Chestoor
Great discomfort during breastfeeding can also be caused by a fungal infection. This is caused by the yeast fungus Candida albicans and is known in technical jargon as Brustsoor or Thror. In the case of a fungal infection, the nursing woman usually complains of itching, burning and painful nipples.
In addition, the skin in the area of the nipples and areola can be reddened, scaly and cracked and show whitish coatings. The infant’s immune system is usually able to prevent the spread of the yeast infection. In infants with a limited function of the immune system, the fungal infection can be transmitted and thus cause an infection in the infant’s oral cavity (oral thrush in babies).
Immediate treatment of the chest thrush should be carried out. Usually this is done with the help of locally applied creams / gels with an antimycotic agent. Under this therapy the symptoms should improve significantly within a few days.
Female nipple shapes
In humans there are different natural nipple variants. One differentiates between so-called flat or inverted nipples and inverted nipples. Flat or inverted nipples can be pressed out by light pressure on the nipple atrium.
In addition, a flat or inverted nipple usually improves during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Only very few women have a inverted nipple where there is no nipple. Even women with a special natural nipple variant can breastfeed their baby if the correct application technique and good breastfeeding position are used. To ensure this they should get professional help, at best already during pregnancy. It is important that mothers with special nipple variants do not use pacifiers and feeding bottles for the time being, as this can lead to rejection of the differently shaped maternal nipple.
Duration of pain
The increased sensitivity of the nipples is usually of short duration and should disappear within a few weeks after the start of breastfeeding. The perception of the milk donor reflex, for example in the form of a tingling sensation, is usually quite pronounced in the first months of breastfeeding, but becomes less pronounced over time. In general, pain is a stressful situation for the human body and causes the release of various stress hormones such as adrenaline.
These stress hormones mean that all activities that do not contribute to escape or survival are no longer supported. Thus, in stressful situations, the release of the hormones important for breastfeeding, such as oxytocin or prolactin, is also delayed. The woman’s behavior is also influenced by the pain during breastfeeding.
Due to the pain stimulus, the baby is removed from the breast or the nursing woman adopts a protective position which can ensure that the newborn baby cannot grasp the breast ideally. This in turn means that the infant is given a smaller amount of breast milk and thus the production of breast milk is stimulated to a lesser extent. In addition to the pain, the delayed milk flow causes increasing frustration and insecurity for the woman, which can lead to the problems of breastfeeding becoming more acute.
Furthermore, the pain can also have a negative effect on the mother-child relationship. These are mainly caused by the limited release of the above-mentioned hormones, which normally ensure that the mother feels love and happiness towards her child.Physical reactions can also be triggered by the pain when breastfeeding. These include, for example, internal tension, a reduced immune system and an accelerated pulse. Due to the pain during breastfeeding, this actually very intimate moment can no longer be enjoyed by mother and child.
