Nutrition and diet 

Stagnation in the breast of a nursing mother. Signs of lactostasis during breastfeeding and its treatment. How to cure lactostasis at home

Stagnation of milk during breastfeeding is not uncommon. Both the mother of the first child and the mother of many children can face him. With timely measures taken, this problem can be quickly resolved.

Symptoms of stagnant milk

The very first sign of stagnation (lactostasis) is when the breast hurts from milk. Then it is joined by:

  • a feeling of heaviness in the chest;
  • swelling of the breast;
  • the appearance of painful seals;
  • temperature increase.

To know how to remove stagnant breast milk, you need to understand the reasons that caused it.

Causes

Stagnation of milk in the breast is due to the following factors:

  • a feature of the structure of the mammary glands;
  • the inexperience of the nursing mother;
  • large volume of lactation;
  • the age of the infant;
  • lack of fluid intake;
  • overheating or hypothermia.

The mammary gland is similar to a pomegranate: it consists of 7-10 lobules, each of which contains small (up to 0.7 cm) "grains" - alveoli that produce milk. From each lobule to the nipple there is a lactiferous duct.

Some of the listed reasons are associated with the physiological feature of the functioning of the gland:

  • improper suction of milk by a child;
  • excess in the first days after childbirth the amount of milk produced over the consumed baby.

If the baby incorrectly captures the nipple, then he does not suck milk from all lobes of the gland evenly, which results in stagnation of unused milk. In addition, in the first days after childbirth, the baby is able to take no more than 10-20 ml of milk at a time, while in fact much more is produced.

The first milk - colostrum, high fat content, easily "clogs" the milk ducts to the nipple. During this period, there is often a problem with breast milk. Over time, when the baby begins to suck more vigorously and milk is produced instead of colostrum, these difficulties are overcome.

Inadequate fluid intake from a nursing mother causes the milk to thicken, as is the case with colostrum, and can cause stagnation.

Overheating and hypothermia of the breast and the whole body as a whole cause inflammation of the glandular tissue. There is a simultaneous closure of the lactiferous ducts and an increase in lactation.

Let's take a closer look at how to remove milk stagnation from a nursing mother.

How to correct stagnation

Let's talk about how to get rid of breast congestion while still breastfeeding. The main thing is to achieve the release of the overflowing alveoli without disrupting their function. For this, massage, pumping are used.

How to properly massage stagnant milk? The massage begins by gently stroking the hardened area starting from the base of the breast. Then, in a circular motion, the milk moves to the nipple and is manually expressed. The straightened breast becomes soft and painless.

Expressing by hand is difficult to achieve the same effect as a baby's sucking reflex.

How to attach a child correctly

The best thing to do when your breast milk is stagnant is to learn how to properly attach your baby to the breast. The baby should cover not only the nipple, but also the area near the nipple. In this case, a uniform emptying of the breast occurs. The position of the baby during feeding is also important.

How to apply a child correctly, depending on the localization of stagnation:

  1. Lower breast: The baby sits facing the mother on her lap.
  2. Upper lobes: the baby lies on the changing table under the breast, which is hanging over the mother, head to the breast.
  3. Central lobes: position on the side. The baby lies on a bent elbow or on the bed facing the mother, belly to the belly, but sucks not the “lower”, but the “upper” breast.
  4. Extreme lobes (left and right): position from under the arm. The baby's legs are in the armpit, the head rests on the palm.

With strong lactation, when the baby chokes under the stream of milk in a normal position, reclining feeding is suitable. The mother is half-sitting, the child lies on her stomach, the head is turned to one side.

The position in which the mother hangs slightly over the baby lying on the pillow makes it easier for milk to flow out of the central and lower parts of the breast.

What not to do

If the outflow of milk has worsened for any reason, and the breasts become hard and painful, then in no case should you resort to extreme measures.

In no case should you:

  • stop lactation;
  • reduce the amount of fluid you drink;
  • warm your chest;
  • use potent anti-inflammatory drugs.

The child should be more often applied to the diseased breast so that the seal dissolves, and the breast gives out as much milk as the baby needs.

Milk volume will not decrease even if you stop drinking water altogether. But the mother's body will become dehydrated, which is very harmful to health.

