Pain means that there is a poor latch. If the pain lasts longer than a few seconds, the latch is probably not correct. The tway for getting a good latch is to gently break the suction by placing a clean finger into the baby's baby's mouth and help the baby latch on again. When the baby unlatches, the nipple should the same or slightly longer. Pain or pinching is a sign of a poor latch. When the baby latches it can feel like a pinch that goes away. If it's more painful than that, it's probably a bad latch. And if the latch hurts the mom, it also keeps the baby from getting enough milk.