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Skin changes and pain in the nipple during the 1st week of lactation
1Villanova University, PA 19085.
Objective:
To document skin changes in the nipple during the 1st week of breastfeeding and to explore the relationship of such changes to pain.
Design:
Longitudinal descriptive study. Subjects were visited four times during the 1st week of breastfeeding.
Sample:
Convenience sample of 20 Caucasian women.
Setting:
Hospital and home.
Main Outcome Measures:
Observed skin characteristics of the nipple included erythema, edema, fissures, blisters, inflamed areas, eschar, white patches, dark patches, yellow patches, peeling, pus, and ecchymosis. Subject-rated nipple pain.
Results:
Skin changes were identified and quantified. Changes were visible in 100% (20) of the sample, and 65% (13) had severe skin damage; 90% (18) of the subjects reported pain. Some correlations between skin characteristics and pain were statistically significant, but not clinically meaningful. Skin damage was concentrated on the tip of the nipple.
Conclusions:
The data chronicle skin changes and their relationship to nipple pain during the 1st week of breastfeeding. Normal neonatal sucking appears to induce a suction wound on the skin of the nipples of many breastfeeding women that may account for pain experienced at the onset of lactation.