Breastfeeding Mothers Experiencing Persistent Pain

“I’m in so much pain my left nipple has been extremely dry for these past few months and recently it has started cracking and it hurts so much to even put on clothes. My 19 month old daughter is still breastfeeding ( I’m trying to wean as we speak don’t worry 🫩). But I’ve tried all the balms and nothing is working. Please help. submitted by /u/EnvironmentNo1013 [link] [comments]”

“Im 6 weeks pp. One side is completely fine. Other side the nipple is is in pain all the time. For the past 3 weeks ive been taking paracetamol and ibuprofen round the clock. It wakes me up at night. It stopped me from going for a walk yesterday. I've realised ive not held my baby against my chest for a few days and I always angle her feet away from me so she can't kick my breast. I first told my midwife and she thought it was letdown. She's seen me breastfeeding multiple times and ha”

“EDIT : SUCCESS ! I followed advice offered here and from some other threads and have cleared the blockage! Yikes that was concerning! So what I did was: Took Ibuprofen 200mg (was trying a low dose as had not taken since before pregnancy), then about an hour later applied ice to blockage for 15 mins , then had baby feed immediately. Repeat x2 . Thank you family 🙏🏼💖 Hey mums, so I made a post in r/newparents yesterday about my 6mo who has two teeth and bit my nipple so hard that one of them bro”

“I'm a first time mom & 4 weeks pp from a surprise c-section. Recovery has been hard and my nipples are on fire 24/7. I have to use a nipple guard because I have elastic nipples. It hurt so bad to breast feed that I switched to only pumping. I've gone through 3 different flange sizes, 2 different pumps, tried to switch back to breast but she doesn't get enough and is hungry 10 minutes later (no matter how long she's latched) and the pain is like no other. Now my supply is dipp”

“3 weeks postpartum. Why am I the one to tell professionals my baby’s latch is not good and it’s obvious she’s just gnawing on my nipples? Why am I the one to notice my nipples do not do well with pumps at all? No milk comes out despite different size flanges, techniques, etc… they’re obviously more elastic than need be. They even watched me pump. 5 people. 2 pediatricians, 3 lactation consultants (one being a midwife) and no one has checked baby for any ties in her mouth. Just “I hear her swallo”

“I realized I had a milk bleb on Sunday and it hurt so bad cause it was clogged. I tried scrubbing it/popping it with my nails at first but didn’t work so I did the salt + water using my haakaa to make the skin soft and nursed right after. It was almost coming out so I just used my nails to pinch it and it worked. Fast forward to today pumped at work and came home to realized that it bled and now scabbed. It hurts when I nurse LO now. What should I do to heal this asap so I can continue breastfee”

“Wondering if anyone has experienced the same thing or has any advice. It's been 2 weeks since I last breastfed. We did a very slow weaning over 1.5 months and he was barely eating when I stopped. About 4-5 days ago I started feeling a lot of pain in one breast. I can feel that there are some full milk ducts right around my nipple. When I push them milk comes out but I don't want to express and have that trigger making more milk. I've been taking ibuprofen and Sudafed for the last 3 d”

“I had a left breast ultrasound 2 months ago due to some pain. I now have a lump in the same spot. My 7 month old is not nursing as often as she is starting solids but this lump feels different than the surrounding tissue, so naturally I'm worried. I have a gyn appointment in 5 hours so I'm really freaking out. It feels round and can sort of roll around under my finger. It was a little painful a few days ago, but now it's painless. It hasn't changed in size and I can feel it more”

“Due to 4 nights of cluster feeding in hospital when my daughter was born I ended up with severe nipple damage (the LC said it’s the worst nipple damage she’s seen in 12 years). That’s healed now. Currently I’m BF during the day (1-3hourly) and pumping and bottle feeding overnight. But my nips, despite being healed from the initial trauma, are still in agony for 70% of feeds. For the whole feed. -I’ve seen 3 LC’s including a day stay BF clinic. - She pops on and off at latch time, making the pain”

