During the feeding period, young mothers often face the unpleasant consequences of lactostasis. Stagnation of milk in the breast causes extremely unpleasant sensations, so every woman should be aware of ways to deal with and preventive measures to prevent the situation from aggravating.

Causes of stagnation

The beginning of the treatment of any disease is preceded by the identification and elimination of the causes that caused it, therefore, before starting to study all the ways to express milk during stagnation, you need to familiarize yourself with the causes.

So this is:

  • blockage of the ducts, which can cause cracks in the nipples;
  • improperly fitted bra;
  • chest injury;
  • feeding regimen with long breaks;
  • monotonous posture when feeding or a repetitive pumping technique, as a result, not all parts of the chest are emptied;
  • lying on your side for a long time or an uncomfortable position during sleep;
  • the introduction of complementary foods (the amount of milk sucked by the baby decreases).

Symptoms

Lactostasis is accompanied by the following symptoms:

  • swelling of the chest;
  • pain during feeding or pumping;
  • the chest becomes dense, when probing, seals are found in the form of one or more lobules;
  • increase in body temperature;
  • redness of the skin areas of the chest;
  • uneven milk flow.

Chest clearing is not a very pleasant procedure, but, despite the pain, you need to be patient, strong and start it. Prolonged lactostasis or a critically high temperature is a reason for an urgent consultation with a specialist. If no action is taken, the problem will lead to extremely unpleasant situations.

Preparing for straining

You need to familiarize yourself with the ways to drain the stagnation of milk at home. Complete emptying of all parts of the breast will prevent the occurrence of purulent processes, ensure continuous and normal breastfeeding.

All young mothers who have noticed the first signs of lactostasis are advised to act according to a certain scheme of action. So, before dissolving lactostasis, you should properly prepare the chest. To do this, there are the following ways.

warming up

Heat expands the milk ducts and promotes the normal outflow of milk, so you can stand under a warm shower before you break up the stagnant milk at home.

Cabbage leaf with honey applied to the painful area also helps to relieve pain and swelling. The sheet is applied for no more than 15 minutes.

Physiotherapy

Special procedures carried out in the physiotherapy room will have a beneficial effect on the further neutralization of lactostasis, experienced specialists will tell you how to break up the lumps. Among the wide variety, ultrasound or UHF therapy can be preferred.

Massage

You will learn how to massage the mammary glands during milk stasis from our video at the end of the article. Very simple manipulations, carried out with gentle light movements, contribute to an easy outflow of milk.

Straining technique

A special technique developed for nursing mothers will successfully remove the stagnation of breast milk. Due to the pain of the procedure, it requires preliminary preparation. The psychological mood of a woman is also important, she must understand that if nothing is done, then the outcome will be deplorable. Massage is carried out in such a way as not to damage the chest. All movements should be neat, smooth and soft. Squeezing, excessive pressure and the use of physical force is highly discouraged. How to massage the breasts with milk stagnation can be found in the video in our article.

Massage is carried out in three stages:

  1. Before you knead the stagnation of milk, you need to sit comfortably and relax, think about something good. Four fingers of one hand are located under the breast, the index and thumb converge in the area near the nipple, that is, as close as possible to the areola. The other hand is placed over the chest. Then, with light movements of the palms, rhythmic pressure is applied, we try to move from the periphery to the center. We pay attention to the lactiferous sinuses, which are easily palpable during lactostasis, this is an effective way to drain the thoracic ducts.
  2. Only light and soft movements of the fingers and hands will help to disperse lactostasis, otherwise (with the help of sharp, strong pressure) you can only aggravate the situation - this must always be remembered. The position of the hand under the breast, the thumb and forefinger are closed near the nipple. With the help of pressing movements we move to the center, and we try to cover the entire chest space. If the discharge from the nipples has stopped, we massage the breast to increase lactation at the same pace.
  3. We perform light tapping and stroking from the peripheral zone to the center and continue to take actions on how to strain milk stagnation with our hands.

Duration of treatment

The duration of one procedure should not be less than 20 minutes. It is very important to start treatment in the early stages, then the effect will be noticeable in a day. If a woman does not know how to properly knead the mammary glands during feeding, and time is lost, then progress will be noticeable only after 3 days. Lastly, the redness subsides.

