Breastfeeding
Challenge: Engorgement
There
is often no mistake when you are engorged. Your
breast feel full, to the point where it doesn't
appear to be anymore room in them for anymore milk,
and they may be a little tender to touch. Engorgement
sometimes happens because your milk comes in, changes
to mature milk after the colostrum is gone, and
so it is very common for a woman to because engorge
at least once when she is breastfeeding. |
Breastfeeding
Reading |
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What
Causes Engorgement, How to Prevent It and Get Rid of It
When You Have It
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Even though
engorgement is something that is common in breastfeeding
it isn't something that you want to ignore, not that
you could really ignore it because your full breast
usually become tender and it can even become painful.
The quickest relieve of engorged breast is to breastfeed.
As your milk lets down and the milk begins to leave
your breast you will feel instant relieve. |
Sometimes
though nursing isn't enough to relive engorgement completely.
For one thing you may find that both of your breast are
quite full of milk and that although the breast that your
baby is nursing on is feeling relief the other one is not.
Have a warm wash cloth on hand to hold over your other breast
while your breastfeed to catch any milk that sprays out
of the engorged breast. Then when you baby empties the one
side they can feed on the other and then both breast will
be empty and comfortable. If you find that your breast are
becoming engorged every time that they fill up with milk,
before your baby nurses again, you may want to express some
of the milk by hand to relieve tension until your supply
decreases enough to be comfortable in between feedings.
Limit
the things that you do to increase your milk supply to just
nursing your baby, if you take herbal supplements or teas
to increase your milk supply discontinue them unless you
feel that your milk supply has decreased too much. Such
foods as brown rice can some times cause some moms to become
engorged, if this is something in your diet you may want
to temporarily take it out to ensure that you are not making
more milk than your little one can consume.
A
hot pack over the nipples to express some milk can help
relieve tension and pain, and a ice pack between feedings
can help with any swelling. A comfortable bra or the absence
of a bra all together can really help you be comfortable.
Gentle massage can help, and a unique home remedy of taking
cabbage leaves and sticking them in your bra, cutting out
a whole for the nipples, can help with pain but they should
not be used longer than 8 hours, as they affect your milk
supply. Change the leaves every two hours in the 8 hour
period and be sure to wash them really well.
