Breastfeeding is the most special gift from a mother to her baby, especially in the growth and development of her infant. This is why mothers are required to breastfeed their newborn babies for at least 6 months. But because of some discomforts while breastfeeding, some mothers would opt to give feeding formulas to their kids to avoid the pains.

Breastfeeding your baby successfully and painfully takes a lot of love, patience, perseverance, determination, and, of course, proper techniques.

You may consider these tips on how you can alleviate breastfeeding discomforts and give your child the best nourishment there could be:

Engorgement – This is the most common problem of new breastfeeding mothers. Two to three days after giving birth, the breast will normally feel full. Upon frequent breastfeeding your baby, the fullness will decrease within two or three weeks. If the breast milk is not being removed regularly, this is the time that engorgement of the breast will take effect. The breast will then feel tender and painful and the engorgement will eventually flatten the nipple causing the baby to have difficulty on latching.

To treat this, you will need to use cold compress to decrease the swelling, or you could take a hot shower bath or warm water breast rinse. You can also massage your nipple before letting the infant latch on it. To avoid flattening of the nipples, make hand expression on the areola before feeding time and, as much as possible feed the baby frequently but shorter than longer.

Sore Nipples – Nipples become sore and painful only if the mother failed to put the infant at the right or proper latching position.

To avoid having sore nipples, position your baby in such a way that the body of the infant faces you. It is important that the ears, shoulder, and hip are in a straight line. You can use pillows to keep the baby’s nose in proper level with your nipple and to avoid the baby from sliding down. Make sure that the baby’s mouth is wide open with the top and bottom lips flanged on the breast when latching, while your fingers pull up your breast and your thumb on top of the areola.

Cracked Nipples – If the skin of the nipples are cracked or chapped, it is still due to wrong latching position.

To treat the cracked skin on the nipples, avoid using ointments, lotions, or other topical treatments. What you should do is to put the whole nipple inside the mouth of the infant with the lips around the areola. Make sure that each breast will take turns on breastfeeding even if the nipple is cracked. This will prevent further pain later on. After the session, expose your breasts to air and sunshine for at least 15 minutes to have its own drying time. If you are comfortable with the use of nursing pads, choose cotton fabrics and change the pads regularly. Use clean and comfortable nursing bras made of 100% cotton and avoid using tight and underwire bras to maintain the smooth flow of milk and decrease the stimulation of lump breast.

Breastfeeding can be a wonderful moment of mother and infant bonding when you know what to do. Nothing can beat the mothers’ expression of love and care than breastfeeding.