Before straining milk stagnation, you need to conduct proper preparation. Only in this case can we hope for efficiency and getting a good result from manipulations. There are some recommendations that will improve and facilitate the process.

Warming

You can warm up the chest with a small heating pad or a warm diaper. It is very important to ensure that the water is warm, not hot.

It is necessary to refuse warming up if a woman has a temperature, even slightly exceeding the norm. It is better to wait until it normalizes, then proceed with further steps to disperse the stagnation of milk at home.

ethnoscience

A cabbage leaf poultice is an excellent preparatory step before draining the breast. The sheet is beaten before application until the juice is released. If you are not allergic to honey, you can apply a thin layer of honey on the inside of the leaf. Such a tool will not only warm up the chest, but will make the skin softer and silkier.

Doctors very often recommend this effective method to their patients, as it relieves pain and relieves swelling. Also for this purpose, cakes made from flour and honey are used, if possible, low-fat cottage cheese can be applied to the chest.

Communication with a specialist

The rich practice of specialists in this field will allow you to choose the most effective way to express breast milk. Perhaps they will advise physiotherapy as preparatory procedures.

In any case, only a specialist will give valuable advice for each individual case, tell you what to avoid and how to properly drain milk stasis for those women who have never performed such procedures.

Changing the baby's position while feeding

At the first pain sensations, the appearance of seals, you should change your position when feeding, it is on this that the uniform emptying of the breast depends. Seals in the middle of the chest will disappear if you feed the baby lying on its side, and not with the breast that is lower, but with the one that is farther from the child.

If stagnation has formed from the side of the armpit, feeding should be carried out from under the arm. With a crowded lower part of the chest, the child is placed facing the chest, in a sitting position, the upper part - he is placed on the back with legs from his mother, and she leans over him. In general, the baby's chin should point to the area where the congestion has formed.

Frequent feeding

In order not to have to worry about how to express breast milk with your hands during stagnation, you need to feed the baby often, but in small portions. Such feeding will have a beneficial effect on the health of the mother and baby.

Additional measures

breast massage

Massage is necessary, as already noted, to ensure relaxation, breaking seals and a better outflow of milk. For safety reasons, it is better to do it yourself, as a professional massage therapist may not calculate the level of pressure.

The procedure is carried out before feeding or combined with pumping. With unbearable pain, you can try to perform the procedure in a bath or shower at a water temperature of no more than 37 degrees.

Compresses

They have a warming, relaxing effect, so milk flows better through the ducts.

An ordinary napkin dipped in warm water is an excellent tool, as it is to break the bumps during lactostasis. She keeps on the chest area until it cools. Traditional medicine offers many remedies used as compresses.

Mistakes to Avoid

To properly adjust lactation, you should avoid some of the mistakes that young mothers most often make:

Feeding according to the regimen

The regimen recommended for many mothers for feeding, which consists in observing a three-hour break, is designed for artificial feeding. Natural feeding in the first days after childbirth should be carried out every half hour, a two-hour break for a night's sleep is allowed.

The baby needs to be breastfed on demand, over time the size of the baby's ventricle will increase and the interval between feedings will increase. Only in this case it will be possible to avoid stagnation of milk.

Incorrect feeding technique

No need to intercept and squeeze the breast with your fingers, trying to direct it into the baby's mouth. The chest can be slightly supported, incorrect manipulations will lead to clamping of the milk ducts and stagnation of milk, as a result, you will have to resort to one of the ways how to express properly.

The baby's mouth should completely encircle the areola, his tongue sticks out between the lip and chest. Only if these rules are observed, cracks, microtraumas of the nipples and stagnation in the chest can be avoided.

Feeding or supplementation

The fact is that the use of the nipple within 3 months after childbirth will lead to a change in the sucking technique, and hence to improper emptying of the breast. It is also not recommended to offer the baby a pacifier.

Pumping after feeding

Such manipulations are perceived by the woman's body as a lack of milk, therefore, each time its volume increases, hyperlactation and subsequent stagnation occur.

Other mistakes young mothers can make are:

  • feeding in one position;
  • wearing tight underwear;
  • uncomfortable posture while sleeping.

Prevention

To preserve women's health, it is important not only to eliminate lactostasis, but also to prevent its reappearance.

