Painful...

[2girls&1boy]

Hi Everyone,

I have just finished bf my daughter. She is now 1. I have not been feeding for 3 days now and by breasts are killing me :( What is there if anything I can do to alleviate the pain. They are so full but if I express a bit of milk isn't that defeating the purpose of not bf. Won't I produce more milk?

I have been having warm showers and massaging them but they are so tender, it is worse than when my milk first came in.

Any advice welcome.

Thanks
P.

[madvoice]

Cold cabbage leaves help (put them in the freezer). My friend used them to stop them from becoming too painful. She went straight to bottle instead of BFing. In a breastfeeding book I borrowed from a friend (I've given up now that I've dried up LOL) it suggests that to express to comfort level. Wait 24 hours, express to comfort level, then wait 48 hours then express to comfort level and wait 72hrs etc and go from there. I hope that helps.

[jamb]

When I stopped BF I would express like madvoice said, just under the shower by hand and only to relieve that pressure. I would find the biggest lump (are they the ducts???) and massage the milk out (usually I'd only have to put the slightest pressure on it and the milk would shoot out). It probably extended the time it took to dry up but the relief was worth it. If I found it really painful, like at night, I would take a couple of panadol. Good luck.

[Milly]

Also, did you wean your daughter slowly by gradually dropping feeds over the past few weeks/months? Weaning is a process that happens slowly, so that you don't get a heavily engorged when you do eventually stop.

If you have weaned slowly by gradually dropping feeds and are still engorged, then, the cabbage leaves are an idea. Also, you risk getting Mastitis if you don't work at , so you really have to empty, empty, empty your breasts. I see what you mean about possibly stimulating supply, but you are at risk of getting Mastitis so you really have to get over this first before officially stopping anyway. So, if you express, perhaps use your express machine as your weaning tool. So, express say 4 times a day this week, 2-3 times a day the following week and then once a day the next week. Or something along those lines. That could be like a weaing process for your breasts.

Anyway, just some ideas. I would also suggest ringing and Australian Breastfeeding Association Counsellor too for any hints. They will have some great tips too on how to alleviate the pain and how to lessen the engorgement.

Here are the contact details for them if you want to give them a ring:

Australian Breastfeeding Association
BREASTFEEDING HELPLINES
ACT/Southern New South Wales (02) 6258 8928
New South Wales (02) 8853 4999
Queensland (07) 3844 8977 or (07) 3844 8166
Townsville (07) 47235566
South Australia and NT (08) 8411 0050
Northern Territory counsellor contact line (08) 8411 0301
Tasmania (03) 6223 2609
Tasmania - North (03) 6331 2799
Victoria (03) 9885 0653
Western Australia (08) 9340 1200