Breastfeeding: Best for baby. Best for mom.
Share Your Story
Home > Breastfeeding Home > Finding Support and Information > Share Your Story > Overcame Clogged Duct, Blisters, and Thrush
Breastfeeding can be both rewarding and challenging at the same time. Have you overcome a problem so that you could keep breastfeeding? Share your success story on womenshealth.gov!
If you need help solving a breastfeeding problem, please use our Contact Us form or call us at 1-800-994-9662 or TDD: 1-800-220-5446. Please do not post breastfeeding questions on the Share Your Story page.
Overcame Clogged Duct, Blisters, and Thrush
By
Kodi
from Florida
I got pregnant when I was 19 and had my son Ryan when I was 20. It was not easy to find support from a lot of people, because pretty much everyone I knew that had babies and was my age formula fed their babies. My boyfriend and mother were my main supporters. The first six weeks of my son's life were extremely hard for me. I have large breasts and it was very difficult to get Ryan's little newborn mouth to work with them. I got a clogged milk duct when Ryan was a couple of weeks old, and I struggled to empty it and relieve my pain. Around the same time that I had the clogged duct, I got multiple blisters on my nipples from improper latch. I forced myself to read and re-read everything I could get my hands on about latches, and I looked at countless pictures and videos on the Internet so I could get it right. As Ryan grew a little and so did his mouth, it got easier to work on his latch. I eventually got it down and stopped getting blisters. When Ryan was over a month old, I got thrush on my nipples. The pain was fiery and I cried when I'd hear his little hungry cry because I knew how much it was going to hurt latching him on. I had thrush for a couple of weeks before the cream I got from my doctor helped it go away. I also overcame dry, cracked, and bleeding nipples. They were not as bad as some I'd seen in pictures by far, but they hurt something awful nonetheless. I used various resources on the Internet and the helpful words of my mom and boyfriend to get through the first couple of months and came out on top. It was really rough for awhile and I was in so much pain from different things for what felt like so long, I thought it would never be a happy experience for me. My son is now thirteen and a half months old and still happily breastfeeding. I am so glad that I stuck with breastfeeding and was able to turn what felt like a nightmare into a beautiful relationship and create a wonderful bonding experience with Ryan. I have been more dedicated to breastfeeding than anything else in my life, and I am very proud of the results of that hard work.
Content last updated July 15, 2009.
|
You may need to download a free PDF reader to view files marked with this icon.