  1. Observe the sleep regimen, and choose a comfortable position (preferably on the back).
  2. Refuse tight clothes and bras, choose comfortable products only from natural fabrics.
  3. Avoid overwork, trauma, psycho-emotional stress.
  4. Correctly and often apply the baby to the breast.
  5. Change not only the breasts during feeding, but also the position of the child.

Breastfeeding is an amazing time in every woman's life. In order not to overshadow it, it is better to follow all the prescribed recommendations. Well, if stagnation has formed, the necessary measures must be taken in a timely manner, then negative manifestations of lactostasis can be avoided.

Video

How to properly express milk with lactostasis, you will learn from our video.

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How to strain lactostasis (milk stasis) with your hands. Massage for lactostasis. Symptoms and treatment of lactostasis in a nursing mother at home (compresses, massage and other useful tips).

Many friends and acquaintances frightened me with the terrible words "lactostasis" and "mastitis". Everyone says you need to constantly decipher, but no one explains how to do it right ...

I hope my story will help future young mothers.

After the COP, the child was given to me only a day later, I began to apply it very actively to the chest when he was crying. The first day it seemed to me that he spends more time at my chest than outside it. Drank a lot of liquid. My efforts were not in vain, the milk came very quickly and in large quantities. A newborn baby was not ready to drink this amount of milk. The doctors at the hospital looked at my breasts every day and told me to pump constantly with a breast pump. I immediately took him with me to the hospital on the advice of my friends (electric). After each feeding, I tried to express the remaining milk with them, but still not a single breast pump can pump it to the end, I already understood this later. Cracks appeared on one more nipple in the maternity hospital, although from the first days she smeared them with cream, apparently this is simply inevitable, respectively, the other breast became "favorite". She was given more often, while this one healed and, accordingly, more milk began to be produced in it.

A week after discharge, at night it turned out that the child slept a little longer and the “favorite” breast turned into stone. As soon as he woke up, I immediately put him on my chest, but after it became soft, I felt a big bump.

In the morning, the temperature rose to 39, I tried to bring it down with a children's nurofen, it was decanted with a breast pump, but the temperature was steady. I tried to spread my breasts with my hands, pressing on the areola, but the bump did not resolve. On the second day, it was decided to call an ambulance, which I now regret. It was a day off, the team on duty arrived, they gave me an injection against the temperature and they told me to go to the surgeon. I was shocked ... The surgeon looked at the hospital, pressed very hard on his chest, milk splashed and said go home, decante, you have lactostasis and not mastitis. After that, I completely ceased to understand how to properly decompress my chest, some say you need to press, knead through pain, endure, others - in no case do not press ...

After the hospital, my husband and I went to a nurse who works at home. She did it completely painlessly, with baby cream, in circular motions towards the nipple, alternately one breast, then the other. The temperature subsided, the bump became smaller, but still remained. I came to her three more times, gave this breast to the child, the condition improved markedly, but still not completely.

I went to another doctor I knew, she told me, do not listen to anyone who says that the chest needs to be crushed or pressed hard, you get up in the bathroom under a warm shower, direct the jet to the bump and press on the halo a little inside, you express it! A few days later, the bump was completely gone.

What is this lactostasis and why does it appear?

Congestion occurs when there is a blockage in the flow of milk in some part of the breast. A milk plug is formed, which blocks the exit of the newly formed milk, in place of this plug there is swelling of the breast tissue, which makes itself felt first with a seal, and then with soreness, redness and a rise in temperature.

Causes of lactostasis:

  • feeding in the same position, with the same breast;
  • pumping after each feeding (when there are no congestions, express only if you feel excessive fullness to a state of ease, i.e. not completely);
  • insufficient water intake, especially in summer;
  • hypothermia;
  • inappropriate underwear squeezing the chest;
  • lack of sleep and general fatigue;
  • even weather changes can be a cause.

If lumps appeared, the chest and temperature began to hurt.

Here is my recipe:

1. We do massage. With the left hand we support the breast, squeeze out the baby cream or oil on the right hand and with sliding circular movements (light, without pressing!) Massage the breast towards the nipple, as if expelling the milk. The whole point is in the cream! At me from such massage jets pour. Alternately massage the right and left breasts. The patient is better to decipher completely, healthy to a feeling of lightness.

