If your breasts become engorged and painful, there are things you can do to relieve the discomfort. The best thing to do is to empty the breast, either by letting your baby feed at the breast, or by expressing your milk.
The most effective breast engorgement treatment is a hungry baby! You should try to empty your breasts as much and as often as possible to help keep milk flowing – so feed on demand, between eight and 12 times every 24 hours.
But even if you do everything perfectly, some women will still become engorged. It's not a guarantee. If you do and don't do anything, the engorgement will likely last for 7 to 10 days. But if you take steps to treat the engorgement, usually it will be gone within maybe 24 to 48 hours, at least the worst part of it.
More time spent breastfeeding in the first 48 hours will reduce engorgement. Let the baby breastfeed on the first breast until it is soft before switching to the other breast. Alternate which breast you offer first. Breastfeed often, every 1-2 hours, to avoid severe breast engorgement.
Is it okay to wake up my baby to eat if I'm getting engorged? You betcha. Don't feel bad about waking baby when you need relief. You have just as much of a right to wake him as he has to wake you.
Severe engorgement can lead to blocked milk ducts which can lead to a breast infection, called mastitis. Mastitis may need to be treated with antibiotics.
If a woman can't pump, engorgement can lead to plugged ducts, mastitis and even abscesses, sometimes requiring hospitalization and intravenous antibiotics.
Reclining. During early days of breastfeeding, engorgement can make your breasts feel sensitive and tender. Sleeping with elevated pillows on a slight recline can assist with this discomfort.
On the whole, breast engorgement is a great reassurance for mothers and lovely feedback to tell her breasts are responding to their newborn's demands, but equally, engorgement is uncomfortable and, if not resolved or if in the presence of feeding issues, can lead to blocked milk ducts or mastitis.
But if milk builds up in your breasts too much for too long, milk production can shut down partially or completely for this baby. Too-much-too-long engorgement can also lead to a breast infection.
If you use a breast pump when you are engorged, pump for short periods of time, 5 to 10 minutes at a time. If you pump for too long, you may make the engorgement worse or last longer than usual.
If your breasts are uncomfortably full, pump or express breast milk by hand just until they are comfortable. Do not empty your breasts all the way. Releasing a lot of milk will cause your body to produce larger amounts of milk. This can make breast engorgement worse.
If your baby is not well attached to the breast, it may be hard for them to take your milk when your breast is engorged. The nipple can become a little overstretched and flattened, and possibly painful.
Pumping shouldn't make engorgement worse—in fact, it might help alleviate engorgement. If your breast is engorged, it might become too firm for your baby to latch. Pumping a little bit before breastfeeding may help soften the areola and lengthen the nipple to make it easier for your infant to connect with your breast.
Discomfort due to engorgement may also be relieved by feeding your baby in more than one position. Try alternating sitting up, lying down, and using the football hold. Gently massage your breasts from under the arm and down toward the nipple to help reduce soreness and promote milk flow.
Breast engorgement is when your breasts are painful, swollen and tender because they're overly full of milk. It occurs most often in the days and weeks after giving birth due to milk production and increased blood supply to your breasts (chest).
Use cold compresses
Cold compresses help to reduce breast inflammation, blood flow and milk production. Start with 10 minutes on each breast and work up to 30 if needed. Always take at least an hour break between compresses. This should help ease the pain of full or engorged breasts.
With a clogged duct, pain and inflammation is confined to a small lump on the breast, while engorgement typically affects a wider area. The lump caused by a clogged duct will often be red, while engorgement is less likely to cause redness on the skin of the breast.
You can help your partner relieve engorgement (breast fullness) by hand expressing some milk or placing a warm, moist face cloth on her breast for a few minutes before feeding. You can also help during feeding by gently compressing (massaging) her breast.
1. You feel engorged, but little or no milk comes out when you pump. When you can feel the milk in your breasts but can't get it to come out, the issue is often getting a letdown. Milk stays in your breasts except when you're nursing or pumping (aside from the occasional leak).
It is normal for your breasts to feel swollen, heavy, and tender when your milk comes in. This is called breast fullness. When your breast starts to feel painful and hard, the fullness has developed into engorgement. Breast engorgement usually happens 3 to 5 days after you give birth.
If you're not breastfeeding, breast engorgement may likely go away by itself in 7 to 10 days as milk production ceases. In the meantime, you can apply ice packs for the swelling or take pain medication to help with the symptoms.
Breast engorgement
Engorgement usually affects both breasts, involving the areola and the peripheral area of the breast, which becomes full, hard and tender. If engorgement is not relieved, milk production may be affected.