Breast pain from sleeping while breastfeeding

Breast health issues during lactation are big issues and are directly related to the feeding of the child. In daily life, some new mothers may experience breast pain due to pressure on their breasts when sleeping during breastfeeding. If they insist on letting their children breastfeed at this time, the pain will inevitably increase in severity. The pain caused by breast compression generally does not cause serious consequences. The key is to deal with it correctly so that it can be better relieved.

It is considered to be milk stasis caused by breast compression during lactation. Let your baby suck on your breast more often and use hot water, but not too hot.

How to care for breasts during lactation

1. Develop good breastfeeding habits. The frequency and timing of breastfeeding should be regular, with regular breastfeeding and alternating breastfeeding on both breasts to prevent breast asymmetry. Each breastfeeding lasts 10 to 15 minutes, and any unsucked milk should be sucked out to prevent milk retention from causing breast lumps, thereby preventing the occurrence of mastitis. Emptying the breasts also helps promote milk secretion.

2. Take good care of your nipples. During breastfeeding, the nipples are soaked with milk due to the baby's sucking, and the friction from the underwear can easily cause nipple cracking, damage, or eczema. Therefore, it is very important to take good care of the nipples. Before and after each breastfeeding, you should gently wash the nipples and areola with warm water to keep the area clean and dry. If the nipple is broken, you can use a breast pump to extract the milk and put it in a bottle to feed the baby, or place a bell-shaped breast pump on the areola and let the baby suck indirectly to make the broken nipple easier to heal.

3. Actively prevent mastitis. During lactation, improper breast care can easily cause milk stasis and induce acute mastitis. If milk discharge is not smooth, timely treatment should be given, using breast massage to discharge the accumulated milk. First, apply hot compress to the breasts for about 5 minutes, then gently rub the nipples with your fingers and gently pull them outwards. Repeat this operation for 2 to 3 minutes. After the nipples soften slightly, hold up the breasts with one hand and use the palm of the other hand to massage from all sides of the breasts toward the nipples. The technique should be gentle. The milk discharged during the massage can serve as a lubricant to avoid damaging the skin.

4. Wear a suitable bra. During lactation, the breasts become fuller and the weight of the breasts increases suddenly. A suitable bra can support the breasts, reduce excessive stretching of the breast ligaments, and prevent breast sagging. During lactation, nipples often leak milk, so you should choose a loose, soft, and absorbent bra to avoid damage to the nipples caused by friction with hard objects. Bras should not be washed together with other clothes to avoid being stained with fibers and dust particles; dust off the hair and dust inside the bra before use. According to investigations, dust particles containing cotton textile fibers or chemical fibers can be squeezed out of the milk ducts of many lactating women. These tiny fiber dust particles can cause blockage of the milk ducts, leading to difficulties in milk secretion and excretion. They can cause allergic symptoms such as nipple itching and eczema in nursing mothers, and may also cause allergic diseases in infants after inhalation. Therefore, several layers of gauze should be placed in the bra during lactation to absorb dust particles.