Help!
I have a mom who has experienced sharp shooting pain from nipple into breast.
It feels like a knife going in. She had had sore nipples and latch-on
problems but those had resolved before the shooting pain started in only one
breast. She stopped nursing on that side and was pumping and then got a
breast infection. So she's being treated with keflex and the doctor wants her
to pump and dump because the infection "may be in her blood stream". The
shooting pain has stopped in the one breast but seems to be starting in the
other. To complete the list of problems the baby is extremely sleepy and is
not gaining. So she is supplementing and since she's dumping milk from one
side, she needs to use some formula. Several people including me have told
her it's safe to breastfeed. When I saw them today the baby latched well and
was fairly vigorous, good swallowing, but not for real long, maybe ten
minutes and then fell asleep. It's also been difficult to wake her to feed
more than six times a day. She's 2 weeks old and not back to birth weight,
but she looks alert and hydrated. Mom is going to do some more regular
pumping. I think she is dealing with the weight gain issue. I'm most worried
about the shooting pain. I think mom will give up if it gets worse again.
Marilee Woodworth IBCLC
Private Practise