“Just had our 2nd baby 5 days ago. Shes gaining weight and having plenty of dirty and wet diapers so transferring well. Her latch looks okay (flared lips, etc.) but my nipples are in so much pain when she's feeding and look dry, cracked, etc. Im trying to figure out if this is a latch issue or just my nipples getting use to their new full time job. With our first, we had latch issues so I used shields and pumped a lot in the early days and remember it being painful for a time, but she got big”

“Has anyone ever experienced sharp stabbing pain deep in their breast only after nursing, and not after pumping? It has been ongoing for me for a month now and no medical professionals can figure out why it’s happening. I had a mammogram and ultrasound and nothing was found. There are zero other symptoms. Could it have to do with how effectively baby removed milk compared to a pump? That’s literally the only thing I could think of that would cause this pain. Baby is 5 months old. Been breastfeedi”

“I’ve seen several stories and was hoping to hear from folks on their experience. I unfortunately experienced bilateral breast abscesses two weeks PP and now at 4 weeks I am still navigating needle aspiration and 2 I&D procedures. I am fortunate that my supply is such that I’ve been able to continue breastfeeding however I am concerned about what the next few months will look like. Questions: for reference the below questions relate to different abscesses that are at different stages of heali”

“I’m currently 4 weeks PP and using nipple shields to help with latch for inverted nipples (working on latch without but it’s slow progress) My left nipple hurts soooo much upon latch and is quite uncomfortable for the feed (gets bearable after 30 or so seconds) I’ve noticed that when it comes out it is indeed cracked or sore but not to the point of bleeding. How can I help this feel better? I dread feeding from my left boob at the moment 🫣 submitted by /u/MainJackfruit7101 [link] &#”

“I already had mastitis and a milk bleb at 3 weeks postpartum after I went 8 hours without feeding my baby. Thankfully, it resolved with antibiotics, regular feeding, ibuprofen, and ice. Then, around 4 weeks, I got another milk bleb, which eventually resolved after ibuprofen and my baby sucking it out. Now, at 6 weeks postpartum, I haven’t skipped a feed, but my breasts are feeling extremely hot, engorged, hard, and lumpy even after feeding. I’m pretty sure my baby’s shallow and painful latch may”

“For almost the last two weeks I've been struggling with a blocked duct in my right breast. I've been doing all the things - ibuprofen, cold compress, light lymphatic massage, sunflower lecithin. Because it has only been the right breast giving me issues, I figured out it was likely caused by letting bub rest on my right breast during contact naps on the couch and have since shifted to another way of holding her for napping. When the inflammation was at its worst, my right boob produced h”

“3 days postpartum. My nipples are cracked and painful. I cannot get a proper latch. I want to exclusively breastfeed but it hurts too much. The pump i have sucks. Im on the brink of a mental breakdown submitted by /u/Impossible_Mousse727 [link] [comments]”

“Last night I noticed pain in my breast (underboob area) and today I woke up with less pain only if I pressed on it, but now it’s warm and I’m noticing a red patch. My output on that side is also decreased. I have no fever or any other symptoms - just a slightly red spot and very warm to the touch. What can I do? Should I expect to feel sick soon? submitted by /u/Icy-Box-2713 [link] [comments]”

“I've looked around everywhere I can to find similar stories to mine and either I'm missing them or this really is my own personal hell. My first baby never latched properly so I pumped and she took a bottle basically straight out of the hospital. This time around (March 2026 baby) she latched right away, albeit not comfortably, but was transferring milk so I figured the pain would subside eventually. I did all the things, tried a nipple shield (nipples wouldn't go into the tip, makin”

“At 4 weeks postpartum I noticed a lump in my right breast. I was feeding baby as normal off the breast, taking ibuprofen, and icing for 2 days with increasing pain/hardness. I went to the ER and received antibiotics for mastitis as I had developed fever and body aches. Three days later I returned to the ER as my breast was still becoming increasingly painful and hard. An ultrasound was done which found a large abbess the size of a softball. An incision and drainage was done under anesthesia and”