2. We get up under a warm shower (not hot!), We direct water to the area with a bump and pressing on the areola a little inside, we express milk. We decant the sore breast until it becomes completely soft like a "rag".

3. From the folk: the cabbage leaf helps to dissolve the bumps very well. First, you need to beat it a little and freeze it so that it is soft and easily gives juice. We apply it after we have completely expressed the sore breast. We leave it until it becomes dry, i.e. will give all the juice. A friend recently saved herself with a honey cake, applied it at night for several days in a row.

4. If possible, you should contact experienced consultant on breastfeeding, which will help to drain the breast and not waste time.

5. No way do not heatseal!!! AND don't wrinkle!!! You can make it even worse and lactostasis will turn into mastitis!

6. Required breastfeed a sick child, better than him no one will rassedit. You can try to change the position of feeding, so that the child's chin points to the place of the bump, i.e. if the stagnation is closer to the armpit, feed in the "from under the arm" position.

Now my lactation has been established, the child sleeps for 3 hours, then 5 at night, the chest becomes full and hard, but there are no lumps, he drinks everything completely and I don’t express at all. I control the amount of milk I drink.

As for lactostasis, almost every nursing mother goes through this, this can only be avoided by manually decanting the breast to a state of lightness in the first weeks! and prevent overflow, i.e. if you feel that your breasts have already begun to stony and it will not be soon to feed, you can express a little. But you also need to understand that the amount of milk is produced on demand, the greater the demand, the greater the supply. If you get used to constantly pumping, then you will have to do it all the time.

There are many myths and misconceptions around breast pumping. Now medical workers do not recommend getting involved in such a procedure, however, in some situations, a nursing woman cannot do without it.

The most accessible and most natural technique is hand pumping. That's why new parents need to know how to express breast milk with their hands and when to really do it.

Breastfeeding is certainly a natural process, so the composition of milk secretion and its volume adjusts to the needs of a particular newborn.

If a woman constantly puts her baby to her breast (especially at night with the maximum release of the hormone prolactin), the glands are emptied. But in certain cases, expressing milk will help normalize a woman's well-being.

Optional conditions

Before pumping the breast, the mother needs to consider whether she really needs this procedure. Breastfeeding experts are skeptical about the necessity of artificial stimulation of the mammary glands, considering the following reasons far-fetched.

Mandatory conditions

There are few cases in which it is permissible to express milk, but every new parent should remember them. This will eliminate unnecessary procedures and help you make the right choice.


In other situations, expressing milk with natural feeding is not necessary. If the child eats well, is not hungry, develops normally, the mother feels fine, unnecessary procedures will only harm.

Two main hormones are responsible for the process of formation and secretion of milk secretion. It is from their “work” that the course of lactogenesis depends, the woman’s nutrition or heavy drinking practically does not participate in lactation.

  • Oxytocin. This hormonal substance provokes the flow of milk under the action of certain "irritants". For example, oxytocin is activated when a newborn is attached to the chest, smelling a native baby, and stimulating the glands. If oxytocin is released, the milk flows on its own, without requiring any effort.
  • Prolactin. A similar hormonal substance is designed to control the volume of milk secretion. It "calculates" the amount of milk removed from the breast and returns the same amount. Due to this, the breast during lactation is practically not emptied.

Breast pumping will be effective if these hormones begin to act. To “turn them on” and cause the flow of milk to the glands, it is necessary to carry out preliminary preparation.

It may include the following activities:

  • applying towels to the chest, previously soaked in warm water, or standing under the jets of a non-hot shower;
  • drinking warm weak tea or any other liquid (it is important that the drink is warm);
  • light and gentle massaging of the mammary glands;
  • stimulating the flow of milk, for example, by tilting down.

When performing these activities, the mother should think about her beloved newborn baby. The ideal option is to sit next to the baby in order to better feel it.

The influx of milk secretion will be more effective if one breast is offered to the baby, and the other is decanted. This technique is good because the milk, when sucked by the baby, will flow into two breasts at once.

Marmet and other pumping methods

How after childbirth and "get" milk with your own hands? To simplify the process of pumping, breastfeeding experts offer several methods, each of which has its own characteristics.

