engorged help

[grecksta]

hi pinky,

i had my baby boy on the 1/11/06 got home on friday and that night i was over full. it was painful.(engorged)

baby only ever feeds on the 1 side and doesnt empy the 1 side.
by the time it is time for the next feed the side i fed him on last is full again and the other side i havent fed from is about to explode (over full.) :eek:

i want to know what to do i am in tremendous pain. and i have lumps that i try to massage out in a hot shower.

with my first baby i got mastitis while i was engorged and didnt relise by the time i felt something was wrong it was too late i ended up back in the hospital for a week with iv antibiotics.:(

please help me know how to not be overfull and relive my pain and maybe some suggestions for feeding.

[Pinky McKay]

Hi Grecksta,
This sounds so painful!

You really do need to keep that milk moving so you will need to express after feeds, enough so so that both sides are comfortable. Sometimes one complete emtying of both breasts with a pump will help ease congestion in the breasts and reduce engorgement.

Applying a warm face washer or heat pack to the lumps then massaging lumps in a circular motion with your finger tips before feeding or expressing will help 'loosen' the lumps. Express gently as engorged breasts are very prone to bruising,

You will also need to express a little milk before feeds to soften the areola so your baby can latch well and drain your breasts more effectively and try changing feeding postions ( try a football hold sometimes and a cradle hold at others) so that all areas of the breast are well drained.

If you feel very full between feeds, wake your baby and try to feed.

Between feeds, one thing that can help with the engorgement is to apply cold packs after feeds- some mums report relief from cold cabbage leaves ( from the fridge - washed) on your breast ( leave the nipples clear) - leave the leaves in your bras til they get soft then replace. If you dont have cabbage or a cold pack, a well wrapped frozen bag of peas will provide relief and help reduce engorgement - cold applied after a feed constricts the blood vessels and speeds the flow of blood, reducing the swelling.

To avoid the scary experience you had last time with mastitis, if you feel feverish/ fluey or find tender red patches on your breast do seek medical attention ASAP this time -in fact any time you feel fluey while you are breastfeeding, suspect mastitis.

Best of luck,
Pinky