Hello, Janet.
Here are some thoughts about this mother's situation, not necessarily
in order:
First, even if she can't find a reason/solution to the pain in the left
breast, she could decide to breastfeed only from the right breast, since that one
works well and is healthy. She *doesn't* need to completely wean over this.
That said, here are some other ideas to explore:
Since this occurs primarily at night feedings, and there is blanching of the
nipple which might be an indication of clamping, is the baby lying differently
(slightly different position) when mom nurses on left than when she nurses on
right side? Maybe he can't move his jaw as deeply, or doesn't feel as well
supported so he clamps for support? Or does she leave the baby on the same
side of her all night and just "aim" the chosen breast towards the baby? Some
mothers don't move baby from one side of mother's body to the other during the
night, but instead leave baby on one side and kind of lean over more when they
want to offer the "top" breast. This might be causing baby to change his
angle of approach (latch-on) enough to be causing damage to only one breast. It
might not be the "top" breast. If mother is large-breasted and her nipples
point toward her elbows rather than straight ahead, it could be that the "bottom"
nipple (as mom and baby lie side-by-side) is aiming into the mattress and
baby has a hard time keeping it in his mouth correctly.
I have run into a mother who had thrush in only one breast. We
couldn't conquer it until I finally had her into the office and observed a feeding.
It turns out that baby couldn't turn his head well to one side, so he could
nurse just fine on one breast, but kept damaging the other one. His constant
abrasion of the one nipple broke the intregrity of the skin on only the one
nipple (intact skin is first-line defense against infections), so she had thrush
only in one breast. A couple of visits to the pediatric chiropractor solved
the baby's neck stiffness, and hence solved mother's thrush (with appropriate
medication that could finally work since the damage could heal).
Just a few ideas.
Dee
Dee Kassing, BS, MLS, IBCLC, RLC
Collinsville IL, in central USA
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