ABSTRACT:This study compared the effectiveness of the application of expressed breastmilk or colostrum with that of hydrous lanolin to women's nipples after breastfeeding for prevention or reduction of nipple pain and trauma during the first 10 post‐partum days. Each of the 23 subjects was her own control, applying lanolin to one nipple and expressed breastmilk or colostrum to the other. After every feeding mothers rated nipple pain for each breast on a 4‐point scale. On postpartum days 0 to 5, 7, and 10, nipple condition was assessed by investigators who were “blind” to the intervention used on each nipple. Nipple pain and trauma experienced by the women were similar for the two interventions. Of the 95 percent reporting nipple pain during feeding, 26 percent had “extreme pain.” All women experienced nipple trauma. Engorgement, the most common breast problem, correlated positively and significantly with nipple trauma. No significant correlations were found between the following variables: perceived nipple pain and observed nipple trauma, nipple pain and number of feedings perday, nipple pain or trauma and hair or skin color, and nipple pain and prenatal preparationfor br