Heating the inflamed area will increase lactation and worsen the condition of the breast.

Vishnevsky ointment, camphor, applied to the inflamed area, can push the baby away from the breast. In addition, being absorbed into the thin skin on the breast, they will pass into milk, and therefore, to the baby.

Additional measures

What to do with stagnant milk in a nursing mother for better resorption of seals? For this purpose, compresses can be applied to the inflamed area before feeding:

  • warming compress (damp hot towel for 10 minutes);
  • cabbage leaf (pre-beaten before juice is released);
  • honey flour cake.

During feeding, you need to rub the sore spot with your knuckles, facilitating the passage of milk.

It is permissible to use Traumeel or Arnica pharmacy ointments, which relieve inflammation and edema.

Prophylaxis

In order not to wonder how to get rid of milk stagnation, you need to follow a few simple rules:

  • constantly change the feeding position;
  • during sleep, do not sleep in one position;
  • when introducing complementary foods and increasing the interval between feedings, express the breast;
  • avoid squeezing the breast with a bra;
  • to avoid stagnation, do swinging movements with your hands.

Compliance with these conditions will prevent milk stagnation and make the feeding procedure pleasant for both mother and baby.

Video

Check out our video for some helpful tips for hand pumping.

After the birth of a child, a young mother will face a lot of new troubles, pleasant and not so much. There is a need to solve many problems, and one of them is lactostasis, or stagnation of milk in the breast. Almost all women who have given birth are faced with pain and the appearance of a lump in the mammary gland, but those who first start breastfeeding for the first time are especially worried.

What to do when milk stagnation occurs in a nursing mother? To eliminate the problem, there are various methods, massage and alternative methods of treatment are used.

Most often, milk stagnation occurs in such cases:

If you do not pay attention to the symptoms of stagnation and do not take any measures to eliminate it, then mastitis may develop. This disease often requires immediate surgery and significantly reduces the quality of life.

Manifestations of the disease

Lactostasis should be treated immediately, therefore, when breastfeeding, a woman should go to the doctor if the following symptoms appear:

  • soreness and induration in the stagnant zone with well-defined edges;
  • local swelling;
  • increased pain during feeding and pressing;
  • redness;
  • increase in local temperature.

In the event that the condition begins to deteriorate, the soreness increases, a fever begins (the general temperature rises to 39 degrees or more), you should immediately go to the doctor. These symptoms indicate the occurrence of complications and the addition of infection.

What to do

The best way to get rid of stagnation is to invite a specialist in order to properly strain the milk and provide a relief massage. He will not only show you how to do it correctly, but also give other useful tips for overcoming the problem. If this is not possible, then you need to try to do these manipulations on your own: straighten out with your hand, gently break the lumps or take a breast pump.

Until the infection has joined, you can do the following at home:

  1. Turn on a warm shower and direct the stream to the area of ​​soreness and induration. If this is not possible, then a bath should be made. This will help widen the ducts in the breast and remove excess milk.
  2. Do a light massage of the mammary gland, during which it is easy to stretch the affected area, starting from the periphery and moving to the center. When carrying out it, you need to act gently, without leading to unpleasant sensations.
  3. Express milk residues after each feeding (but not more often).
  4. When swelling and redness comes first, it is recommended to apply a cool compress, which will temporarily relieve such phenomena.

Feeding features

Depending on the localization of the pathological process, there are certain rules for feeding the baby. Their observance will allow not only to continue the full nutrition of the baby, who will receive all the necessary substances, but also will allow you to quickly get rid of the problem.

After birth, the baby's mouth muscles work intensively and the sucking reflex is very pronounced. By applying it to the diseased breast in a certain way, a kind of "treatment" can be carried out. Axillary lactostasis disappears if the child is applied from the side, the hand should lie on top. When the disease is localized in the middle lobe, the woman lies on her side, and the newborn receives the breast from above.

Lower stagnation resolves when feeding is carried out in a sitting position of the baby, facing the mother. The most unusual position should be taken if the lump is affecting the upper quadrant of the chest. The child must be placed on the bed, with his legs pointing away from the mother.

