed. Your baby does not have their lips out like a fish. You can see that they have their lips tucked in and under, instead. You can hear a clicking or smacking noises as your little one tries to suck.