DO BREASTFEEDING REALLY HURT?

It's a lot to get used to at first. But, once you establish a good supply and routine you'll be fine. You should join the breastfeeding 101 group here on cafemom, it has a TON of helpful advice plus you can ask any question and I've never once gotten rude replies.
Good luck!

Not at all! I do it in my sleep, literally. And often times I am sitting there and can not tell if DD is nursing or not~ I don't feel anything while she's nursing.

To get it figured out, a mom can feel pain, especially with a bad latch.
And there other are times when it might hurt as well, like with Thrush, Mastitis, baby falls asleep at the breast and relaxed the jaw/bites.
There are ways to deal with all of that though, of course!

Best wishes! :-)

i won't lie. engorgement sucks but goes away and never lasts too terribly long. lanolin works wonders on nipples. but like marine_wife0520 said,routine and established supply make BFing beautiful. no regrets.

In general, and with a proper latch, it does not hurt. Like someone else mentioned, there are things that can make it hurt, but I usually never had a problem unless I had a plugged milk duct. The first few weeks can be painful because the nursing causes your uterus to contract. But I think they give you medication to cause the contractions if you aren't going to breastfeed - to help your uterus return to its normal size. At the very least, just give it a try!! You may be one of those people that has absolutely no problems or just some minor difficulty figuring it out! Good luck!!

Does breastfeeding hurt? Yes, at first ,but later on you get used to it and it is good for your baby and you,too.

Not always. I never had any pain with breastfeeding, some discomfort for sure, but nothing that I would call pain. But my babies latched well, which is one of the big things that can cause pain if it's not right. And yes, bf'ing does cause your uterus to contract so that is also uncomfortable, but that's going to happen either way, bf'ing just makes it happen more quickly (which is actually good for you). Bf'ing is great for your baby, but it does have benefits for you as well. Get educated about bf'ing, get help while bf'ing, especially while getting started, and good luck.

It hurt at first for me. I thought about quitting multiple times in the first few weeks, but now I've been nursing for 7 months, so it does get better. After those first few weeks, I barely feel it at all. It does get better, and in the long run it's sooo worth it, even just for the financial and convenience benefits and setting aside all the emotional and health benefits.

It only hurts if the baby is latched on inccorrectly. In general breastfeeding does not hurt.

Honestly, sometimes, for some women, it does, and like the pp's have said, if you don't have a good "latch", then that can cause problems. Just remember to switch sides - it doesn't have to be in the middle of every feeding or anything like that. Just get a like a hair scrunchie or rubber band or something and put it on your wrist. When you nurse on one side, move the band, so you remember to start on the other side the next feeding, things like that.

But, just remember, this is a very natural, normal thing, and it might take a bit to get used to, it's almost always not as bad as it sounds. Because remember, it's kinda like relationships - you usually only really hear people talking about the bad ones, right? Because nobody has questions about the good ones :-)

Also, you can talk to a La Leche League Leader or to a Lactation Consultant or to your Dr, or to a Nurse at the hospital and they can give you pointers.

gl!

most women are sore at the beginning, but it will get better w/ time. i was good by 2 wks i think.