There is a period of time for most breastfeeding mothers when their nipples hurt so much they think about giving up.
The breasts get bruised by their sucking babies, and each feeding can become more and more unbearable. It usually starts a few days after the birth, and can last from one day to several.
Many mothers say that right when it got so painful they decided to give it just one more try, the pain eased. Once breast tissue has a chance to toughen up, most breastfeeding is pain free.
Some people recommend Lansinoh Brand Lanolin to ease cracked and sore nipples. If you enter the coupon code "Lansinoh HPA Lanolin" when ordering it from Diapers.com you will get a special Examiner.com discount of $1 off, until January 1, 2010.
The biggest lie that I heard prior to the birth of my first daughter was, “Breast-feeding doesn’t hurt.” Then, after it started hurting like hell, I was told: “If it’s hurting, you’re doing it wrong.” This statement led to many days of angst for me during my first foray into breast-feeding. I had lactation consultants telling me that it simply “shouldn’t hurt” or that I should just apply more lanolin or cool gel pads (such as these) to my breasts between feedings. Get breast feeding products at Mom and Baby Shop
Within 10 days of my first daughter’s birth, I was crazed in my pursuit of a pain-free feeding. I had a special pillow that I would wrap around my waist (I used the Le Cuddler, rather than the popular My Brest Friend), and I would ever-so-carefully position her fuzzy newborn head just at nipple level. I would encourage her to open her mouth wide in order to take in the entire areola, then—pop—I’d stick her on.
A second later, I would yowl with pain as she began to eat. It hurt as bad as labor contractions! Tears of pain and frustration flowed down my face as my daughter filled up on breast milk. I knew that breast-feeding was the best way to feed my newborn, but I began to dread each feeding.
After having fed three babies from these beleaguered breasts, this is what I know: I was doing nothing wrong. I just have to go through the pain until my boobs toughen up to the task. Now I have the “latch” and the “flange” working fine—I simply need to wince, wail, and wait for the pain to subside. This is what I learned through trial and error.
Back then, I finally used a breast pump when I couldn’t stand the pain anymore. The machine was much gentler than my daughter, and I could feed her through a bottle for half a day while taking a break from the pain.
Though that was a temporary solution, I also happened upon a remedy to the pain—and it wasn’t changing the “latch” or using refrigerated pads on my breasts.
After dutifully slathering lanolin on my breasts, I—quite by accident—fell asleep in my shirtless state on the hammock in the backyard. The combination of the lanolin and the direct sunshine burned off the remaining blistered skin, and every feeding from then on out became progressively easier.
Get breast feeding products at Mom and Baby Shop The nerve endings in my breasts just had to “give up”—after the blisters, cracking, constant assault, and sunburn—and I enjoyed a relatively pain-free nursing relationship. With my second child, I endured this same process. Though I tried to moisturize, using lanolin or cooling pads on my breasts only seemed to worsen the pain.
So when my third daughter was born two months ago, ready to eat from the moment she emerged, I had a plan.
The nice nurses in the hospital urged me to use lanolin, but I pushed the soothing lotions and pads away. Instead, I simply coated my nipples with expressed milk between feedings. Plus, I gave them as much air as possible—letting the blisters dry and allowing the skin to go back through a kind of basic training.
The result? My breasts gave up much earlier. I have been able to feed my child every few hours from the moment of her birth, wincing and swearing until the pain subsided.
I just wish someone had told me this during my first foray into breast-feeding years ago—that it is possible to be doing everything right and still suffer terrible pain. In fact, I have met very few women who haven’t discovered—to their surprise—that breast-feeding hurts. It hurts worse if you’re doing it wrong. And it hurts less as time goes by. But it hurts almost all first-timers. But then the day comes when the pain subsides, and the baby sighs contentedly and curls against my belly while drinking milk I’ve made just for her. And the whole thing—sore nipples and all—is worth it.
Toys 'R' Us, Maclaren, Peg Perego, Medela, Baby Bjorn, Britax Face Class Action
Suit Alleges Price-Fixing With Manufacturers on Strollers, Other Products. By JOSEPH PEREIRA
A federal judge granted class-action status to a consumer lawsuit that accuses a unit of Toys "R" Us Inc. and five manufacturers of conspiring to fix prices on a variety of baby goods, including strollers, high chairs, car seats and breast pumps.
Plaintiffs say prices on more than $500 million in baby products sold by Babies 'R' Us between 2001 and 2006 were controlled by minimum-pricing agreements. Above, a Toys 'R' Us/Babies 'R' Us store in Elizabeth, N.J..
Defendants in the case had sought to have it dismissed, relying in part on a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that minimum-pricing agreements between manufacturers and retailers were no longer inherently illegal, as they had been treated judicially for decades. The high court said the pacts could be lawful if consumer benefits -- such as better service -- outweighed the harm of paying higher prices.
The baby-goods suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia two years ago, is unusual because similar price-fixing allegations have been thrown out by judges in the wake of the Supreme Court decision.
The suit seeks an unspecified amount in compensatory and punitive damages.
In her ruling Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Anita Brody said that while agreements "setting minimum resale prices can have pro-competitive justifications," the Supreme Court "stated that lower courts must be diligent in eliminating their anticompetitive uses from the market." Judge Brody also pointed out that in its decision the Supreme Court warned that minimum pricing agreements enforced by a "dominant retailer" could also be anticompetitive.
Plaintiffs argued that the Babies "R" Us unit of Toys "R" Us is such a retailer. Plaintiffs attorney Elizabeth Fegan said prices on more than $500 million in baby products sold by Babies "R" Us between 2001 and 2006 were controlled by minimum pricing agreements.
The other defendants named in the suit include: Maclaren Ltd. of the U.K.; Italy's Peg Perego SpA; Medela Inc., of Switzerland; Sweden's Baby Bjorn AB; the Britax Childcare unit of Carlyle Group LLC. Plaintiffs said Babies "R" Us accounted for between 10% to 50% of the manufacturers' U.S. sales. Toys "R" Us, based in Wayne, N.J., declined to comment. Officials at the manufacturers couldn't be reached.
Greg Gundlach, a marketing professor at the University of North Florida, who isn't involved with the case, estimates that consumers paid $85 million to $100 million more for the goods in question than they would have without pricing agreements. Mr. Gundlach said he based his estimate on a U.S. Department of Justice study in the mid-1970s that found consumers historically have paid between 19% to 27% more when vertical pricing agreements are implemented. Write to Joseph Pereira at joe.pereira@wsj.com
There could soon be new rights for breastfeeding mothers in New York State.The New York State Senate has just passed a bill that would require mothers to be informed of breastfeeding options before they deliver -- and while they're in the hospital. The bill would also give mothers the right to refuse any product samples or take-home packets of formula.
The Senate says too many mothers are pressured out of breastfeeding because of the information they receive from formula companies -- despite the health and economic benefits that breastfeeding provides.The bill also passed the House. It now goes to Governor Paterson.
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