What is it?
During the first week after delivery, you may feel like the breasts very swollen, tender, lumpy and uncomfortably full. The swelling sometimes extends to the armpit. It is also possible that you have a fever. Do not worry, this situation is certainly painful, but temporary. A mother for the second time remembers panicked, thinking that her milk ducts were blocked, although it had been through exactly the same experience with her first child. "When my breasts started to become softer and my baby began to suckle with joy, I realized that I was worried for nothing," she says.
What causes it?
Between the second and sixth day after birth, an abundance of breast milk "flowing" or becomes available for your newborn. In parallel, an increased flow of blood irrigates your breasts, causing swelling of surrounding tissue. Result? Full breasts, swollen.
All new mothers do not have engorged breasts. If some find that their breasts have become amazingly big and hard, others do not notice a slight increase in volume. Congestion in all cases should be temporary if your baby latches on well and that you feed on demand, for as long as he needs.
How to relieve congestion?
First, keep in mind that engorgement is a positive thing: you produce milk to feed your toddler and soon, with his help, you will produce exactly the amount he needs. In the meantime:
- Wear a nursing bra fits properly and not too tight, even at night.
- Feed your baby frequently at his request in the stimulus a little if necessary, especially during the day.
- It may be that your child may find it difficult to take the breast areola when the brown area around the nipple is very hard. To reduce the risk of injury to the nipple and help your toddler to take the breast well, your milk by hand or with a breast pump until the areola softens. It is often easier to express her milk in the shower, hot water is sometimes enough to shed enough milk to soften the areola. This can take time. Be patient and persevere!
- If your breasts are too full, use occasionally a breast pump to extract the surplus milk, this will not aggravate the problem instead. There will be overproduction of milk when a mother takes a regular amount of milk than the needs of her child while he is feeding well.
- When breastfeeding their infants, some mothers like to gently massage the breast suckled. This promotes milk flow and relieves the hardness of the breasts and discomfort.
- Although the result is not proven, some mothers also recommend applying ice packs on the breasts for a short time after feedings. Crushed ice in a plastic bag yields the same result. The trick of a midwife: "A bag of frozen peas can cover the entire breast! "
- Some women relieve their pain by applying cabbage leaves on their breasts - again, the result is not proven. If the cabbage leaves can have a cooling effect, they will not remedy the real cause of congestion is that breasts are not emptied of their milk efficiently.
- Think of the future: all this will soon become obsolete and then you will enjoy the unique relationship between you and your child through breastfeeding.
How long will this last?
Congestion should happily spend fast enough. It probably will fade within 48 hours. If you feed your baby frequently and he suckles effectively, the process is found in favored.
If you choose not to breastfeed and you bottle feed your toddler, it may be that your breasts are filling up unpleasantly when milk "flowing". In most cases, painkillers and a good nursing bra is sufficient to relieve pain. If congestion is very strong, you may need to take a little less milk to ease the tension in your breasts.
Can I still breastfeed?
You can and should continue breastfeeding. If possible, breastfeed your newborn just after birth and frequently thereafter. Observe the signs that your baby is hungry, as if sucking his fist and becoming restless. If he cries, it means he has already worked up an appetite.
Once past the bottleneck, your breasts will be softer, but still full of milk.
My baby will find he affected?
Non if not you may have even more desire to feed as often as possible.