Abstract
Background:
Many mothers stop breastfeeding due to nipple pain, which is experienced when the baby sucks the mother's nipples during breastfeeding.
Objective:
To verify how nipple pain during breastfeeding is associated with nipple perfusion and volume of milk secretion.
Study Design:
Prospective hypothesis verification study.
Methods:
Fifty-nine lactating women who delivered at term were enrolled. The CS Probe S and laser Doppler ALF21 were used to measure perfusion, and PowerLab 2/26 and LabChart 8 were used to analyze perfusion. The difference in the infant's weight (g) before and after breastfeeding was used to measure milk secretion.
Results:
The participants' mean age (± standard deviation) was 30.88 ± 3.77 years. Although 80–90% of participants had proper breastfeeding posture and infant attachment, 34 (57.6%) and 30 (42.4%) mothers experienced nipple pain on postpartum days 1 and 4, respectively. For postpartum days 1 and 4, the group with nipple pain exhibited significantly less nipple perfusion than the group without pain. Milk secretion was lower in the group with nipple pain on postpartum day 4 than in the group without pain, although this was not statistically significant. The reduction in nipple perfusion did not differ significantly between the high (75%) and low secretion groups (25%) and between the nipple trauma and nontrauma groups. However, the low secretion group and nipple trauma group had larger reductions in nipple perfusion.
Conclusion:
Assessing the amount of milk secretion can provide a new perspective on preventive care for nipple pain and trauma.
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