How to relieve breast engorgement? Pay attention to your diet when breast engorgement occurs.

Breast engorgement is a problem that every mother will encounter. It is painful and unbearable. At this time, mothers can choose to soak their breasts in warm water to relieve this symptom, or massage their breasts themselves to promote mammary circulation, which can also relieve pain.

1. Soak in warm water

New mothers with engorged breasts can also effectively relieve the discomfort by soaking their breasts in warm water. First, prepare a basin of warm water and place it on your knees, then bend your upper body to your knees so that your breasts can be soaked in the basin. At this time, you can also gently shake your breasts, and gravity can make it easier for the milk to flow out.

2. Breast massage

Unblock the mammary ducts and discharge the milk. Usually, hot compress is applied first and then massage is performed. Because after the hot compress, the mammary ducts are unblocked, massage can discharge the excess milk and relieve breast pain. It is recommended that mothers use both hands to hold one breast at the same time, massage alternately from the bottom to the nipple area, and then squeeze the secreted milk into the container.

Pay attention to your diet when your breasts are swollen

1. Avoid eating foods that cause weaning

After giving birth, some mothers will eat some foods that can reduce milk production due to excessive milk production. However, this is unscientific. Not only should you consider your own physical condition, but you should also consider the baby's food intake and nutritional needs. If you eat too much, it will not be easy to stimulate milk production.

2. Eat a balanced diet

Mothers with excessive milk secretion should avoid eating foods that are too nutritious, such as fish soup and tofu. On the contrary, fresher vegetables and fruits are what mothers need most. Mothers should pay attention to nutritional balance and adjust their diet in time. In addition, it is necessary to remind all new mothers that sleeping position will also affect the overflow of milk. Mothers are best to sleep on their backs instead of lying on their sides to avoid pressing on the breasts and causing milk overflow.

Causes of breast engorgement

Breast engorgement is mainly caused by the increased blood and water in the breast milk and connective tissue. Pregnant women begin to produce colostrum from the end of pregnancy. When the placenta is delivered, prolactin increases, stimulating the production of milk, and the mammary ducts and surrounding tissues expand, reaching the highest point on the 3rd or 4th day after delivery. If the mother fails to breastfeed the baby early after the birth of the baby, or the interval between feedings is too long, or the milk secretion is too much and the baby cannot finish it, the milk cannot be completely removed, and the milk accumulates in the mammary ducts, making the breasts swollen and painful. At this time, the breasts become hard and the nipples are not easy to latch on. The mother will reduce the number of feedings due to fear of pain, which will cause the milk to stop flowing and aggravate the breast engorgement.

Make sure your baby sucks

At the beginning of breastfeeding, many new mothers will more or less experience some pain from breast swelling. Mild cases are fine, but more severe cases may hurt when touched, and even worse, develop into mastitis. Some mothers are afraid to let their babies suck because of the pain caused by breast swelling. This is wrong. Not only can it not relieve breast swelling, but it may also cause mastitis and a series of diseases due to blocked breasts. It is necessary to have the correct feeding posture and let the child suck well, so that the child can eat more milk and easily solve the problem of breast pain. If the feeding posture is incorrect, it may also cause nipple wrinkles and cracks, and then the mother will not dare to let the child breastfeed because of the pain, or the milk will accumulate in the breast, causing the breast to swell even more, so that the child cannot eat enough.