Excerpted from Maternity Leave: A New Mother’s Guide to the First Six Weeks Postpartum. Used with permission.

Many new mothers experience the pain and discomfort associated with sore or cracked nipples. While sore nipples are fairly common, they can detract from the overall breast-feeding experience and can even lead to infection. In her book, Mater-nity Leave: A New Mother’s Guide to the First Six Weeks Postpartum, Cheryl Zauderer offers some simple but effective methods to heal sore nipples and alleviate discomfort.

She first suggests troubleshooting the situation by ensuring that your infant properly latches onto your breast—a shallow latch can actually cause sore nipples. In her words, “when your baby is latched well, your nipple will be far back in her mouth. If the nipple is not back far enough, she will suck only on your nipple,” which can cause unnecessary discomfort and pain (p. 95). She also suggests that mothers take care when removing their breast from their baby’s mouth, “taking your newborn off the nipple without break-ing suction can cause bruising or pain in the nipple” (p. 96). Simply put, do not just pop your nipple free; first use your pinky to break your infant’s suction, and then remove your nipple from your baby’s mouth.

Simple Ways toTreat Sore NipplesWinter Lopez

In order to ensure that the infant latches properly, Cheryl offers a list of cues to look for. These include the following:

SS Your baby has a mouthful of breast and a tight seal around the areola.

SS There are deep sucking and swallowing sounds.

SS You feel a pulling or tugging sensation.

SS Your newborn’s cheeks are not dimpled or puckered (middle of cheek caving in).

SS You do not hear a smacking or clicking sound.

SS You feel a tingling and pulling sensation in your breast, which indicates letdown. (Please note that some moth-ers do not feel this. No need to worry if the other things are going well.)

SS There is no milk leaking from the corners of her mouth while she is feeding.

SS Your breast begins to soften as your baby is feeding.

SS Your baby detaches from your breast and appears sleepy and satiated (drunken sailor) at the end of a feeding.

If you have any questions or concerns about proper latching, try contacting a lactation consultant.

Excerpted from Maternity Leave: A New Mother’s Guide to the First Six Weeks Postpartum. Used with permission.

In addition to ensuring your baby has latched on properly, check for possible infections. Keep an eye out for symptoms of infection, “such as fever, chills, flu-like symptoms,” and/or “red streaks” (p.100). If you feel an infection may be present, immediately contact your health care provider. It is always best to address infections immediately than to allow the condition to worsen.

In short, while sore and cracked nipples can detract from the breastfeeding experience, do not become discouraged. Soreness affects many new mothers, and as Cheryl illustrates, there are many ways to treat it.

Excerpted from Maternity Leave: A New Mother’s Guide to the First Six Weeks Postpartum. Used with permission.

Once the cause of your nipple soreness has been determined and addressed, Cheryl offers some simple, but effective ways to alleviate pain and promote healing. These include:

SS Offer your least sore nipple first, as a new-born’s suck will be more vigorous the first few minutes of a feeding.

SS Alternate breastfeeding positions at each feeding. Changing positions will force the baby to suck on different areas of the nipple, alternating pressure on the area of your nip-ple that is sore.

SS Express some colostrum or milk and ap-ply it around the nipple area that is sore or cracked. There are healing properties in co-lostrum and breast milk. This can be helpful unless there is a yeast infection.

SS Wash sore or cracked nipples with warm wa-ter, then air or gently pat dry. A gentle soap may be used a couple of times a day to pre-vent infection while the wound heals.

SS Keep nipples dry in between feedings.

SS Apply cool, moist compresses.

SS You can try wearing a breast shell under your shirt, which will push the fabric off your sore nipples allowing them to air dry.

SS Ultra-pure lanolin allows the wound to heal, as well as helping to prevent further crack-ing. This can be very soothing and protects cracked and damaged nipples. It is safe for mothers and babies.

SS Hydrogel pads, such as Ameda Comfort-Gel Hydrogel Pads, or Lansinoh Soothies Gel Pads, provide soothing relief and encourage healing of sore, cracked nipples. They can also be worn discreetly under your clothes.

SS If all else fails and your nipples are extreme-ly uncomfortable, you can try pumping milk, using a hospital-grade pump, and feeding it to your newborn in a bottle or a cup for a little while until your nipples heal. Make sure that you are using the pump properly and the flanges (breast shields) that come with the pump fit your nipples properly. If they are too small they can actually cause sore nipples or add more trauma to already sore nipples.

*Folk remedies, such as applying dried tea bags, and drying the nipple with a hairdryer, are not advised.

*Contact a lactation consultant if you do not have relief from any of the above remedies in a day or so.