Feeding should be carried out every two hours, including at night, then the milk will not have time to stagnate... Before breastfeeding, it is recommended to massage a little to increase the outflow of fluid.

What not to do

Some women make a number of mistakes when a lump appears in the mammary gland.

Therefore, you should decide what you should not do with lactostasis:

  1. Stop breastfeeding. Fear of increased soreness or fear for a child who may drink "low-quality" milk makes a woman stop breastfeeding. But this is the wrong decision, and excommunication is not the best option in this case. Unused breasts become even harder, the problem intensifies and turns into mastopathy.
  2. Use hot baths and compresses. This can lead to infection. It is not recommended to apply a vodka compress to the breast; under the influence of alcohol, lactation may be impaired.
  3. Reduce fluid intake below normal. This will only aggravate the situation and contribute to the thickening and stagnation of milk.
  4. Warm the mammary gland at high temperatures.

Folk remedies

You can quickly cope with the problem at home if you use several methods of treatment at once: massage of a sore breast, pumping, use of anti-inflammatory drugs.

Breastfeeding is considered a contraindication for taking many medications, as they pass into milk and can greatly harm the baby. In this case, the treatment can be entrusted with local therapy, especially if it is carried out using safe natural ingredients.

However, the breastfeeding period does not always go smoothly. Some women have problems with lactation, of which milk stagnation in the breast is the most common. Facing this problem for the first time, many nursing mothers have a lot of questions about stagnant breast milk. What is the reason for the appearance of milk stagnation in the breast, what are its symptoms and, the most important question, how to deal with this ailment, which causes a number of inconveniences? Based on many years of experience in studying the problem of milk stagnation in the breast and the physiological characteristics of the mammary glands, it is not difficult to answer all the exciting questions.

Why is there milk stagnation in the breast? This is dangerous?

The concept of the development of pathological processes in the mammary gland is based on the study of the physiology of the female body, in particular, the mammary glands during lactation.

The female mammary gland is formed by 15-25 lobules, which consist of milk ducts and glandular tissue. Each lobule has excretory ducts that open on the surface of the nipple and are necessary for the free movement of milk during sucking. The milk ducts are convoluted and have a small diameter. If one of these ducts is clogged, the movement of breast milk is impeded, as a result of which one of the lobules of the breast is not completely emptied. Later, the woman develops stagnation of milk in the breast. If you do not restore the outflow of milk from the overflowing lobule in a short period of time, pathogenic bacteria can enter there, which provoke the development of mastitis, an acute infectious and inflammatory process in the mammary gland.

Factors contributing to the occurrence of milk stagnation in the breast:

  • rare and short-term attachment of the baby to the breast (less than once every 2 hours);
  • poor emptying of the mammary gland during feeding, due to a child's lack of appetite or improper grip of the nipple;
  • feeding the crumbs in the same position, as a result of which not all breast lobules are emptied;
  • mechanical effect on the mammary gland, as a result:
    • wearing tight underwear;
    • night sleep on one side or on the stomach;
    • intense squeezing of the breast with your fingers while feeding the baby;
  • unreasonably frequent expression of milk residues after feeding, which leads to an increase in the volume of milk produced;
  • constant stress, heavy physical activity, contributing to the production of hormones thatspasmducts in the mammary gland.

It is the presence of not one, but several factors that simultaneously provokes the development of stagnation of breast milk in the mammary gland.

Milk congestion in the breast. The main symptoms.

As a rule, the first clinical sign of the onset of stagnation of breast milk is engorgement breast and sensation bursting ... Over the area where the clogged lobule is located, the skin becomes red and hot to the touch. In the absence of the necessary therapeutic measures for this stage, severe soreness of the inflamed area during touching, general weakness, chills, are added to the above symptoms of milk stagnation in the breast,subfebrile condition(increase in body temperature by 0.5-1.0 degrees).
An important sign of milk stagnation in the breast is the baby's anxiety during latching on to the affected breast. The inflamed area in the mammary gland increases in size due to swelling of the soft tissues, as a result of which the adjacent ducts are compressed, and milk flows very slowly during sucking. The baby is naughty because she does not receive enough breast milk.