It is specially designed for breastfeeding mothers. Since this procedure is not entirely natural for the female breast, it is necessary to carefully study all the intricacies of the process and follow the following steps.

In addition to the Marmet technique, there are other techniques that help get milk from their mother's breasts. They are usually used if the previous method did not bring results.

The warm bottle method

A similar method is used if the nipple is in a tense state, and the mammary glands are inflamed. In such situations, it is extremely difficult to get milk, and it’s impossible to attach a baby.

A bottle is used to express milk with your hands or relax your chest to such an extent that the child can take the nipple in his mouth. This container with a neck width of at least 4 centimeters must be heated with boiling water, and the upper part should be cooled.

Then, the peripapillary area must be lubricated with petroleum jelly and a container should be applied to it. The papilla will begin to retract into the bottle and the milk will flow out. As soon as the jets become weak, the bottle is removed.

Nipple squeeze method

If the nipples begin to coarsen, and pain is felt when they are pressed, a special method will be required, which involves the primary secretion of milk.

To implement this method, it is necessary to place all the fingers directly on the nipple and press on it for three to four minutes. Such actions soften the mammary gland and make the pumping process less painful.

Possible errors

Expressing breast milk will be effective and painless only if you follow all the steps correctly. During the procedure, the following errors are possible.

To erroneous actions, experts on breastfeeding also include the refusal to decante, if during the very first procedure the woman felt pain or did not receive milk. It is necessary to try - to choose the right time, the best posture and a favorable mood. In this case, the return of the white product will not keep you waiting.

Before expressing milk secret, a woman should understand how to use it. This will help the recommendations of specialists in natural feeding of newborns.

Do not heat up expressed milk in the microwave. Such a product turns out to be unevenly heated, and this is fraught with the presence of excessively hot parts in the container and a burn of the oral mucosa.

Expressing milk by hand is a procedure that can only be mastered after some time. If a woman who is breastfeeding is unable to drain her breasts, a doctor or natural feeding expert should be consulted for advice. And although experts recommend not to get involved in such a procedure, pumping will allow the mother to stock up on a useful product and prolong breastfeeding as much as possible.

Hello, I'm Nadezhda Plotnikova. Having successfully studied at SUSU as a special psychologist, she devoted several years to working with children with developmental problems and advising parents on raising children. I apply the experience gained, among other things, in the creation of psychological articles. Of course, by no means do I pretend to be the ultimate truth, but I hope that my articles will help dear readers deal with any difficulties.

Almost all modern parents have heard about the benefits of breastfeeding. Breast milk is a unique product that is ideal for a newborn baby. For successful and long-term feeding of the baby, it is necessary to carefully monitor the condition of the mammary glands and prevent any problems. Therefore, it is worth knowing in advance how to express breast milk with your hands during stagnation.

Immediately after childbirth, a sharp restructuring of the hormonal system of a young mother occurs. And all the efforts of the body are directed to the production of milk for the newborn. Full lactation is not established immediately. The body needs time to adjust to stable milk production. On the way to this, a young mother may face some difficulties.

As a rule, milk after childbirth arrives for 3-5 days. All this time, the baby actively stimulates the mother's breast by sucking. And at a certain point, abundant milk production begins. The chest is full, and here some difficulties may arise.

As a result of an abundant influx of milk, individual lobes of the mammary glands can become very full. Not all babies are born strong enough to handle such breasts. A situation arises that milk is in abundance, and the baby is not able to suckle the breast. Milk stagnation begins, which is fraught with more serious consequences. In this case, you can not tighten. Action must be taken immediately.

Signs of milk stagnation (lactostasis):

  • breasts swollen, hot and hard to the touch;
  • painful seals are felt;
  • during massage, the bumps that appear do not break;
  • when the condition worsens, the body temperature rises.

Often, milk stasis occurs as a result of blockage of the milk ducts. This is especially common at the very beginning of breastfeeding, while the mammary gland has not yet been developed.

Consequences of stagnant milk

If, in the event of lactostasis, timely measures are not taken, mastitis will develop. This is an inflammatory disease, which is already much more difficult to treat. Sometimes you even have to resort to surgery.

With prolonged stagnation of milk in the chest, painful changes begin, then suppuration and more serious consequences appear. If a nursing mother has a fever and the symptoms listed in the table, this is an occasion to immediately consult a doctor.

