Watching your little one during nursing is a happy thing to do💕. But ouch! nipple pain that comes along shouldn’t be something you’ve expected🫣!
Nipple blanching?
🤔What is it?
Nipple blanching is when your nipple gets whitened and the tip turns into a funny shape after right nursing. A white stripe could appear across your nipple as well. As blood flow returns in a few minutes, souring pain could follow😵.
🤔Why does it happen?
A poor latch is the main reason for nipple blanching. Also, if the milk flows too fast, your baby will try to control the flow by clamping down your nipple. You might want to doubt if your little one has a palate problem or a tongue tie, which can cause problems with nursing.
Nipple vasospasms?
🧐What is it?
Nipple vasospasm happens to almost a quarter of all new moms, within the first 8 weeks of the baby’s birth, but rarely can occur during the pregnancy period.
It brings intense pain after nursing😵, and the pain worsens when you are cold. The color of the nipple can become white, red, purple, or even blue for a few moments.
🧐Why does it happen?
The cause for nipple vasospasms is not clear, but moms who have it tend to have cold fingers and feet 👣, or have rheumatoid arthritis, hypothyroidism, or lupus as a family history. A very cold environment or damaged nipples could be other possible factors as well, but both are not the exact cause of nipple vasospasms.
Treatment for nipple blanching and vasospasms
As mentioned above, the main reason for nipple blanching is a poor latch, so working on smooth lactation can fix the problem. You may want to talk to a lactation consultant to help you out👩⚕️.
Treatment for nipple vasospasms, on the other hand, can be more challenging because there is no clear reason why it happens. So trying out treatments depending on your symptoms would be helpful.
✔️Nursing in a warm environment
If your nipple hurts more when you are cold, try nursing in a warmer place🌺. Wear warm clothes every day to keep your body temperature, and cover your breasts right away after you finish nursing to keep your nipples warm.
✔️Giving a small massage can help you!
If you have pain, try massaging your areola and your chest muscles with oil before feedings. (Olive oil can be a good choice!🫒) 60 seconds for each side would be enough to stimulate your breasts and calm the pain. If none of these treatments works, try pain relievers that are safe to use during breastfeeding, such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen in order to lessen the pain!