Is breastfeeding supposed to hurt at first?

Breastfeeding shouldn’t be painful, but it’s common to feel some mild tenderness or a brief tugging sensation at first, especially in the first few days while you and your baby are learning the latch.

What’s not normal is sharp, pinching, burning, or persistent pain during the feed, or nipples that come out flattened, creased, cracked, bruised, or bleeding. Those signs often mean the latch needs to be adjusted.

A few things can help:

• Aim for a deep latch: wait for a wide-open mouth, then bring baby to the breast chin-first.
• If it hurts, break suction with a clean finger before trying again.
• Try different positions.
• After feeds, you can rub a few drops of expressed breast milk on the nipples or use medical-grade lanolin if it suits you.

If pain keeps happening, or if you have fever, flu-like symptoms, or a hard red warm swollen area on the breast, get medical help promptly.