Symptoms of milk stagnation in the breast can be present for 1-3 days, after which the condition of the nursing mother improves.

Milk stagnation in the breast is not a problem if you know how to cope with it.

1. Frequent breastfeeding. Oddly enough, but nature has taken care not only of providing the child with the best and healthiest nutrition - breast milk, but also of how to get rid of the problems that may arise during lactation. Therefore, in order to eliminate stagnant milk in the breast, you do not need to run to the pharmacy for medicines, you just need to change the frequency attachments crumbs to the chest. When stagnation occurs in the mammary gland, the child is applied to the diseased breast at least every hour. Sucking on the affected breast promotes the early opening of the blocked duct and the emptying of the overcrowded lobule. It is necessary to apply the child at night, at least once every 2 hours.

2. Expression of milk residues (if necessary). The baby does not always completely empty the breast in one feeding. If milk remains in the breast, it is recommended to express it. The pumping procedure should be soft, intense squeezing of the breast in order to express to the last drop will only aggravate the situation. While expressing, it is necessary to massage the area of ​​the lump in the breast with light movements, going from the base to the nipple. Express the remaining milk for 1-3 days, massage the breast with each pumping.

3. Changing the position for breastfeeding. The position of the baby during the feeding procedure in case of stagnant milk in the breast plays a very important role. If the child sucks milk, resting his chin against the affected area of ​​the breast, congestion will disappear much faster. Most often, the inflamed area with stagnant breast milk is closer to the axillary region. In this case, the optimal position will be to feed the baby from under the arm.

4. Symptomatic therapy. To normalize body temperature and eliminate symptoms of body intoxication (chills, weakness, headache), you can take a pill of paracetamol, which has an anti-inflammatory effect and is allowed for breastfeeding.

A cold compress, such as an ice pack wrapped in a cloth or a wet towel, can help relieve fever and swelling in the area of ​​inflammation. After this procedure, the pain in the affected breast is reduced.

Important!

If milk stagnation occurs in the breast, it is not recommended:

  • stop breastfeeding, since it is the frequent latching of the baby to the sore breast that gives the best result in the fight against stagnation of breast milk;
  • apply compresses with alcohol (they disrupt the production of oxytocin, which ensures normal lactation);
  • smear the breast with camphor or apply warming compresses that increase the swelling and obstruct the outflow of breast milk.

Milk congestion in the breast. Basic preventive measures.

The only and main recommendation for the prevention of breast milk stagnation is properly organized lactation. Feeding on demand, frequent breastfeeding, changing breastfeeding positions throughout the day, not expressing milk residues for no apparent reason - these are the basic rules, if followed, you will be able to avoid such a problem as milk stagnation in the breast.

Many women rightly believe that breastfeeding is the best for their babies. But not many young mothers are ready for the fact that this is a big daily job.

The breast must be carefully looked after, because the occurrence of lactostasis and cracks in the nipples must not be allowed. To do this, you need to be able to correctly apply the baby to the breast and make sure that it is well emptied.

However, it is not always possible to avoid complications and, in order to recognize them in time, it is necessary to know the symptoms of one of the most common pathological conditions during breastfeeding - lactostasis.

How to identify a disease

Lactostasis is caused by prolonged stagnation of milk in the milk ducts of the breast and is accompanied by the following symptoms:

  • the appearance of dense formations that are painful to the touch in the mammary gland;
  • redness over the area of ​​stagnation;
  • normal or slightly elevated body temperature (from 37.1 to 38 ° C).

Note: if symptoms of lactostasis appear, you should consult a doctor.

The immediate cause of the disease is an increased production of milk and a decrease in its outflow due to the narrowness or blockage of the milk channels in one part or in the gland as a whole. This situation can arise for a number of reasons:

Treatment

First, it is necessary to identify the cause of the disease and, if possible, get rid of it. No need to worry, as stress is not the best helper.

The main task is to eliminate milk stagnation. To solve this problem, you can use several non-drug ways to improve the condition:

  • reduce fluid consumption to 1.5 liters per day;
  • often applying the baby to the breast;
  • if the mammary gland is full of milk, then express a small portion so that the baby can completely capture the nipple;
  • massage towards the nipple in smooth circular movements;
  • compresses on the chest - alcohol, honey, camphor oil, cabbage, onions.

