Causes of cracked nipples

In life, there are many reasons for nipple cracks. It may be caused by the baby biting the nipple during breastfeeding, or it may be caused by nipple inflammation or inverted nipple. It mainly occurs during breastfeeding. Because of the mother's improper feeding posture and the baby's brain development problems, the mother's nipple may be bitten. You can use the bottle head instead for the baby to bite.

1. Wrong breastfeeding method

Due to incomplete knowledge of breastfeeding, some new mothers do not put the front of the breast (areola and nipple) into the child's mouth when breastfeeding, causing the child to often drink milk at the front of the nipple. Prolonged sucking and friction will cause cracks in the nipple. At the same time, new mothers should pay attention to alternating between breasts to feed their babies. If one breast is frequently used, it may cause nipple fissures in that breast.

2. Excessive milk secretion

Some new mothers have plenty of milk, and even after their babies have finished drinking, there is still a lot of milk left. Generally, breast milk will leak out, which will then erode the nipple and the area around the areola, leading to symptoms of eczema or erosion. If the problem is not effectively solved within a short period of time, or if the recovery is not ideal, it will cause symptoms of chapped skin.

3. Children’s oral cavity

Babies' brains are not fully developed, and they have poor motor control. Some children may have inflammation in their mouths, or they may bite their nipples while breastfeeding, which can cause nipple fissures. Some children who already have teeth do not hold most of the breast in their mouth when drinking milk, but only bite the nipple, which may cause nipple cracks.

4. Inverted or small nipples

The former is divided into three types according to the degree of invagination. The symptom of first-degree inverted nipple is that it comes out with light squeezing. The manifestation of second degree inverted nipple is that the front end of the nipple is buried in the middle of the areola, and the nipple can be easily squeezed out with fingers to expose. The symptoms of third degree inverted nipple are: the nipple is deeply sunken in the areola and it is difficult to expose it even with fingers. Small nipples are also caused by congenital factors. It will be difficult for the baby to drink milk, which may cause excessive sucking and damage the nipple.

5. Clean stimulation

Some new mothers pay great attention to breast hygiene and wash them with soap, but if the cleaning is not done properly, the skin around the nipples will be over-stimulated and cause cracks. During the non-breastfeeding period, you should also pay attention to proper breast cleaning and appropriate sexual activity. Excessive sexual activity may cause breast cracks. In addition, preventing nipple infection with bacteria can also reduce the incidence of nipple cracks.