My wife has painful breasts from breastfeeding, any suggestions on causes of pain?

We have a 4 week old and my wife is breastfeeding. She has been to 3 different lactation consultants and 3 different doctors. She has been prescribed meds for both a breast yeast infection and mastitis, but still has the pain. She has had the pain ever since the first few days after delivering. The pain is a constant burning/aching throughout both breasts all the time. No engorgement. She nurses every 3 hours. She wants to continue breastfeeding, but the pain is becoming overwhelming. Our newborn does have a tight latch and occasionally bites down, but the pain is not just at the nipple but throughout.
Any help/insight/experience with this is deeply appreciated. Happy Holidays.

Baby does not have Thrush. This was checked by a pediatrician. Also, the lactation consultants she saw were certified (IBCLC). She has tried Nystatin, a couple different antibiotics, and another medication to treat yeast (prescribed just in case in is a yeast infection). Our baby girl does latch on with some difficulty and it is painful for my wife when she initially latches on. Numerous consultants have said she has a tight latch, but that my wife is doing it properly.
THANK YOU for all the advice, input, and encouragement.

it sounds as if it could be hormonal.

She needs a good, well fitting bra (even at night), that will help.If the baby's just sucking for comfort, give it a dummy (just remember they need to be sterilised regularly so buy a few)

Beyond that, if she gets so she can't take it any more, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with giving the baby a bottle. She could try now expressing some of her milk now so you can give the baby feeds too, It's a great way for you to bond.

Above all, do NOT let ANYONE convince her she's inadequate, or a failure, or a child abuser or any of that rubbish if she has to give up. The baby will have a full belly and two loving parents, that is absolutely as much as it needs.

could be thrush. does the baby have a thick white covering over its mouth n tounge. if so ask the pharmasist to give your wife some oral thrush medicine. its over the counter stuff. put some on her nipples and a light covering on the babies tounge and inside the cheeks. dont use large amounts inside the babies mouth coz it can cause the baby to choke. good luck.
ps, i had this with my 4th baby.

Could be oral thrush in the baby's mouth. this can transfer to the mother and cause breast pain. Check your baby's mouth. Does s/he have white patches on his/her inner cheeks, tongue and gums? Thats thrush. Daktarin gel is the best treatment - your doctor can prescribe this (not sure if its available over the counter).

Does the baby have a latching problem? Although as you say, if the pain is all through her breast and its not engorgement its likely to be something else.

I'd guess its either oral thrush or the mastitis hasn't cleared up yet.

Try making sure the baby's mouth is open at least to a 45 degree angle. The baby must have a fairly wide open mouth and not latch on to the nipple only. The baby's mouth should press down (not hard) on the areola. (The circular pigmented area around the nipple.) This helps the milk to flow properly and causes less pain for the nursing mother. Try using Lansinoh as well. It is a lanolin based ointment that helps with soreness on the nipples, and it is perfectly safe for baby. I know you said it is not limited to just the nipples, but that may be that is where the pain started and has increased to other areas. Have her use cold packs in between nursing sessions. Kudos to her wanting to stick with it, but if she still has a hard time, you might want to consider a breast pump. At least the baby will still be getting breast milk.

OK I HAVE SOMETHING FOR HER TO TRY:
My doctor recomended it and it worked for me I had a blocked milk duct. buy a head if cabbage and take a leaf off and soak it in warm water. Then put it on the breast. (It's the same shape, so it should contour the breast)
I was told by the doctor that the salt in the cabagge should help with the milk flow. I couldn't believe it work but it did and I was going to try anything.
I hope this helps, and CONGRADULATIONS

It does sound like it could be thrush.

Here is some good info:

http://www.llli.org//FAQ/thrush.html
http://www.llli.org/llleaderweb/LV/LVOct...

You say "lactation consultants." Everyone who answered your question is a lactation consultant. There's no regulation for that title.

You REALLY need an IBCLC (International Board Certified LC) to come to your home and see what's going on. Please do this, I waited TWO months (idiot that I am). You can also go to LLL meetings for some insight there.

I really really feel for your wife. I had a very similar experience when my daughter was born. I saw a 'breastfeeding councellor' who couldn't see any problem with how she was latched on. She did suck REALLY hard. For me the most painful part was the prior to 'let-down'. I think a painful let-down is quite common. As others have suggested it could be thrush, I suspected thrush but it turned out not to be.

Does you wife have particularly sensitive skin? I was told that pale-coloring and flat nipples (two thing I'm cursed with) made things really difficult. I got through it though...

When I got to breaking point I actually introduced one expressed feed (supplemented by formula if I couldn't express enough) so that I could at least have a break from feeding for a few hours.

I screamed my head off (into a cushion so as not to care her!) every time my daughter latched on for the first month, after 5 weeks it suddenly seemed to improve. A lot of people were un-sympathetic and said it shouldn't hurt if baby is correctly latched on. 4 midwives told me she was properly latched on and it was still agony...

Please send sympathy to your wife from me and tell her that supplementing with formula, if it gets unbearable, wont do the baby any harm.

My sympathy to you too... my partner felt so unable to help and bad when I was going through this.

Soon you'll look back on it all and forget the bad bits!

PS - Cabbage does work. It really does. xxx

go to www.lalecheleague.org

and find a leader in your area. It is free.

someone who is trained will talk you through it and help you problem solve.