It should be remembered that massage and feeding must be carried out without fail, despite the resulting pain, then the stagnation will gradually disappear. The pain can be so severe that the woman may stop breastfeeding, but this is undesirable.

It is recommended to leave the compresses for two to three hours between feedings. A cabbage compress is considered effective. Before attaching the cabbage leaf to the chest, you need to cut off the tough veins and scratch it with a fork.

The sheet can be folded directly into the bra. Before feeding, rinse the cabbage juice from the nipple area. Another compress can be made with honey.

For cooking, take one part of candied honey and one part of flour, mix, form a cake. It is placed on the chest and covered with a plastic bag. You can wear it all day long.

It should be remembered that honey often causes allergies and is thoroughly washed off the breast before feeding. If after the measures taken, the condition does not improve, then the doctor may suggest using a special device, like an ultrasound scan, to massage the mammary glands.

For better milk flow, an oxytocin injection may be given shortly before breastfeeding. Usually, a similar pathological condition ends by the second or third day. How to understand that lactostasis has passed:

  • the elevated temperature disappears (if it was);
  • hyperemia of certain areas of the breast is significantly reduced;
  • when expressed, milk flows out equally strongly from all ducts;
  • soreness disappears.

Doctor's note: antibiotics for lactostasis are not prescribed.

With insufficient treatment of lactostasis, it can flow into mastitis. One of the hallmarks of the onset of mastitis is a deterioration in the well-being of a nursing mother:

In such a situation, more serious, medical methods of treatment will be required. At the initial stage of the disease, the doctor prescribes antibiotic treatment according to a certain scheme under the control of the content of pathogenic microflora in the milk from the diseased breast.

Usually, all symptoms disappear on the first day of taking antibiotics. With an advanced form of the disease, pus begins to stand out from the mammary gland, and this stage requires a local operation.

How to treat lactostasis, see the doctor's advice in the following video:

If milk stagnation occurs in a nursing mother, it is important to know what to do with the problem. This information must be learned even at the stage of bearing a child.

Stagnation of milk in the glands is called lactostasis. With a timely referral to a specialist with subsequent treatment, the pathology is easily eliminated. But if you ignore the situation, the woman exposes herself to the risk of serious complications.

Stagnation of milk in the glands is called lactostasis.

Like any disease, lactostasis is easier to prevent than to cure later. If you know the reasons that affect the stagnation of milk in the mammary glands and try not to provoke their occurrence, then the likelihood of the appearance of pathology is significantly reduced. It should be borne in mind that the appearance of lactostasis is quite painful, so this problem will be difficult to miss.

Milk stagnation during breastfeeding can occur:

  1. If you rarely or irregularly latch on the baby to the breast. In the first 2 weeks after the onset of lactation, the arrival of milk is intense. If you do not express it in time, then it will stagnate.
  2. Large amounts of milk and narrow ducts.
  3. Feeding pain caused by. The woman cannot withstand the pain syndrome and does not feed the child.
  4. Uneven breast emptying due to improper attachment of the crumbs.
  5. Compression of the breast during feeding. This leads to the fact that not all milk comes out of the gland. Pinching of the glands can occur if the woman wears a smaller bra or tight clothing. Sleeping on your stomach is also not recommended.
  6. Stressful situations, overwork of the body, hypothermia, intense physical activity. All this can lead to a spasm of the ducts.

The consequences of pathology

Before you get rid of milk stagnation on your own, it is recommended to visit a doctor. A gynecologist, mammologist or surgeon can help in this matter. You need to make sure that the symptoms that appear are really signs of lactostasis, and not another disease of the mammary glands.

You can suspect a pathological process by the following signs:

  • feeling of distention of the glands;
  • complete or partial breast hardening;
  • pain syndrome;
  • increased body temperature.

If, when such symptoms appear, milk stagnation is not immediately removed, then mastitis will begin to develop. Literally in a few days, with severe inflammation, a purulent process may begin. become hot, the symptoms of discomfort will intensify, and the thermometer may rise to 40 ° C or more.

