Bad latch?

Hi Liz,

My partner and I took your class recently at North Hills Hospital. I just delivered my baby girl last thursday and I am having some pain while breastfeeding. I think that this is due to a bad latch. As she opens wide and goes on, she then backs up and ends up with not enough of my nipple and areola in her mouth. My nipples are quite sore and have blood-blister-looking marks on them. How do I keep her on deep and not let her back off? I also don't think that her tongue is doing an "o" shape, it seems flat.

I can recognize the bad latch and stuff, but I don't know where to begin to fix it. She gets pretty mad when I stop her and reposition her, which leads to her madly sucking and hurting me more.

Thank you for any help you can give. Have a great week.

Answer from the lactation consultant
First of all Congrats!
A shallow latch is usually the result of one of a few issues: overuse of pacifiers, thrush or a tight frenulum. If it is overuse of pacifier, then stop using the pacy and only allow her to suck on you or your finger if needed for a a few days. As far as thrush or the tight frenulum (tongue tie) go, there is no way for me to know without seeing her. I can come see you for a lactation appointment or you can go see your pedi. Latch problems are one of those that I simply cannot resolve on the computer. You should have my phone number from class, call me if you need a consult. They are $75 for a hour home visit or $40 if you come to my house.
Liz Pevytoe, RN, IBCLC