“I'm nine weeks pp and dealing with severe recurrent mastitis/narrowed ducts in my right breast. My first round was treated with antibiotics, but the infection came back worse four days after I finished. My ducts seemed swollen shut and I couldn’t express more than a couple drops. Imaging showed a 7 cm pocket of milk with very inflamed tissue around it. Neither my breast surgeon nor my radiologist is comfortable pinning down exactly what it is. I know it’s not an abscess because we drained it”

“We’re 1 week post weaning and today I found a lump. I haven’t been super engorged, just really full. Today I felt a little more tender and now have a lump near my nipple. I took some ibuprofen and have been icing; it’s not red or hot. I’d really rather not pump, any other tips or tricks? submitted by /u/throwitaway9107 [link] [comments]”

“Hi all! Second time mom looking to see if anyone else had this experience. I breastfed my first for 6 weeks and I hated every second. We had lots of issues including a tongue/ lip tie that got revised, colic, gas etc. I saw a lactation consultant for help. Ultimately though it was still painful, I was miserable, and I agonized over the decision to stop but felt so much better once I did. Now I had my second 14 weeks ago. Off the bat she latches much better, but I‘m still in pain. I again saw a l”

“Hi everyone. Posting to see if this has happened to anyone else. 6 days ago I suspected I was getting mastitis, tender breast with fever and chills, so my dr called in an antibiotic for me. I started taking that and within 48 hours my flu symptoms were gone and within the next two days my breast felt significantly better. That brings us to today where I woke up and my other breast has a red hard area on it and this afternoon I spiked another fever while still currently taking the antibiotics. Ha”

“I’m 19mo past my last feeding session. I am still getting refill pains and twangs. I’m still producing. I finally made it into the breast specialists and got an ultrasound. There is indeed a mass in my breast. A suspected fibroadenoma but gotta get that biopsy to confirm. TBH just skip your OB and go straight to a specialist if you can (any PPO, you can) and get that ultrasound. Bc when I mentioned this in Feb/March, I was told it’d go away and the firmness I felt was just boob. Go. To. The. Doc”

“I’m 4 months postpartum and have been dealing with a breast abscess for about a month now. I’ve had 4 needle aspirations , and today’s was by far the worst- the doctor had to keep pulling fluid from quite deep inside the tissue. I’m also on my third round of antibiotics . At this point, I’m scheduled for an incision and drainage (I&D) Monday morning . It’s Friday evening here, so I’m really hoping I can make it through the weekend without needing to go to the ER. For those of you who have ha”

“When I latched my baby tonight in the dark, she popped off a couple times crying, so I made sure she got a nice deep latch. It was immediately painful, searing pain. It continued to be painful through the entire nursing session. It felt like she was biting and tearing my skin. When she finished and popped off, I held my phone up to my nipple to see if it was still there. The nipple was still intact, but there was what looked like a second red nipple directly next to it. Like they were touching a”

“I’m an under supplier. Whilst in hospital after having my baby her latch was horrendous. She hurt me, bruised and blistered me. Due to this I stopped trying. I pumped relatively often but didn’t get a lot. We switched to formula. I’m assuming because we weren’t able to get a good latch and start early my body wasn’t able to produce what we needed. When she was 2 weeks old she latched perfectly and I kept going but had to supplement with formula still. Now 4m old and I’m pumping every 2-4 hours d”

“since about 3 months pp i’ve been dealing with a blocked duct about once a week 🥲 it never gets really bad, usually clears up within 24 hrs with ibuprofen and lymphatic massage. but they just keep coming! mostly in my right breast which tends to overproduce. we nurse exclusively. i’ve been careful about bras and really only where one when we’re out of the house. i tried sunflower lecithin but found it upset babes tummy. any other strategies from folks who’ve experienced this? submitted by”

“Currently sitting in the ER awaiting discharge after my third round of mastitis. I got it twice with my daughter two and a half years ago, and now I’ve gotten it three times with my son, who’s currently 3 months old. At first I thought it was a bad reaction to my flu + covid vaccine double-header but my breast was quite red and sore this morning. The doctor who saw me this morning put me on antibiotics just to be safe. I wasn’t able to breastfeed my daughter so it’s been very special to BF my so”

