Milk stagnation: what to do
As everyone has known for a long time, the ideal food for a newborn baby is mother's milk. But women's breasts are a very delicate mechanism and require careful treatment. Often, young mothers are faced with such a problem as milk stagnation or lactostasis, as experts call it.
Stagnant milk: causes
When breastfeeding, it is important to pay attention to her condition and your own feelings. Lactostasis usually begins with a feeling of heaviness in the chest. Then lumps and nodules appear. Over time, if nothing is done, these nodules become noticeable. There is pain, then the temperature rises. Painful sensations capture not only the mammary gland, but spread to the shoulder or the entire arm.
There may be several reasons for the appearance of milk stagnation:
- The most common are missed feedings.
- Improper feeding. This happens to inexperienced mothers who simply do not know how to breastfeed their baby. As a result, the baby cannot completely suck out all the milk, and it stagnates in the breast.
- Improper pumping. Young mothers often have milk arrives very quickly and in large volumes. The kid is simply not able to cope with so much food. In this case, there is a high risk of developing lactostasis.
Milk stagnation: what to do
If you suspect that you have milk stagnation, then, first of all, offer your baby breast more often. There is a chance that the child himself will help in solving this problem. At the same time, keep in mind that when sucking, the lower jaw works more actively. So change your pose feeding depending on the localization of stagnation.
Breastfeed your baby more often. Let him eat a little, but every hour or two. This will also help clear up stagnation. In this case, you can adjust your regimen to the mode of activity of the baby and sleep with him.
Between feedings, you can apply compresses from fresh cabbage juice or a regular cold compress to the sore breast. Flour cake also helps honey applied to the affected area.
To reduce swelling and relieve lumps, use Arnica Ointment, a herbal homeopathic remedy. A cream called Trameel C can be used for the same purpose.
Never stop breastfeeding your baby. Your milk won't hurt him. Plus, no one can handle breast emptying better than a baby. Do not apply heat to the pile between feeds. This will only increase the pain and discomfort. You should not also reduce the amount of fluid you drink to reduce milk production. This can lead to a rise in temperature and impair the flow of milk produced.
How to express milk when stagnant
If frequent latching of the baby to the breast does not work and lactostasis does not go away, then you need to try to manually express the milk. Because of painful sensations, many young mothers refuse to do this. But this behavior is fundamentally wrong. By itself, milk stagnation is not going anywhere and measures must be taken to empty the breast. Moreover, this must be done as early as possible, otherwise mastitis may develop.
Expressing is done like this:
- First, place your fingers under the sore breast at the edge of the areola and pump slowly and rhythmically. Focus the pressure on the blocked chest area first.
- Then place your thumb and forefinger on the edge of the areola and continue pumping. The milk must now be expressed from the entire breast. If milk is no longer flowing and there is still lump, stop pumping and give it a light massage. Then continue with the process.
- Now massage the breasts with both hands, direct the movements from the edge of the breasts to the nipple. Then continue pumping.
When you are finished expressing milk, place your baby on the breast. It will help empty your breasts to the end.
