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Clinical Trial
. 1994 Jan;23(1):46-52.
doi: 10.1111/j.1552-6909.1994.tb01849.x.

Comfort measures in breastfeeding, primiparous women

B L Buchko  1 , L C Pugh, B A Bishop, J F Cochran, L R Smith, D J Lerew
Affiliations
Free article
Clinical Trial

Comfort measures in breastfeeding, primiparous women

B L Buchko et al. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 1994 Jan.
Free article

Abstract

Objective: To examine various comfort measures and evaluate their effects in alleviating nipple soreness.

Design: Prospectively randomized, experimental study.

Setting: Postpartum unit of a community teaching hospital.

Patients: Seventy-three primiparous, postpartum, breastfeeding women.

Interventions: Subjects were randomly assigned to four groups, with all women receiving instruction about breastfeeding and using one of the following treatments: warm moist tea bag compress, warm water compress, expressed milk massaged into the nipple and areola and air dried, instruction only (control group). The subjects completed a questionnaire each morning for 7 days regarding nipple soreness.

Main outcome measure: Effect of treatments on postpartum nipple pain.

Results: Subjects in the warm water compress group demonstrated significantly less pain on Day 3 than did the tea or breast milk group.

Conclusions: Anticipatory guidance by obstetric nurses may assist breastfeeding women in treating their pain nonpharmacologically.

PIP: The authors conducted a study to evaluate the effects of various comfort measures in alleviating nipple soreness in 73 breastfeeding, postpartum, primiparous women in the postpartum unit of a community teaching hospital. The women were randomly assigned to four groups, with all receiving instructions about breastfeeding and using one of the following treatments: warm moist tea bag compress, warm water compress, expressed milk massaged into the nipple and areola and air dried, and instruction only for the control group. Each completed a questionnaire each morning for seven days on nipple soreness to assess the effect of treatments on postpartum nipple pain. Subjects in the warm water compress group experienced significantly less pain on Day 3 than the tea or breast milk group. The authors hold that obstetric nurses might anticipate the potential for women in such circumstances to experience nipple pain and recommend this nonpharmacological therapeutic approach.

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