Breastfeeding pain common and problematic for new mothers

A new study out of Western University is shedding light on the pain many new mothers feel when they're trying to breastfeed.

The research found that between 73% and 93% of women experience moderate to severe pain but their pain is not well understood in the medical or scientific communities, according to the study's lead author, Kimberley Jackson, Assistant Professor in Western's Arthur LabattFamily School of Nursing.

"Women generally don't equate breastfeeding with pain," said Jackson. "They seethe media and often social media portray breastfeeding being very natural, normal and happy with the mother smiling at her baby and that's not always the experience for people."

In fact, many women find the pain of breastfeeding severeenough to stop, the study found. But, that decisioncomes with other consequences.

"Guilt is something that came through in our study," said Jackson. "Women are not sure how to overcome these challenges. As a result they resort to thoughts of 'Am I doing something wrong?' and then as a consequence they feel guilty about either thinking about stopping or actually stopping."

Women need choices

Researchers want to raise awareness about pain during breastfeeding to help women make decisions that best suit their families.

"Health care providers need a better handle on what it is, how to address it, how to treat it, and how to support women," said Jackson.

The researchers point out there is a lot of evidence to support that at least six months ofbreastfeeding is beneficialfor the mother's health and her baby's.

The toutedbenefits include:

• a decrease in childhood infections
• lower risk of sudden infant death syndrome and neonatal mortality rates
• reduced risk of childhood diabetes, certain cancers, and childhood obesity
• lowered risk of postpartum bleeding and some breast and ovarian cancers for women

But, there are choices for Canadian women who can't or opt not to breastfeed.

"We do have options here in Canada. We're very fortunate," said Jackson. For most people we have a safe water supply, which is critical for formula feeding. So at the end of the day your child will likely be fine if you choose not to breastfeed."

Jackson said, a nice side effect of this project is it's going to bring to light that pain during breast feeding is an issue. Women can anticipate while nursing and with more awareness find the help they need.

"We just want to make sure that whatever [women choose] that it's good for the family. So if it's breastfeeding we want to support that and if it's choosing to formula feed we want to support women being able to do that successfully," she said.