Naturally Healthy Lifestyles

Common Breast Problems associated with Breast Feeding

 


Engorged Breasts

Some mothers find that in the early days, when the colostrum changes to milk, their breasts become hard, lumpy, swollen and painful. This cause the nipples to lie flat, and feeding is difficult because the milk flow is restricted. Your breasts may even be too tender to touch, so it is better to try and remedy the problem before attempting to feed. Encourage the milk flow by expressing small amounts into a bowl in between feeding, this will help in 'draining' off the milk and make your breasts softer and easier to feed from. Massaging the breasts with warm olive oil then padding them with ice-cold cabbage leaves with a bandage used to keep them in position, will also relieve some of the pain.
Because of the extreme discomfort, this is a time when most mothers give-in to bottle feeding, but by gritting your teeth and remembering the nutritional value of your milk, encourage yourself to keep going - it's not forever!

Blocked Ducts

Engorgement or inadequate drainage may result in a duct becoming blocked. This is more painful than primary engorgement and care should be taken in clearing it. You may notice a tender, lumpy area in your breast, that is not relieved by feeding or expressing your milk, your temperature might also be raised. This must be treated as early as possible to prevent it from developing into mastitis. Proper drainage of the breast is very important when treating a blocked duct, and if necessary you may have to express after a feed. Hot and cold compresses with frequent massaging will help in breaking up the blockage.

  • Try to open the duct by nursing more often and for longer periods.
  • Nurse from the breast with the blocked duct first.
  • Express any remaining milk after each feed.
  • Nurse from different positions each time, to allow the baby to 'pull' milk from each part of the breast.
  • Massage the affected area.
  • Try taking a warm shower before feeding, allowing the water to spray onto the breast.
  • If the condition persists, and you begin experiencing headaches, fevers and/or flu-like symptoms contact your doctor immediately - you may be suffering from mastitis.


Mastitis

Mastitis has all the signs of a blocked duct, but the breast is possibly more inflamed with a shiny look to it. There are two kinds of mastitis that a breast feeding mother can suffer from, namely infective mastitis, which is the less common of the two, but is usually a result of bacteria entering a cracked nipple, thus causing an infection. Until the infection has cleared, it is recommended to express your milk into a bottle

Abscess

Suffering with an abscess of the breast is usually quite uncommon, and may be the result of untreated mastitis. The pain experienced with mastitis, is usually not present, and the only visible signs of this ailment will be that the breast skin looks somewhat puckered. You may also notice that your breastmilk contains small amounts of pus or blood. This will not harm your baby, and breastfeeding may carry on as usual. Treating an abscess involves, a doctor draining off the pus with a hypodermic syringe.

 

Sore Nipples:

Most new mothers will experience nipple tenderness in the first few weeks of nursing. This is common, however there are ways to avoid or reduce the soreness.

  • When feeding baby, make sure that the areola (the dark skin surrounding the nipple) - rather than just the nipple is placed in your baby's mouth.
  • Don't allow your baby to 'chew' on your nipples.
  • Avoid excessive washing of your nipples.
  • Expose your nipples to air or dry heat, and keep them dry between feeds.
  • Avoid using irritating soaps, perfumed creams and plastic bra liners.
  • Try nursing in different positions.
  • Nurse from the less tender breast first.
  • If one side is more painful than the other, try expressing the milk for 24 hours, feeding from one side only, thus allowing the affected breast to heal.