“It all begins at the end of the feed. My nipple turns white and starts hurting. It hurts a lot and I don’t know what it is. Then, when I am in the shower or go outside and it is cold, the pain comes back again. What can it be?“ What this mother is describing is called nipple ischemia, which is a lack of blood supply that can cause a lot of pain. Ischemia can occur for many different reasons,…
Nipple ischemia in breastfeeding (vasospasm) is a phenomenon that occurs in certain situations. Raynaud’s syndrome, or intermittent ischemia, typically affects the extremities of the body (fingers and toes). It occurs in 20% of women between 21 and 50 years of age. Its symptoms are blanching (becoming white) of the area (local vasoconstriction) followed by cyanotic discolouration, ending with erythema (local vasodilatation). Other added symptoms are pain, burning, numbness, pricking or stinging. Nipple ischemia during lactation is underestimated. It can occur after…