Expression of milk

The help of a newly-made mother may be needed already in the hospital. It is advisable to prevent the occurrence of stagnation. It is necessary to track the moment of arrival of milk and immediately begin to act. Expressing breast milk is not difficult. To learn how to extract milk rivers under the power of every nursing mother.

But if lactostasis still happened, the following actions will help:

  1. First you need to properly warm the chest. This will relieve tension from the blood vessels and expand the milk ducts. It is best to use a large towel. To warm it, soak it in hot water and attach it to your chest, hold it for a while. Often at this stage, you can see the flow of milk.
  2. Warm breasts can be offered to the child. After such a manipulation, it will become much easier for him to dissolve the breast. Choose the position of the baby so that his chin is opposite the painful area.
  3. If the lump is still there after feeding, you should express the milk yourself.
  4. How to express milk. Take one breast in the palm of your hand, while the thumb should be on top of the edge of the halo. With the other four fingers, hold the chest down.
  5. Then express the milk with squeezing movements from the area on the side of which there is a seal. Gradually, the milk will flow through the ducts closer to the nipple, and it can be squeezed out.
  6. When performing pumping movements, the fingers should not move along the peripapillary zone. You only need to work on squeezing the areola towards the center of the chest, pressing inward while squeezing the nipple.
  7. Then offer the breast again to the baby or express the milk completely.

Pumping with lactostasis is the only way to deal with stagnation. You can not neglect this procedure and postpone it until later. It is necessary to familiarize yourself in advance with how to properly express stagnant milk with lactostasis.

Expressed milk can be collected in a suitable container and offered to the baby. Or store in the refrigerator. But you can not give the baby a stagnant product.

Lactostasis at the end of breastfeeding

If a young mother decides to stop breastfeeding, she also runs the risk of milk stasis. Since it is excreted in the same volume, and the child no longer receives it, an excess can easily arise.

Therefore, it is always better to complete feeding smoothly, as correctly, gradually canceling one feeding after another. This way you can avoid the risk of complications.

But sometimes you need to stop breastfeeding one day. The reasons may be different. In such a situation, attention to your well-being should be especially close. If a strong overflow is felt, and the chest is literally bursting from the inside, it cannot be tolerated. Be sure to express some milk until a comfortable state is reached. At first, it is desirable to limit fluid intake somewhat. Also, do not take hot baths and visit the sauna. All this will help to avoid active milk production and lactostasis.

Gradually, lactation will begin to decline and eventually stop altogether. This process is not very fast, so for a certain period of time it is worth being more attentive to yourself.

Prevention of stagnation of breast milk

Despite the fact that no one is safe from stagnation at the beginning of breastfeeding, it is quite possible to prevent lactostasis with established lactation.

How to do it right:

  1. In the first time after the arrival of milk, you need to express regularly. The baby is still too young and his nutritional requirements are not great. But over time, requests will grow very quickly, and regular pumping will stimulate the breasts to produce more milk.
  2. As you grow older, the need for milk stabilizes and additional stimulation of the breast will be unnecessary. In this case, pumping, on the contrary, can lead to too active milk production and cause congestion.
  3. Every time before feeding, it is advisable to perform a special breast massage. It will increase blood circulation and facilitate the outflow of milk when sucking.
  4. When attaching a child, you need to carefully monitor the correct grip. The baby should not be allowed to take only the nipple in his mouth. Be sure to be captured and most of the halos. Both sponges will be turned outward. With an incorrect grip, the breast does not empty completely, individual segments may remain intact.
  5. Change your feeding position often. Depending on the position of the baby, one part of the breast is emptied more than the other. Use a nursing pillow for comfort.

You can see how to express with lactostasis on numerous existing videos. And visually see how to correctly perform the described movements. Having the information and the necessary skills, you can provide yourself with the necessary assistance in a timely manner. After all, prevention is always easier than cure.

The birth of a child is a very important moment, especially if this is the first experience. New mothers are under constant stress trying to provide proper care for their baby. In the first months of life, breastfeeding is an important aspect. And then there may be some difficulties for a young mother.

