Antonia's story: the difficulty of breastfeeding with flat nipples
I'd always thought I'd breastfeed my babies, and was devastated to find that it wasn't as easy as I'd thought. When D was born she latched on just fine but very soon I had to deal with sore nipples, even bleeding. I spent three weeks trying to solve the problem with help from the midwives. I expressed to give my nipples a chance to recover, but just couldn't get the latch right for comfortable feeding. When Dh went back to work, I reluctantly switched to formula.
Over the next couple of years I chewed over what had happened, determined that I'd get more help and ensure that I could breastfeed my next baby. I read up, and decided that my problem may have been due to flat nipples. I'd just stuck D on the breast without thinking about my nipples at all, and I wondered if letting her suck hard until they were the right shape had added to the problems. I got contact numbers for various breastfeeding helplines and the local breastfeeding counsellor.
J's birth was much easier than D's so I was less exhausted to start with, and I was very careful to shape my nipple before letting him latch on. Breastfeeding was much more successful this time with no pain at all. I continued breastfeeding J until he was nearly 3: we stopped because my milk production dried up significantly 4 or 5 months into my third pregnancy.
With baby no 3, K, I gave breastfeeding little thought before the birth and assumed that it would be straightforward. In fact he was 10lb7 at birth and much hungrier than J, much more like D. But with 3 years of experience I managed to feed him successfully: I had plenty of fast flowing milk which satisfied him. He's 9 months and still feeding well. I'm certainly going to feed him until he's a year and after that we'll see. I've found it far easier to cope with teething when breastfeeding: it seems to help with comfort and pain relief.
I wish I'd be able to feed D for longer. I know, though, that the three weeks I did manage to feed for contributed to her health and development. It has been great to breastfeed my boys and much easier than bottlefeeding.
Antonia of www.familyfriendlyworking.co.uk
Created: November 21, 2009