There are many ways to clear up stagnant breast milk. Surgery is considered a last resort, but sometimes necessary. It is resorted to when other methods of treatment do not help, and the pathology threatens the patient's life.

If milk stagnation has formed in the breast, you can not refuse breastfeeding. The child is the first helper who will help the mother solve her problem. You need to choose the right position for feeding. It should be borne in mind that the baby sucks milk more intensively with the lower jaw. Therefore, it must be applied to the breast so that the child's lower lip is on the side of the problem area. For example, if stagnation has formed in the left breast, the baby is fed lying on the right side. If the seal is from below, then during a meal, the mother should put the child down and bend over him.

Lactostasis (video)

Straining, massage and compresses

It happens that after feeding, milk remains in the breast. This problem is especially relevant for those mothers in whom its quantity significantly exceeds the child's need. Under these circumstances, the remaining milk should be expressed at the end of breastfeeding. This can be done by hand, but a breast pump is more effective.

Warm compresses can help improve milk flow, especially at the beginning of breastfeeding. This requires a warm towel to be applied to the chest before placing the baby. It should be borne in mind that this method is only suitable if lactostasis is not accompanied by an increased body temperature.

Doctors often recommend using camphor oil as a remedy to relieve stagnation. It is applied directly to the seal site. After the compress, you need to thoroughly hygiene the mammary glands. The fact is that the smell of camphor oil is quite specific for a baby, and he can refuse to breast.

The massage is recommended for women not only when there is congestion in the chest. With its help, you can improve the outflow of fluid from the glands. Before proceeding with the procedure, you need to perform hygiene and lubricate the breast with a cream or other fatty agent that will prevent damage to the epidermis.

The massage should not be aggressive, as such actions can damage the overcrowded structures of the mammary glands. All movements should be directed from the periphery to the nipple. They are performed gently, in the form of stroking and in the form of a spiral. This will make it possible to express not only the front milk, but also the back milk. Seals can also be gently massaged. At the end of the procedure, after removing the remaining oil or cream from the skin, it is recommended to bend over and shake your chest. Thus, the milk moves along the ducts to the nipples. You can start feeding or pumping immediately afterwards.


It should be borne in mind that the appearance of lactostasis is quite painful, so this problem will be difficult to miss.

Drug treatment

With lactostasis, a woman can also be prescribed drug treatment. This method of solving the problem is resorted to only when there is a serious need. All drugs, as well as their dosage, should be prescribed only by a doctor. It should be borne in mind that when using most drugs, a woman will have to give up breastfeeding. For the period of the therapeutic course, a young mother can independently and regularly express milk so that lactation does not stop.


With lactostasis, a woman can also be prescribed drug treatment.

When the treatment is complete, she will be able to continue breastfeeding:

  1. Antispasmodics. They are prescribed to eliminate spasms, which not only helps to relax the muscles, but also expands the ducts of the glands. It should be borne in mind that drugs of this group are not taken for prophylaxis. They will not dilate the ducts without lactostasis.
  2. Drugs that reduce milk production until it is completely absent. One of these products is Dostinex. It helps with lactostasis, but if a woman does not want to stop breastfeeding, this method of treatment is not suitable for her.
  3. Antipyretic and pain relievers. Prescribed as symptomatic treatment.
  4. Antibiotics Taking such drugs is indicated for women if an acute course of the inflammatory process is diagnosed in the chest.

Mastitis in a nursing mother (video)

Prohibited actions

Remove stagnant milk in the mammary glands carefully. Misuse of medicines can worsen the problem.

It is necessary to remember: it is allowed to make a warm compress for a better outflow of fluid from the glands, only if the baby is fed or expressed immediately after it. At other times, such compresses will only increase milk production, which will accumulate and intensify the stagnation phenomenon.

Drinking warm drinks should be kept to a minimum, as it stimulates lactation. It should be understood that a woman is allowed to drink as much water as the body requires, so as not to provoke dehydration. It is warm drinks that promote milk production.

The most important rule that a woman should adhere to when she arises is not to let the disease take its course. If alarming symptoms arise, consulting a specialist will be the first step towards solving the problem.