One of the problems can be lactostasis in a nursing mother, which leads to blockage of the milk ducts. As a result, milk stagnates in them, tissues swell, pain and fever appear. Lactostasis is clearly a pathology that is classified by ICD code 10 092.7.0.
With timely treatment, lactostasis can be eliminated fairly quickly, within a few days. However, with self-treatment or ignoring the symptoms, lactostasis can develop into a more serious disease.

Stagnation of milk in the milk ducts can occur for several reasons.

  1. When feeding a child in the same position. As a result of this, the same ducts are released, and the rest of the milk remains. Thus, there is a blockage of the milk duct.
  2. Sleeping in the same position also contributes to the development of the disease. Milk accumulates in one part of the breast, mainly under the armpits.
  3. Wearing tight underwear also leads to the development of milk stasis. Avoid tight bras or underwired underwear that literally dig into the skin.
  4. A young mother should not forget about the replenishment of fluid in the body. Drinking enough water will prevent the milk from becoming viscous. In this case, it will be difficult for the child to suck it and the milk ducts become clogged.
  5. Quite often, the causes of lactostasis lie in the trauma of the mammary gland. As a result of the impact, swelling of the tissue occurs and this prevents the normal outflow of breast milk.
  6. Pumping is a common occurrence among women who have given birth. But, the milk that is left after feeding the baby should not be expressed. This causes a permanent increase in lactation. The baby simply cannot cope with this amount of nutrition, and the remaining milk causes a blockage.
  7. Use of nipples. A baby who drinks milk from a bottle with a pacifier is reluctant to breastfeed in the future.

Previously, experts noted that the child should be fed every 3 hours. The remaining milk after feeding had to be expressed. In fact, such a schedule and method of feeding led to lactostasis or mastitis. To avoid such problems, it is enough to feed the baby on demand.

At the initial stage of the disease, a nursing mother may not notice a particular deterioration in well-being or other signs. However, after a few days, the following signs of lactostasis appear:

  • pain and burning in the mammary glands
  • Feeling uncomfortable while breastfeeding
  • mammary glands can take on a different shape
  • constant feeling of heaviness in the chest (stone chest)
  • the appearance of red spots on the chest or its complete redness
  • swelling of tissues and swelling of the mammary glands

A fairly common symptom is the temperature during lactostasis, which leads to general weakness of the body and chills. Usually, the body temperature in this disease does not rise above 37.5 degrees. If the rise in temperature continues, then this indicates the development of mastitis.
At this stage, it is important to know how to distinguish mastitis from lactostasis. As a rule, with mastitis, the symptoms of the disease appear more clearly and lead to a sharp deterioration in the woman's well-being. The temperature in this disease is high. In order to understand that this is mastitis, experts advise measuring it not only in the armpits, but also in the groin and elbows.

When to See a Doctor

Usually stagnant processes in the milk ducts pass within a few days. At this time, experts recommend feeding the baby more often. The baby is able to solve the problem with stagnation of milk on his own. Pumping with lactostasis immediately after feeding is not recommended.
If within 2-3 days there is no improvement in well-being, and heaviness in the chest has not passed, then you should consult a doctor so that a simple disease does not turn into a more serious form. With the help of ultrasound, the diagnosis will be determined and the correct treatment will be prescribed. If the treatment does not give results, then they resort to laser removal of the seal.

Good help with lactostasis can provide massage. In the early stages, it will help get rid of discomfort and remove stagnation. Massage is best done after taking a relaxing shower. Before starting the procedure, you must thoroughly wash your hands and apply a greasy cream or massage oil to your chest.
Massage rules for lactostasis:

  1. The left hand is placed under the chest, the right hand begins to gently massage. Movements should be neat and soft and performed clockwise. Start massaging the breast from its upper part and gradually reaching the nipple.
  2. Each seal must be worked out especially carefully. It is also massaged clockwise, you can slightly knead.
  3. The breast in the nipple area is massaged very gently. To prevent cracks, it is better to pre-lubricate it with a greasy cream.
  4. Do not forget about the massage of the armpits.
  5. After the end of the massage, it is necessary to lean forward slightly and lightly shake off the chest several times.

