What to do when expressing milk during lactation

Breast health during lactation is very important, as this part is the baby’s granary, and any abnormality will affect normal feeding. During the breastfeeding period, some women may experience breast squeezing due to various factors. At this time, the problem should be solved according to the specific degree of squeezing, and efforts should be made to recover as soon as possible. So, what should you do if you are expressing milk during breastfeeding? Let’s take a closer look below.

Many mothers have experienced milk compression during breastfeeding, which causes lumps in the breasts and unbearable pain for the baby when feeding. In severe cases, it may cause high fever and mastitis. So how can we discover and deal with milk compression as soon as possible? Here is the method.

If the mother feels pain in the nipple when the baby is sucking, or pain when the breast is touched, then 99% of the time the mammary gland outlet is blocked. The mother should not be careless and should check whether there are small white spots on the nipple or whether there are lumps in the breast. If so, it is milk compression, which is mostly caused by incorrect feeding method or too much milk.

Once the milk is compressed, let the baby suck more on the compressed breast. The mother should be patient and let the baby suck more. You can also use a hot towel to apply heat to the hard area (pay attention to the temperature to avoid burning the skin).

The quick way is to wash your hands and breasts, and then use your hand to slowly stroke along the base of the breast towards the nipple where there is a lump (pay attention to the strength), stroke a few times, then squeeze the nipple to squeeze out the milk. Repeat this operation for a while, and you will find that a transparent liquid flows out of the blocked white spot. If you continue, you will find that the exposed area of ​​the white spot is also larger than before.

Now use a cotton swab to push the white spot outwards (you can apply some erythromycin ointment) until the white spot comes out completely. (Some people use a needle to prick it, but I don’t recommend it to prevent infection), and the mammary gland will be unblocked. At this time, squeeze out all the suppressed milk and the lump will disappear.

Although the mammary duct is unblocked, it may not be completely unblocked. In the next three days, you should pay attention to the breast that has been squeezed for milk, let the baby eat more, and squeeze out any remaining milk immediately to prevent milk squeezing again.

If milk compression is severe and a high fever occurs, please seek medical attention immediately without delay.