Breastfeeding can be a wonderful experience for both babies and mothers alike. Unfortunately, if it’s not going well in the beginning due to ineffective suckling, nipple pain, or engorged breasts, it might be discouraging and not seem worth the effort of continuing. So what should you do if this is the case?
Consult Your GP Or Healthcare Provide
If breastfeeding isn’t going well, visit your GP or a healthcare professional for advice and reassurance. You’ll probably need some help from the professionals if your baby isn’t latching on properly, isn’t gaining weight, or if you are suffering from cracked and sore nipples. However, once your breastfeeding difficulties are resolved, you can return to your GP for breastfeeding advice.
Give artificial feeding a try. It’s best if you can get some advice from family members, friends, or health visitors before you decide to make any changes. Often this is the way things get resolved. You may think that once your breasts have gone back to normal again and your baby is latching properly, it will be easier to continue breastfeeding.
Pump and Store Breast Milk
If breastfeeding is frustrating and not going as well as you’d hoped, consider pumping and storing breast milk to use instead. You can try expressing breast milk manually- If your baby is not latching on properly and you’d like to rest, try to express breast milk by hand first.
You can also combine both hand expression and breastfeeding for easy feeding. Breastfeed once your baby is sitting up. You can try starting to feed your baby once it is sitting up in the hope that this will improve breastfeeding. At this point, the baby usually has a good latch and will get plenty of milk.
Apply Cold Therapy To Breasts
To help ease pain or cracked nipples, you could try applying a cold pack to them. You can use frozen peas in a plastic bag or ice cubes wrapped in a tea towel. You can put it on for up to 10 minutes at a time.
Try Donor Milk
If breastfeeding is not working well for you, speak to your health visitor or midwife about whether donor milk can be readily available. Donor milk can be used within a few hours after birth and may help offset the milk and parenting problems.
Consider a Nipple Shield
You may also wish to consider using a nipple shield if you’re suffering from very sore nipples. It is not ideal because it essentially changes how babies latch on, but it can make breastfeeding more comfortable for mothers experiencing pain. It’s a good idea to check with your health visitor or midwife before using a nipple shield since it is not suitable for all babies.
Try A Home Trial
If you can’t manage to breastfeed, you may wish to consider going for a home trial first. It may be the cheapest way to ensure the problem is resolved without professional help. You should speak with your GP about approaching this because you may need some assistance.
Try A Different Breastfeeding Position
If you’re unsure what breastfeeding position is best, experiment with several positions. Different positions work for different people. If your baby isn’t latching on properly or effectively, try moving around until you find a position that works best for you and your baby.
Find The Right Formula For Your Baby
Do you find that the formula you’re given is not providing enough nutrition for your baby? Check with your GP or a registered nutritionist to see if you can provide your baby with more of the right stuff like the HiPP stage 1 Dutch organic formula. Be patient if you’re struggling with breastfeeding and want to give it up; being patient will help. It is not the end of your breastfeeding journey. You can always return to it when it works for you again.
Wrapping Up
Thankfully, there are many different options If you’re new to breastfeeding and facing difficulty. If you need professional support with breastfeeding, do not hesitate to ask for help. It can sometimes take a bit of time and patience until you are comfortable breastfeeding your baby, but the result will be well worth it.
