What to do if breast milk swells and hurts after a normal birth

Natural birth is the best way of childbirth, because it not only causes less harm to the female body, but also babies born naturally are smarter. Generally, women will produce milk within two days after giving birth, but some mothers will take longer to produce milk. When women do not produce milk, they will feel chest pain. When breast milk comes down, the feeling of breast pain will be relieved. So what should you do if you feel pain due to milk production after a natural birth?

In addition to worrying about not having enough milk after the baby is born, many mothers may also face the trouble of breast engorgement. Once breast engorgement occurs after childbirth, not only does it become difficult for the baby to drink milk, but mothers will also feel painful.

Breast engorgement may also lead to mastitis. If the milk is not expressed for a long time, the milk supply will gradually decrease, and even cause milk regurgitation. Therefore, it is urgent for mothers to solve the problem of milk engorgement in a timely and effective manner.

What causes breast engorgement?

The formation of breast swelling

During the first few days after delivery, when your milk supply increases significantly, your breasts may become warm, swollen, and engorged. But the milk can still flow out smoothly, which is what is called milk engorgement.

If your baby is not allowed to suck more when your milk is swollen, your breasts will become swollen and hard, the milk ducts will be compressed, the milk will not flow out easily, the skin will look tight, and the nipples will be flat, which causes breast engorgement.

At this time, the baby's sucking posture is likely to be bad, which can often lead to nipple damage. Sometimes there is redness of the skin and fever, but the fever usually subsides on its own within 24 hours. If the mother has had intravenous drips before, the swelling may be more severe.

First, understand why breast lumps form

Milk flows through more than a dozen thin mammary ducts and gathers at the areola.

Babies get milk by squeezing the areola. When a large amount of milk accumulates at a bifurcation of the mammary duct (as shown in red in the picture above) and cannot be discharged smoothly for a long time, the local mammary duct will be stretched hard by the milk, and at the same time the surrounding tissues will also become edematous due to pressure. These two factors constitute a "lump".

So the lumps are not just milk, but often tissue edema.

Breast engorgement usually occurs 2-5 days after delivery (most commonly 3-4 days). It also signals the onset of the second stage of lactation.

Pregnant mothers can start producing colostrum around 20 weeks of pregnancy, which is the first stage of lactation. The milk supply begins to increase within 30-40 hours after delivery, which is the second stage of lactation. The next stage is the third stage of lactation.

The duration of physiological milk swelling varies from person to person, and generally does not exceed 48 hours.

How to Relieve Breast Swelling

1. Reduce swelling: cold compress vs hot compress

If there is swelling but no lump, apply heat

Experts are also controversial about whether to use cold compress or hot compress. Some breastfeeding guidance books, including textbooks, recommend hot compress. But don't use excessive heat, as it can sometimes cause blood vessels to become congested and swollen.

Secondly, why does hot compress aggravate breast swelling symptoms?

Although hot compress helps to expand the mammary ducts, when breast lumps have already appeared, the tissue around the mammary ducts is actually already in a state of edema. At this time, hot compress will aggravate the edema. The edematous tissue will further squeeze the mammary ducts, causing the mammary duct passages to become further narrowed or even completely blocked, making it more difficult for milk to be discharged. This is why hot compresses can make breast engorgement worse.

03 Hot compress not only fails to expel milk, but will cause new damage!

To sum up, hot compress is not scalding compress. Hot compress is suitable for situations where there are no lumps in the breast. When breast swelling and lumps have appeared, hot compress will aggravate the symptoms. At this time, it is more appropriate to choose cold compress.

Cold compress is not ice compress, and the water temperature does not need to be too low, room temperature water is enough, and it will not have any adverse effects on the mother.