Dear Lactnetters,

I am looking for some experienced advice on a matter please.  As a  
CLC, I am just way in over my head here.  I searched the archives but  
found nothing that appears to be relevant.  So here goes:

I have a friend who has been exclusively nursing her son since his  
birth five months ago.  We've worked and worked on the latch but it  
doesn't seem to make a difference because his latch  usually looks  
good on the outside: wide gape, outward curl, lots of tissue in the  
mouth and all that, but still she continues to suffer from sore  
nipples.  (Could he have a short frenulum?  Or a high palette?)

In addition to this, she's had more than a few episodes of pretty  
heavy blood flow from the nipples while nursing, particularly on the  
right side.  One night she even thought that her son was bleeding  
because of the large quantity of blood on his face.  He also has  
melina stools after these 'episodes' so it's quite a bit of blood  
that he's ingesting.  He has even spit up what looked like pure  
blood.  She also experiences sharp prickly pains that shoot up her  
breast.  She says it feels like it goes from the nipples and up the  
ducts.  It happens during nursing and continues even after her baby  
is finished and has come off her breast.  Again,  primarily on the  
right side but a little on the left as well.  I would like to note  
that the right side produces significantly greater quantities of milk  
when she pumps.  I looked and looked at her nipples and saw a few  
tell-tale crescent shaped cracks at the base of her nipple which says  
appear from time to time.  To me, the pain and cracks point to a poor  
latch.  But what about the blood and pain?  I don't see any signs of  
thrush.

I just don't know what to do!   Please help!

P.S. the last episode with the blood was well over a month ago.   
Hopefully it is gone for good.  But I am still curious to hear what  
this could possibly be.  Many thanks!

cian sawyer, CLC
Nassau, Bahamas


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