Laiqah Williams - Painful nipples, low milk production and the right support

May 2026

My breastfeeding journey hasn’t been an easy one. As I reflect, I want to share our story not because it is perfect, but because I hope that it may comfort, help or encourage another mother finding her way … then this will have all been worthwhile.

My daughter was born on the 13th of March 2026. From the beginning, I thought that she had a good latch, and I truly thought breastfeeding was going to be a breeze. But within 24 hours I had blisters on my nipples and the pain that came with feeding her was excruciating: I used to bite down on a cloth during feeds, simply to get through them.

By day 5 I was mixed-feeding my daughter; I gave her about two bottles of formula a day because I simply couldn’t cope with the pain of exclusive breastfeeding anymore, especially as she was feeding almost around the clock. I desperately needed help!

I reached out to the LLL Southern Suburbs WhatsApp group for advice, and many of the ladies suggested that I see a lactation consultant. One lovely mom kindly gave me nipple shields and some APNO (All Purpose Nipple Ointment) to use between feeds to help with the pain. The nipple shields didn’t work for me personally, but the APNO helped tremendously.

When my daughter was 2 weeks old I stopped giving her formula because the pain had improved significantly, but my daughter was still feeding constantly. Moms on the group then suggested I see Dr Rahmat Bagus (she is a medical doctor and IBCLC). I had consulted her during my breastfeeding journey with my first baby, my son, and I felt comfortable to approach her again.

At our first appointment with Dr Bagus my daughter was 3 weeks old and we discovered that she had only gained 30g during the previous week. Dr Bagus noticed that her latch was shallow, so she showed me different feeding positions and techniques to use to encourage let-downs during feeds, she also advised strict skin-to-skin contact for at least 48 hours and suggested I eat oats, nuts and other protein foods and drink lots of water to counteract the dehydration I was experiencing. She asked my husband to help keep all the visitors away for a while. Dr Bagus also discussed options for prescribing medication to help increase my milk production, because my baby was so lethargic, and with the shallow latch, she had not been able to remove much milk from my breasts. 

After 5 days of taking the more cost-effective option of the medicine choices, we went back for another weight check, but disappointingly my baby had not gained any weight since the previous visit. Dr Bagus then sent me for blood tests to check for any deficiencies and also started me on a month-long course of vitamin D - because she knew that I was not taking any supplements for the vitamin D deficiency I had had in the past . 

We saw Dr Bagus again when my baby was 4 and a half weeks old by which stage she was latching perfectly; she had gained 60g which was a huge improvement and really helped my confidence. By her 6-week check-up, she weighed 4kg, a weight gain of 320g in just under 2 weeks - things were finally looking more positive!

Dr Bagus explained that the particular medication I was using could not be used long term, so after a discussion we settled on an alternative medication which would also help to increase my milk production. I have been taking this for just over two weeks now and what a difference it has made; I can physically feel the difference — more let-downs, faster feeds, longer breaks between feeds, and most importantly, a happier baby and a much happier mom.

Epilogue:

A month later I can see how much she’s growing, and her weight check revealed she’s gained another 800g. She can get milk-drunk after 10-15 minutes of feeding. I have weaned myself off the medication and we are both doing well. To any mom struggling with breastfeeding: you are not alone - with support, information and small adjustments things really can get better, one feed at a time.