What to do if there are lumps in the milk

I believe that many new mothers have encountered the problem of milk knots, and some people also say that this is milk blockage. In order to feed their babies in time, some new mothers will directly use the method of squeezing hard to clear the blockage. The result is not only adding pain to pain, but also unable to squeeze out the milk that the baby wants to drink. There are many people sharing and asking questions about milk knots on the Internet, and there are many methods that are indeed more scientific than hard squeezing. So how can we scientifically solve the problem of milk lumps?

[Breastfeeding] Let the baby's chin face the direction of the lump when breastfeeding. Many people say that "babies are the best breast pumps"

[Hot compress with glass bottle] This method is only limited to the lumps caused by the milk swelling and inability to be discharged in the first week after delivery. If the lumps are caused by blockage later, hot compress is not recommended! Use a glass bottle filled with hot water and roll it over the lump towards the nipple when expressing milk or breastfeeding. I used this method when I was in the confinement center and it was quite effective for dealing with small lumps. The hot water in the glass bottle keeps a long-lasting temperature, won't make the baby wet, and can be easily rolled around to achieve a massage effect. It's much more useful than a towel or heating pad.

[Take a hot shower, then bend over and shake your chest]

When you shower, spray your breasts with the showerhead for a few minutes, then bend over and shake your breasts. Then, bend over again and squeeze your areolas. A large amount of milk will spray out and may clear the blockage! Once I tried to squeeze it out while lying down but failed. Then I succeeded using this method!

However, the amount squeezed out is quite a lot, which makes me feel a little sad.

【Lecithin】

It is said that lecithin can prevent milk lumps. I don’t know if lecithin is really that magical. The strange thing is that every time I stop taking lecithin, lumps will appear in my breasts on the third day, so I have to take it obediently every day. Although I didn't eat it very frequently, I had almost finished two boxes by the time my baby was six months old. In the meantime, I also switched to buying powdered lecithin, but I always felt that the powdered one was not as effective as the capsule form.

[Cut potatoes into thin slices] Pain is inevitable when milk blockage occurs. Prepare potato slices and apply them one by one, avoiding the nipple area. It feels very cool when applied. It is generally best to apply it before going to bed and sleep lying down, so that it can last longer. The pain will go away soon. Remember to wash your mimi before peeling off the potato slices and feeding, so that the raw potato juice remaining on the mimi will not be accidentally eaten by the baby.

[Drink more water] I went to see a lactation therapist because of the continuous blockage in my milk. During the massage, she found that my milk was thick and difficult to flow. She suspected that the blockage was caused by the lack of water intake recently. After I came back, I reminded myself to drink more water as much as possible. In addition, I drank more water frequently in recent days because of a cold. I think it really made a difference.