InstagramLike many new moms, Coco has been dealing with an unpleasant side-effect of breastfeeding: Bleeding nipples.
The 37-year-old glamour model gave birth to her and husband Ice-T's first child together, daughter Chanel, in late November.
"They told me, 'Breastfeed, breastfeed, breastfeed,' but the first week, they're like, 'The first week is hard, but once you make it over that first week, it's gonna be great,'" she told People in an interview posted Wednesday. "In that first week, my nipples were bleeding, and they were scabbing over and I was like, 'No one tells you that your nipples bleed!' But actually, I haven't had a true breaking point yet. I think because, I think it's so new."
Bleeding from the nipples in breastfeeding mothers is usually caused when the nipples become cracked due to an improper latch from the baby or by using a breast pump incorrectly. Other complications that can arise from breastfeeding include plugged milk ducts and even infection, including staph infections, which are typically caused when bacteria from the baby's mouth enters breast tissue.
Coco had talked about her difficulties breastfeeding just after giving birth to Chanel.
"Can I just say though.. My nipples feel like they are gonna fall off they're so raw from breastfeeding #NewMommyproblems" she wrote on her Facebook page.
"I mastered the art of breastfeeding while vacuuming & breastfeeding while curling my hair," Coco tweeted in January. "#HiddenTalents I got skills! #StrongBiceps."
Also in January, she posted on her Instagram page a pic showing her breastfeeding the child, who appears to be strapped inside a baby carrier.
"Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do in when feeding time comes up...oh, the trials and tribulations!" she wrote. "Breastfeeding in odd places...I want to start a trend where us moms post pics of all the wild stuff we do for our little ones... #momslife."