When Breastfeeding Hurts: 6 Signs that Your Baby’s Latch Needs Work

For the long term, we recommend meeting with an experienced lactation provider. It’s critical to be seen sooner rather than later to help prevent further damage and start building good latching habits.

Many new moms are told that breastfeeding will hurt. This is a myth! The truth is, breastfeeding shouldn’t be painful. If you’re in pain, it could be due to an improper latch. Besides the pain, there are a few other clues that can tell us if your baby’s latch needs help. 

Here are six warning signs to look out for that could indicate that your baby is not latching properly.

1. Feeding hurts, like, a lot.

For the most part, breastfeeding shouldn’t be painful. We can expect a small amount of pain or discomfort, especially during the early weeks as your breast tissue is getting accustomed to being stretched in new ways. Some pain during the initial latch can be expected during these early weeks. You may also feel a burning or tingling during let-down, or when your milk starts to flow. You should not experience significant, toe-curling pain, and you should not be in pain during the entire feed. 

2. Your nipples come out looking like a tube of lipstick.

After a feeding, you may notice your nipple come out flat on one side, like a tube of lipstick. You may also see your nipple come out looking smooshed or white at the tip. These are signs of nipple compression, caused by improper latch. Compression can cause pain and injury to the nipple and make it harder for your baby to get milk.

3. Your nipples are cracking or bleeding.

Though it can be common, cracked or bleeding nipples are not something we want to see. It isn’t always a sign of a bad latch, but you should probably get it checked out anyway. Cracked nipples don’t just cause pain; they can also open the door for germs and infection.

4. Your baby is making clicking sounds when feeding.

You may notice your baby making clicking sounds while feeding. This is caused by the baby breaking suction during the feeding. The loss of suction can cause the nipple to slip and move around more, increasing pain.

5. Your baby’s cheeks are dimpled while feeding.

This indicates the baby is using suction instead of using their tongue to transfer milk. This can cause more shallow suckling that is irritating to the nipple.

6. Your baby’s mouth angle is narrow. 

When feeding, check out the corner of your baby’s mouth. It should be nice and wide, about 120 degrees or more. If it’s 90 degrees or less, this could mean their latch is shallow.

What Can Be Done?

Keep in mind, if you’re experiencing any of these things, but you’re not in pain and baby is swallowing, you may not need to do anything. Even if your latch doesn’t look completely perfect, it’s not a problem unless it’s causing a problem. As the saying goes, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. 

For the short term, if you’re experiencing pain during a feed, you can unlatch your baby and try again. To break the latch, insert your finger into the corner of your baby’s mouth to break the seal. Don’t pull baby off the nipple!

For the long term, we recommend meeting with an experienced lactation provider. It’s critical to be seen sooner rather than later to help prevent further damage and start building good latching habits.

We offer in-home and in-office lactation support with our Certified Lactation Counselors. We want everyone to have the support they need to get off to a good start and have a pleasant breastfeeding journey. If you’re noticing any of these issues, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us! You deserve dedicated support.