“I have had mastitis twice in 5 weeks post partum. I just wanna say to anyone else who’s had to go through this, you’re so strong. This is the hardest thing in the world, not feeling well enough for at least 48 hours til the meds kick in to even be able to pick up your baby. Then the boob pain making contact naps so painful & praying it heals up right. I never expected my post partum to be like this, my husbands boss was thankfully willing to let him be partially home the two days it took to”

“Hey yall! I've had severe mastitis (high fever, flu like symptoms, haed/lumpy/painful red breast) for 5 days. Saw the doc on day 3 and got antibiotics. Starting in day 2 my typically high supply dropped dramatically- I'm talking pumping 2-3 oz after a feed, per side, to pumping 0-1 oz per side without feeding. The fever and flu like symptoms are improving, the breast not as much. But the supply drop is on both sides. Has anyone had this happen and had their supply return to normal? I&#39”

“I have mastitis and have been mostly pumping as it’s been too excruciating to latch baby. Just looked at my pump after finishing a session and saw this 🤮 green clumps - picture in comments. has anyone experienced this? Should I stop latching entirely and pump and dump? I’m disgusted submitted by /u/Valuable-World6842 [link] [comments]”

“Just wondering if anyone has gone through something similar and would love to hear positive outcomes. Last week I got mastitis, I didn’t feed/pump for around 6 hours because I just wanted to sleep and of course I got a clogged duct that turned into mastitis (husband fed the baby previously pumped milk during my long slumber). My baby is 3.5 weeks old now and since the mastitis, my supply has absolutely tanked. For the first few days it seemed fine, the breast with the clogged duct didn’t produce”

“Having my own I&D on Thursday. Looking for any experiences anyone has had with this procedure, what recovery looks like, were you able to keep breastfeeding or pumping, anything you wish you had known going into it, did it really get rid of the abscess? (I’ve been dealing with mine since 7/10 so it feels like forever) submitted by /u/Small_Ad0510 [link] [comments]”

“Baby is three weeks old and has not had a proper latch. There is constant nipple pain, constant pinching of the nipple once baby comes off…. But baby is gaining proper weight. I exclusively pumped with my first because exclusively breast-feeding was difficult and I was determined this time to not go down that road for my mental health. But when is enough enough? I have done consultations with the lactation consultant, but it didn’t seem to help much… submitted by /u/InternationalPay1”

“If you’ve struggled with mastitis, would you breastfeed your next baby? I pumped with my first and got mastitis a couple times Then I EBF my second and got mastitis like 5-6 times. It was rough. We are trying for our third and I’m seriously considering formula. I don’t want to have to deal with the scare of mastitis and pain and all that. It makes me very nervous and I also don’t want to be on antibiotics repeatedly. I feel so bad because I LOVE breastfeeding. The bond, connection also no bottle”

“My doctor just diagnosed me with mastitis and is prescribing me antibiotics. The other advice is cooling and making sure my breast is properly emptied. Now my question/issue: baby is 10 months and only drinks on one side at a time. Most of his breastfeeding is at night. So he is drinking the affected side at 9 am and the next session on that side is at 7:30 pm. He only drinks once during the day at 2 pm. Should I pump in between? I don’t want to up my production but I also want to go too long be”

“Hey guys hoping for some help and advice on this one, I'm 6 weeks pp only just after finishing my Third dose of antibiotics from an infected c section so Baba has been dealing with this too, breastfeeding wasn't too bad once I figured out the latching thing. I used a breat pump at 4 weeks no more than 6 times but it's has left my nipples sore cracked, inflamed and I'm on the verge of tears ever time it's feeding time now, I've stopped using the pump and my hubby has sourc”

“Not ready to give up but need some real advice on what to do here. I'm not sure I can rely on what the drs are telling me about what is going on I had a lump, confirmed benign cyst by biopsy, however biopsy caused mastitis - 5 day course of antibiotics Mastitis cleared but boob turned very lumpy and hard, went back to the clinic, another ultrasound and more samples were taken by needle Confirmed multiple galactoceles - told to keep feeding as normal and come back in 3 months for review 2nd d”

