How to Deal With Engorgement
Engorgement can occur as soon as a few days after delivery. It is completely normal and is caused by a flooding of fluid and blood in your breasts. This flood can constrict the milk ducts, not allowing milk to flow as freely as it should, and as a result the breasts become engorged. Because the breast tissue swells, engorgement can be painful due to the fact that breasts become very firm and feel like they are throbbing. In other women, the breasts are warm and are slightly pinkish in color.
The best way to treat engorgement is to find a way to open up the milk ducts and to release the stored milk, thereby lessening the swelling. You can also take a mild pain medicine if there is great discomfort.
The first thing to do is to continue breastfeeding. Try feeding frequently and make sure that the breasts are emptied as much as possible during each feeding without overfeeding your child. Your baby may have a difficult time latching on to your breasts because engorgement can cause nipples to become flat, and they may also have a difficult time feeding because milk flow will be slow.
If your child is having a difficult time feeding, try using an ice compress on your breasts about twenty minutes before a feeding session. Do not use a hot compress because this can worsen the swelling. You can take warm showers, though, as slight warmth can help open the milk ducts. A classic treatment for engorged breasts however is the chilled cabbage leaf treatment. Some women say it works more effectively than ice packs and other treatment methods.
To use cabbage leaves to treat engorgement, chill some green cabbage leaves in the refrigerator or freezer. Place the leaf on top of your breast so that it covers the entire breast. If the leaves do not conform to the shape of your breast, you can crush them with a rolling pin before chilling or before applying. Some women claim that this is better than ice packs because cabbage leaves follow the shape of the breast and relieve the entire breast instead of one area at a time, something most ice packs cannot do.
If engorgement begins to go down after you’ve started using the cabbage leaves, you can stop using the leaves and just continue on with breastfeeding. Engorgement should resolve itself after one or two days. Breastfeed as often as you can to keep the milk ducts open and to prevent them from becoming constricted again.
There are other methods of treating engorgement. You can manually express or manually pump milk for just a few minutes in order to stimulate some of the milk flow and in order to prepare your nipple for proper latching and feeding. After manually expressing, proceed to breastfeed your child normally and allow the rest of the breast to be emptied during the feeding session. If your child has difficulty latching on to your breast, you can continue to express milk gently and feed your child the expressed breast milk.
To hand express your breast milk, look back at chapter two under the section expressing breast milk. It is important to avoid over stimulating your breasts while expressing milk. Overstimulation can make the engorgement worse because the breast may think more milk is needed. It is for this same reason that an electric pump is not recommended for women suffering from engorgement since electric pumps can often lead to over stimulation.
You can also choose to massage your breast before a feeding session. Massaging your breast can help soften the breast and open up the milk ducts, making it easier for your baby to feed and for your breasts to be emptied. Always massage in the direction of the nipple, moving your fingers towards the nipple as you massage. This will help the milk flow down.
Finally, you can try reverse pressure softening to help engorged breasts. This method tries to remove swelling from the nipple area so that the baby can latch on correctly. Using your fingers, place a set of three fingers on either side of your nipple. Slowly and gently push backwards towards the chest wall. Be sure that you’re gentle but firm.
Do this several times so that the pressure gets pushed back and away from your nipples. You can help reverse the pressure by lying down. Once the nipple is well exposed or protruding, you can proceed to breastfeeding your child.
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