 Dr.
Jane Morton,
Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford University School
of Medicine, is an expert on nursing premature infants as well
as a
member of the Breastfeeding.com medical advisory board. Dr.
Morton has answered many of your breastfeeding questions.
Dr. Morton works one-on-one with new mothers at the
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University,
teaching moms how to breastfeed successfully. In 1997, Focus
Magazine named Dr. Morton one of the "Best Doctors in the
Bay Area," and she was again selected by her peers as one
of "Silicon Valley's Best Physicians" as reported in
The Sane Jose Magazine in 1999.
 How can I prevent dry, cracked
nipples?
| NAME: |
Sharon |
| BABY'S NAME: |
Don't know yet!! (due November) |
| BABY'S AGE: |
|
This
is my first child and I plan to breastfeed. But I keep hearing
these stories from women who have had trouble breastfeeding like
dry, cracked nipples and actual bleeding. What can I do to
prevent this from happening?
Dear
Sharon,
The most important way to prevent having dry, cracked nipples is
to get the baby latched onto your breast well. What does this
mean?
If we draw an imaginary line from the tip of a baby's nose to
his earlobe, the mid-point of this line we could call the
"perfect point." This is just where we need to get
your nipple in your baby's mouth. To experiment, allow your
baby to suck on your finger and notice she/he pulls your finger
back to exactly this point in her/his mouth. All of the friction
of the jaw and the tongue is on your fingernail, not on the tip
of your finger. Similarly, all of the friction of the baby's
jaw and tongue should be on the areola, not on your nipple.
How
do you get your nipple this far back in your baby's mouth? A
good question. Here, pictures are much more valuable than words,
and this is exactly why I made a video about this. Perhaps you
can find some useful video clips on this Web site, or you could
order the whole video and watch it in the privacy of your own
home.
The most important features are these. Number one, shape the
breast more like a sandwich so that it is easier to have the
baby latch onto the breast, not just the nipple. Keep your
fingers parallel to your baby's lips so that you are shaping
the breast to fit in her/his mouth easily. Position him so that
she/he begins with nipple to nose. Stroke, her/his upper lip
with the nipple and wait for her/him to open his mouth wide,
then swiftly bring him to the breast, being careful that his
lower jaw is as far below the nipple as possible. Again, I think
it is easiest to see this in the video.
Women develop sore nipples not from nursing too long, but
from nursing "wrong." If you have flat or retractile
nipples, you will probably need some help from an experienced
lactation consultant. The breast shells can help shape the
nipple. I would discourage using soft nipple shields in this
situation. Hope this is helpful.
Important Disclaimer
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outcome of any services and/or advice you are given.
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person or entity for any loss or damage caused, or alleged to be have
been caused, directly or indirectly by the information or ideas
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is solely at your own risk
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