One of the tricks that my midwife gave me and that surprised me the most (first because of its “exoticness” and second because of its effectiveness, was applying olive oil to my nipples to help soothe the skin and heal the cracks that appeared. I had already tried a couple of well-known creams and had not obtained any improvement, but this was, in colloquial language, holy hand. The best thing is that we are not just saying it: there are some clinical studies that support it and reveal some results really amazing.
These clinical studies have been collected by Preevid, a service aimed at health professionals from the Ministry of Health and the Murcian Health Service.
The first of them, aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of virgin olive oil in preventing nipple cracking in lactating women . 300 women were included and randomized into two groups of 150 women each. In the first group, 3 drops of EVOO were applied to each nipple after feeding, and in the second, 3 drops of breast milk were applied to the nipple after feeding. The difference that was obtained was abysmal : 2.7% of the women who applied EVOO had cracks in the nipples and there were no adverse effects in mothers and newborns during their administration, while 44% of the women in the second they had cracks in the nipples.
Another of the trials sought to compare the effects of applying breast milk or olive oil on the appearance of nipple cracks in the early postpartum period. The sample included a total of 39 mothers: 13 mothers assigned to the group that used breast milk, 13 to the group that used olive oil, and 13 assigned to the control group. Here, too, an obvious difference was obtained: while 92.3% of women who applied breast milk or did not apply anything developed cracks in their nipples, 69.2% of those who applied olive oil also had them.
Should I wash my nipples before breastfeeding my baby if I have applied olive oil?
This was the first question I asked my midwife when she suggested applying virgin olive oil before and after each feeding. His answer was negative, since apparently, the chemical composition of the oil has quite a few similarities with breast milk, so his recommendation was to wipe the area with a paper napkin before putting the baby in.
Regarding the clinical studies mentioned, we note that they do not shed much light on this issue, since there are no references on whether it is necessary to clean the nipple before the next feeding or not. In Alba Breastfeeding, in addition to recommending the application of virgin olive oil to relieve pain and recover the nipples from cracks, they mention its anti-inflammatory and bacteriostatic properties , so, while maintaining good body hygiene, it would not be necessary to wash the nipples before of the shot.
In Babies and More | Sore nipples? Seven Tips for Pain-Free Breastfeeding
