All You Need to Know About Breastfeeding Challenges

Breastfeeding – A Roller Coaster Ride

When you become a mom, most of your time goes into breastfeeding your baby. Though it is a beautiful journey, breastfeeding is full of ups and down. For new mothers, it is a rollercoaster ride. They face many challenges. The only solution is to have proper knowledge of breastfeeding challenges and their solutions.

Common Breastfeeding Challenges

There are several challenges while you start your journey of breastfeeding. They are as follows:

1. Low Milk Supply

Many new mothers are concerned about whether their babies getting enough milk or not. Though it is common, mothers should know some causes that can cause low milk supply. 

Some common things that cause low milk supply include:

• Giving your baby formula  
• Limiting breastfeeding sessions
• Introducing solid foods at an early age
• Lack of sleep
• Side effects of certain birth control pills
• Sore nipples
• Drinking too much alcohol  
• Smoking
• Side effects of breast surgery

Babies usually feed 8 to 12 times a day. Rather than worrying about the low milk supply, you can judge whether your baby is getting enough milk or not by observing their growth, weight, activity, and mood. 

To avoid a low milk supply problem, you can follow these steps:

• Breasting your baby whenever they are hungry.
• Ensure that your baby is latching well.
• Breastfeed from both breasts.
• Avoid using bottles.
• Get plenty of sleep.
• Empty your breast after each feeding session.
• Sore Nipples

While you are still adjusting to breastfeeding, your nipples may get tender and sensitive. The common causes of sore nipples can be improper latching of the baby while feeding, nipple trauma, milk bluster, and fungal infections. Sore nipples due to improper latching can be corrected by positioning your baby correctly while breastfeeding. Identifying this suffering sore issue and seeking medical advice timely can soothe sore nipples.

2. Breast Engorgement

Breast engorgement may happen in the initial days of breastfeeding. It is a condition where your breast gets too full of milk causing them tight, hard, and painful. On initial days, due to hormonal changes mammary glands in the breast produce milk too quickly. As your baby is still learning to adjust to breastfeeding. On the other side, breast engorgement can happen when your baby is not feeding frequently, or he is older and started weaning.

3. Ineffective Sucking or Latching Problems

Both you and your baby are new to breastfeeding. You both will learn it through practice. In this process, establishing a proper latch is quite important to make breastfeeding comfortable. It also ensures that your baby is getting enough milk. If your baby is not latching properly, it will result in a sore nipple and the baby is not getting enough milk. To know whether your baby is latching properly or not, you can observe the following signs:

• Baby is just taking a nipple in the mouth and not the entire areola.
• Leaking of milk from the corner of the baby’s mouth.
• Breastfeeding session is painful.
• Baby falls sleeps quickly while feeding.
• Baby’s jaw is not moving or is not swallowing.
• Blocked Milk Duct

If breast engorgement doesn’t subside, it can result in blocked milk ducts. The common signs of a blocked milk duct you can observe are small, tender lumps in your breast. If left untreated, it can progress into infections. Continuing breastfeeding, expressing remaining milk after the feeding session, and massaging your breast before a session can help in subsiding the blocked milk duct.

4. Mastitis  

If a blocked milk duct is left untreated, it can lead to breast inflammation due to infection. In this condition, the breast becomes painful, red, and swollen, and you may have flu-like symptoms. Mastitis also results due to hyperlactation (overproduction of milk). Seeking medical advice for mastitis is a good idea.

Conclusion

Breastfeeding is an overwhelming experience after the birth of your baby. As you lack that experience you tend to make several mistakes. You must acquire proper knowledge so you can master this art. With practice, breastfeeding can become a good experience for you and your baby.