Stubborn milk knot removal

For every mother who has just given birth, breastfeeding is a very happy but painful thing. Many mothers have too much milk and their babies cannot feed it in time or the babies do not suck enough every day. Or the mother's nipples may become sunken, causing milk engorgement, which may lead to scabs in the nipple area. Next, we will briefly introduce several simple methods to clear stubborn milk knots.

The easiest way to clear milk knots

The most effective way to clear milk knots

Step one: unclog the nipple first. Dip your thumb and index finger in water, pinch the nipple, and rub from the inside out. A small amount of milk will come out.

Step 2: Knead the breast lumps. Dip your hands in water, cover your breasts, and use your palms to gently rub clockwise or counterclockwise from the outside of the breast to the areola.

Step 3: Unclog the milk ducts. Wet five fingers and rub vigorously from the outside of the breast towards the areola. Be sure to massage along the position of the mammary ducts. At this time, you can see milk spurting out. Apply the spurting milk directly on the breasts and continue the operation.

In addition, the following methods are also available

Circular massage: Place your hands above and below the breasts and massage the entire breast in a circular direction;

Spiral massage: Hold the breast with one hand, and use the index and middle fingers of the other hand to massage in a spiral shape towards the nipple;

Acupressure massage: Place your hands on both sides of your breasts and squeeze from the breasts to the nipples.

The direction of massage is generally from both sides of the armpits towards the nipples; the intensity of the massage must be moderate, it is useless if the strength is not enough, so the mother cannot do it herself, it is best to ask the confinement nanny or husband to help; but too much force may also break the skin, so the strength must be controlled well. Also, remember to keep your hands wet when massaging.

If you don't have anyone to help you, you can try scraping it yourself using the back of a comb or a scraping board. It is best to have a scraping board. If you don’t have one, you can use a cow horn or the back of a wooden comb to scrape. Wherever you press on a hard lump, scrape it away with force.

Causes of milk knots during lactation

Milk lumps are when our milk ducts become clogged, and milk is trapped in the breasts. Over time, lumps form, leading to a decrease in milk supply. It is usually formed like this:

1. Some mothers fail to suck out the milk in time when they are just breastfeeding. When they try to breastfeed again later, the milk is trapped in the milk ducts and cannot flow out.

2. When the mother's pituitary gland is inhibited by external factors, the amount of milk secretion decreases.

3. Breast swelling for too long may lead to mastitis, which will reduce the amount of milk.

4. After the wet nurse goes back to work, the number of times the baby sucks is greatly reduced, making it impossible for the mammary glands to secrete milk normally.

5. Some mothers are born with small or inverted nipples, or their nipples are injured, which reduces the number of times the baby sucks, causing milk to shrink.

The key to preventing milk lumps is to prevent milk from being trapped. The best way is to let the baby suck the nipple frequently, try to let the baby suck out the milk every time you breastfeed, pay attention to nipple cleanliness, avoid nipple injury, massage the breasts more often, and develop the habit of regular breastfeeding. If the nipple is congenitally inverted, the mother can often squeeze and pull it to correct the inversion.

What are the symptoms of milk knots

Milk knots are basically concentrated around the areola. This is mainly because the milk is not discharged from the breasts as soon as possible when the breasts are full, causing milk accumulation and blocking the milk sinuses and forming lumps. Once you touch the milk knot area with your hand, you will feel a strong pain, or you can feel a small lump when you press lightly.

If the symptoms of milk knots are severe, round lumps, large strips or large areas of redness may appear. Therefore, the impact and harm of milk knots on breastfeeding mothers are very serious.

Summary: The symptoms of milk knots must be clearly distinguished. When milk knots are discovered, treatment must be sought immediately. When the situation is not serious, mothers can regulate themselves through the massage introduced in the above article. Once the situation is serious, medical attention must be sought immediately to avoid other diseases.