What should I do if my areola and nipple hurt during breastfeeding?

The symptom of areola and nipple pain during lactation is mainly caused by milk engorgement, and it may also be caused by our failure to feed the child scientifically. Therefore, we recommend that everyone should have a certain understanding of how to relieve areola and nipple pain during lactation. If we experience areola and nipple pain during breastfeeding, the pain can be relieved by squeezing out the milk, and we should let the baby suck both breasts as much as possible.

Using a breast pump is a bit painful. You can sometimes squeeze it with your hands. You can also try to let the baby suck it out as much as possible. If it doesn’t work, ask your husband to help you suck it. This will be more comfortable. If there is too much milk and it is not squeezed out, it will cause lumps. To avoid the pain when the baby is sucking, you can buy a nipple protection shield, which is a bit like the nipple of a bottle. You can cover it on it and let the baby suck, so it won’t hurt. Especially when the baby is teething, this can prevent the baby from biting with his teeth.

Breast engorgement will usually subside on its own as you breastfeed for longer periods of time. This is because the breasts have gradually learned to "secrete smartly", that is, when the baby is not breastfeeding, the breasts secrete milk very slowly, and when the baby is breastfeeding, the breasts secrete milk quickly and in large quantities, as the saying goes, "eat now and then". Also, because the "eat now" lactation model actually means that the supply of breast milk is produced flexibly according to the needs of the baby, it is also called "supply and demand balance." Supply and demand balance is the optimal lactation pattern for lactating women. Mothers whose lactation reaches a state of supply and demand balance rarely experience breast engorgement.

Also, wear a bra with good support and don't take it off when you sleep at night. But make sure the bra fits well and is not too tight, and feed your baby frequently, every 2 to 3 hours, even if you need to wake your baby up. Let your baby eat from both breasts each time. Mothers with too much milk should avoid expressing or pumping milk frequently. Because emptying the breasts is equivalent to telling the breasts that the baby needs this much milk, the breasts will continue to secrete more milk than the baby needs. When the bloating is too uncomfortable, you can occasionally use a breast pump to suck out the excess milk, or express the milk by hand until the bloating is no longer uncomfortable.

Through this article’s introduction to methods to relieve areola and nipple pain during lactation, we should all know how to relieve the symptoms of breast engorgement. For mothers with a lot of milk, you should drain the milk from your breasts every day. This will help relieve areola and nipple pain and renew milk.