Causes of breast pain during lactation

I believe many mothers have experienced the feeling of breast pain during lactation. When breastfeeding, there is always a tingling sensation in the breasts, like a needle prick, which is really uncomfortable. I don’t know if it’s breast engorgement, or I’m worried it might be mastitis. So what exactly causes breast pain during lactation? Will there be more serious consequences if you ignore it?

The peak period for acute mastitis is within one month after delivery; after 6 months, babies begin to grow teeth, and the nipples are also easily damaged at this stage, so care should be taken to prevent it; and during the weaning period, you should be more vigilant about the occurrence of acute mastitis. But the symptoms of acute mastitis vary from person to person, and different people have different manifestations. If a mother who is taking antibiotics develops local inflammation, the symptoms may be masked. If not handled and treated in time, the diseased breast is likely to become festered and even the internal tissues may be damaged, and in severe cases, breast atrophy may occur. When acute mastitis occurs, some new mothers will stop breastfeeding due to abnormal pain. In fact, this practice is incorrect because stopping breastfeeding not only affects baby feeding, but also increases milk congestion and increases the number of bacterial reproduction and growth.

Therefore, when you feel breast pain, swelling, or even local redness of the skin, not only should you not stop breastfeeding, but you should also feed your baby frequently and let the baby suck out as much milk as possible from your breasts. When localized breast suppuration occurs, breastfeeding should be stopped on the affected breast, and the milk should be drained out using conventional milking techniques or a breast pump to facilitate smooth milk discharge. At the same time, the baby can still drink breast milk from the other healthy breast. Only when the infection is severe or the abscess has been incised and drained, or when breast atrophy occurs, should breastfeeding be completely stopped, and active measures to stop milk production should be taken as prescribed by the doctor. Avoiding milk stasis and bacterial invasion and infection caused by nipple damage and cracks during lactation is the key to ensuring that new mothers are not plagued by acute mastitis.

Through the introduction of this article about breast pain during lactation, I believe that most mothers have more or less understood what causes breast pain during lactation. When facing breast pain during breastfeeding, mothers should pay attention, not ignore this problem easily, and take relatively correct measures to prevent breast diseases.