Is milk leakage during lactation a sign of Qi and blood deficiency?

Many women will experience milk leakage during breastfeeding, which is a situation where milk flows out involuntarily. There are many reasons for this situation. It may be physiological reasons, such as the lactation reflex that sees other pregnant women breastfeeding and causes milk leakage; it may also be pathological reasons, such as the body is relatively weak due to lack of proper nourishment after delivery, which is similar to the symptoms of qi and blood deficiency. So, is milk leakage during breastfeeding due to qi and blood deficiency?

What causes milk leakage?

Normal physiological phenomenon

In medicine, milk leakage refers to the phenomenon that the breasts cannot store milk and leak out during delivery. It is also called postpartum milk leakage. At the beginning of breastfeeding, the mother's milk and the baby's demand for milk are still in the running-in period and no regular pattern has been formed. When it comes to feeding time, milk leakage is easy to occur.

In addition, when the lactation reflex occurs due to certain reasons, such as seeing other mothers breastfeeding, or other babies crying around, or breastfeeding with one breast, etc., it may induce milk leakage.

For most mothers, milk leakage is a normal physiological phenomenon. The leakage usually lasts from the beginning of breastfeeding to 6 weeks. It is very difficult to artificially prevent the leakage during this period. Usually after 6 weeks of breastfeeding, a suitable breastfeeding pattern is formed between the mother and the baby, the mother's breasts will become soft, and the milk leakage will slowly disappear.

It may also be due to weak blood.

In addition, there are some mothers who do not have much milk but still experience milk leakage, and the leakage is even quite serious. This may be caused by weak Qi and blood. Childbirth requires a lot of physical strength and involves a lot of blood loss. If you do not take good care of yourself after childbirth and do not get enough rest, you may suffer from weak Qi and blood and cause milk leakage.

What is the solution to milk leakage?

Usually from the beginning of breastfeeding to 6 weeks, there is no way to completely avoid leaking milk, but we can take some measures to solve the problem:

Feeding in time

It is not necessary to wait until the baby wants to feed or the breasts are very swollen before feeding or expressing milk. It is best to feed the baby before the breasts are too full. If the baby does not need breastfeeding and the mother feels her breasts are swollen, she can use a breast pump to extract the milk and store it in the refrigerator for later use.

Advance Arrangement

If your baby always leaks milk from one breast while the other breast is feeding, stuff a piece of gauze or breast pad in your bra before starting to feed, or better yet, use a plastic, washable breast shield that can be emptied after use.

Slowly adapt

Be sure to insist on feeding according to your baby's needs, and you will gradually establish a rhythm that suits your baby best. You can also try different feeding positions, which will have better results.