“LO is 3.5 months old, and I was first diagnosed with mastitis about a month ago. I originally went to my OB because I had a hard lump in my right breast that had become somewhat painful. She examined me, prescribed dicloxacillin, and sent me to the ER. They did an ultrasound and found a solid mass but no fluid. I was then referred to a breast center. At the breast center, they repeated the ultrasound and found a small amount of fluid (about 5 mL), which they removed with a fine-needle aspiration”

“Baby born 7/4 and had mastisis by 7/10. It was really fast. Was on two different antibiotics over three weeks which ended with me having an abscess drained late July. I have been seen by a breast specialist and a follow up ultrasound basically showed a milk filled cyst. It has been stable since early August, but never gone away. 48 hours ago it started hurting. I was put on antibiotics and it kept getting worse and had to have the abcess drained tonight at the ER. It had gotten alot bigger and w”

“Hello I know this is probably more for the women but I really want to help my wife out. We had our daughter about 6 weeks ago and she is mostly pumping due to breast feeding being difficult because my daughter has a high pallet, slight lip and a farther back tongue tie. ( we want to fix it but in Washington state all insurances are denying the procedure to fix the lip and tongue ties and it’s very expensive) anyways she was always a slight over suppler getting about 3-4 ounces sometimes 5 on bot”

“My nipples/areolas feel like shards of glass (specifically the right but starting on the left now too). Saw LC and OB and was told it’s just Montgomery glands and use hydrocortisone cream 2x a day. Shower water hurts, my clothing hurts, the pain is excruciating. Any tips/tricks for relief? TIA!!! submitted by /u/kat_sickle [link] [comments]”

“I weaned very slowly over the course of about two months and fully finished 2 weeks ago. For the past two days, one of my breasts has been very sore. I thought it was because my 13m old laid on it with an elbow really hard the other day but I was just feeling around and felt a hard knob on the underside of my breast. I've had mastitis twice before but both times the lump was bright red. All of my pumping supplies and everything has been put into storage. I'm also on my period which somet”

“Whenever baby latches on the right breast there is this shooting type of pain for more than week. I am feeding exclusively from left breast and pumping the right side. Today I tried feeding from right still the pain persists. I couldn’t locate the pain, seems more on the areola than the nipple. My LC consulted online told it is latching issue but I am not sure. I couldn’t find the source of the pain. No engorgement or clogged ducts but I suspect areola trauma. submitted by /u/Budget-”

“I have severe breast pain and I can feel several lumps in my breast. When I pump, only a small amount of milk comes out, and I keep finding a sticky lump of milk at the nipple after pumping. This happens every time I pump. I’ve been dealing with this for 1 day and half now, and I also have a headache. The pain is so severe that I can’t sleep. I’m crying rn, I tried using a cup filled with hot water as a warm compress, but it didn’t help. I’ve also tried breastfeeding my baby directly, but he cri”

“Hello all, here I am on reddit seeking answers because no one in real life has had any. I have had a milk bleb on my right nipple that started about 12 days ago. It has turned into 3 milk blebs that look like craters on my nipple with yellow stuff inside. I've been in touch with 2 lactation consultants and saw one in person and she recommended seeing a physician. I am living abroad in Korea and breastfeeding isn't a big thing out here, so I'm having a hard time finding a provider tha”

“I woke up last night to a very painful spot on my breast which was quite hard. My LO slept four hours so I just assumed I was engorged due to her not feeding from the breast for a couple hours longer than normal. She’s been drinking from it today and it’s softened but it’s still really painful in the same spot. It’s a bit red in that area. It doesn’t hurt when she feeds but it hurts to touch it. Is it worth a GP visit or should I see how I go? Going to take some ibuprofen and try an ice pack &#3”

“Lucky me, I got mastitis a week out of postpartum. I finished my round of antibiotics last week but I still have lingering pain. It ranges from a stinging feeling in my nipple to a burning sensation near my armpit, flares up when I BF too much but pumping is OK. My supply in this breast is also consistently lower than the other one. I’m frustrated. My other breast is great and I can confidently BF on that one, the nipple pain is even starting to get better. But because of the broken boob I find”

