Admit it, if you are not aware of preparing your nipples earlier before labor day, chances are you will probably not able to breastfeed once you have a newborn. Most of the cases, you can. However, you will have a little difficulty expressing your breast milk.
I myself experienced this since I did not either search for information nor were told about breastfeeding preparation. Thus, I had a few problems such as:
- My milk supply was not sufficient for the first few days, but the problem disappeared a few days after.
- My baby refused my nipples despite the fact that nurses helped with assisting and tried to push my son to suck, but he just did not.
- My nipples are not long enough so baby gets used to the milk bottles.
Because problems can be avoided, you should ensure that your nipples are long enough through stripping the nipples. Also, try to massage your breast surroundings with warm water so that your breasts/nipples are ready.
After doing all these, you might be also interested in further reading about how to increase breastmilk supply and best nipple shields for breastfeeding.