It is worth paying attention that sudden movements are not allowed during the massage. They should be soft and not cause pain. For greater effect, light tapping on the seals with the knuckles is allowed.
After the end of the massage, it is recommended to immediately feed the baby or express milk. Usually, a few procedures are enough for the breasts to become soft and the lumps to disappear. If this does not happen, then you need to consult a doctor who will professionally perform this procedure and express milk from the breast.

Dissection in a medical facility

Very often, young mothers hear about the difficulties they face when expressing breast milk. If this cannot be done on your own at home, then the doctor will continue decanting lactostasis in the clinic. For this, special equipment is used.
In combination with this, physiotherapy is also used. It consists in exposing the area where milk stagnation and stones have arisen with ultrasonic waves. A special UHF preparation creates ultrasonic waves that contribute to the expansion of the milk ducts. As a result, the milk does not stagnate, but is easily expressed from the breast.
Treatment of lactostasis with ultrasound will take only a few physiotherapy procedures. The full course is up to 10 such procedures.

Pumping after procedures

With home treatment, the last step is to express breast milk. It is important to know how to drain milk stasis at home. It is necessary to express milk from a breast in which stagnation is observed.
To make the process of pumping with lactostasis easier, experts recommend lightly massaging the chest at the same time. Do not be afraid if the milk is thick. On the contrary, it indicates that the stagnation has been dissipated. After pumping, it is recommended to apply the baby to the breast. This contributes to the complete emptying of the milk ducts.
After the feeding is completed, a cooling compress can be applied to relieve breast swelling.

Another method that is effective for stagnant milk and feeling like a stone in the chest is to exercise. A few simple exercises will help improve the outflow of milk and eliminate the discomfort of lactostasis in the chest.
The exercise technique is as follows.

  1. Hands must be bent at the elbows. In this case, the forearms rest on a support located vertically relative to the elbows. The movements are springy to the support and back to the chest.
  2. The arm, from the side where the lump is located, is bent at the elbow and rested on a vertical support. With the second hand, carefully take the seal on the chest and slightly pull it down. Make springy movements to the support and back.

All exercises should be done smoothly, without sudden movements. They should not cause discomfort to the body. These simple exercises can be used as a prevention of lactostasis during breastfeeding.

Means to alleviate the condition

Often, young mothers resort to traditional medicine, which can significantly alleviate the condition with lactostasis. Several generations have used cabbage juice to reduce inflammation. You can also use a cabbage leaf, which must be slightly kneaded before use so that the juice stands out. In this case, you need to make sure that the juice does not get on the nipple, and this does not cause a digestive disorder in the child.
Potato has a good anti-inflammatory effect in lactostasis. It is rubbed on a fine grater and applied to the chest in the form of a compress. A compress of magnesia, honey cakes, all these remedies can reduce pain during lactostasis.
Doctors also advise paying attention to ointments of plant origin. It can be Arnica ointment or Traumeel S. With severe pain, when it seems to be shooting in the chest, you can drink painkillers. Antibiotics during feeding, for the treatment of lactostasis, are contraindicated.

Folk remedies

Although medicine does not recommend being treated at home, folk remedies can often bring relief and even get rid of the problem. With lactostasis, you can use camphor oil. Camphor, namely oil, not alcohol, is applied to the breast after feeding and left there for a while.


Doctors do not advise the use of alcohol compresses, which have warming properties. Milk is an ideal environment for the development of bacteria. An increase in its temperature increases their appearance many times over and leads to the appearance of purulent mastitis. Therefore, it is not recommended to use vodka compresses for the treatment of lactostasis.

Prevention

Lactostasis in a nursing mother can be prevented by following simple rules. Prevention of lactostasis is as follows:

  • Regular breastfeeding.
  • Feeding is not on time, but at the request of the child.
  • Control of the posture of feeding with lactostasis.
  • Intervals between breastfeeding should not exceed 3-4 hours.
  • Avoid hypothermia of the body and chest.
  • Wear proper underwear that does not squeeze your chest.
  • Avoid stress and nervous strain.
  • At the time of breastfeeding, completely exclude sweet, spicy, smoked foods from the diet.

Young mothers should remember that the best preventive measure and treatment for lactostasis is the regular emptying of the milk ducts in a natural way. It is better to handle this with your own child, so when the first signs of lactostasis appear, do not transfer it to artificial feeding, but, on the contrary, apply it to the breast more often.