“It’s CONSTANT and HURTS / aches submitted by /u/DancingUkulele [link] [comments]”

“I’m a first-time mum, three months postpartum after a C-section, and I’ve been struggling with painful breast and nipple issues for about two months. I’ve also had problems with low milk supply. My doctor prescribed me some medication to help increase my supply, and I’m still taking it throughout all of these issues. It started with white, stringy material on my left nipple and pain in that breast. Initially, I thought it was a milk bleb. The white material later appeared on my right nipple too,”

“On Friday I woke up for my under inner area of my left breast tender. I started icing and ibuprofen right away. I’m at about 48 hours. The area is still slightly tender. It also seems like my supply dropped on this side. How long can I expect the soreness and will my supply come back shortly after? No sign of fever or infection. I also never noticed a lump or an area of firmness. submitted by /u/Medical-Mongoose-486 [link] [comments]”

“This is the second time this has happened, but I’m not sure it’s a clogged duct. I have a spot under my boob that is so sore and tender to touch. It feels almost inflamed. I don’t have a hard spot and it’s not red or hot to the touch so that’s why I’m not sure if it’s a clogged duct. I’ve been using ibuprofen and icing it which helped it last time after about 2 days, but I just wanted some insight on if this is a clogged duct or something else submitted by /u/Old-Button9854 [link] &#”

“I'm ~8 weeks PP and EBF. About a month ago, I had a definite clogged duct on the left breast -- achy breast, tender spot with some redness/warmth, pain -- that went away with ice/rest/ibuprofen/tylenol. The redness truthfully never fully went away but didn't worsen, just became oddly dry, almost like eczema but with minimal to no itching? Anyway, last week redness on the left returned and expanded. now have a distinct wedge-shaped patch of redness on the left breast. It is maybe slightly”

“4 weeks pp, 2 weeks ago I got mastitis and a huge lump persisted even after antibiotics, sunflower lecithin, and trying to work out the clog. I went to my doctor this week because it started to really hurt and turn red again so I’m on another round of antibiotics. I went in for an ultrasound yesterday and they said it’s a galactocele. I’m super bummed because all of what I read is there really isn’t anything you can do about it. This is my last baby and I really don’t want to stop nursing. I gue”

“Hello! Before saying anything, I went to the dr today and am waiting on some cultures and already started antibiotics for mastitis, I just am curious about something! I had a 99.3 temp last night and felt achy and chills but no other symptoms. Then I woke up and it was back to 98.6, then it went back up to 99.4, then 100.1 so I made an appt with my ob. Now, I guess you could say there is a slightly tender spot on my breast but it’s not hot, I can’t feel a lump, And no redness. The night before l”

“Hi, does anyone have any experience of a galactocele or breast milk cyst? Would love to know what you did, if you ended up getting an aspiration or how you treated it. Mine is the size of a small kiwi fruit very lumpy. I am awaiting to get an ultrasound next week +/- aspiration. I can’t find much online but some people have said it fills right back up after an aspiration. Is it worth it? Feeling nervous and eager to know anyone who has experienced this. Thank you so much. submitted by &#32”

“13 months breastfeeding, I had a little experience of a lump/fever/chills at the start but it passed with treatment at home in a few days. Recently my baby has started sleeping 4 hour stretches (🙃) and I woke up at 2am last night with the most unbelievable pain from my nipple radiating under my breast. Within 2 hours I was dizzy, shaking, freezing under 3 blankets, but sweating, my breast was as heavy as a boulder. I went to out of hours and am currently waiting for a pharmacy to open to start”

“Hi everyone. I could really use some advice from other moms who have experienced clogs and mastitis before. I’m a FTM and my baby is 6 weeks old. I got mastitis when she was 4 weeks old and I’ve had 4 more clogs since then, all in different spots. I’ve just gotten my biggest clog on my “good breast” which is why I’m making this post for advice. I swear I feel like I’ve done everything. Position changes, ice, NSAIDS, sunflower lecithin, Epsom soak (not haakaa). The lactation consultant I was seei”