How to reduce pain when breastfeeding. How to relieve pain in the breasts and nipples during feeding? Entrance gates for infections

Breastfeeding a baby can be painful for the mother. This happens when the nipples are cracked, milk flows in and it stagnates in the milk ducts. The sooner the cause is identified, the easier it will be to eliminate it.

Mother's milk is the best nutrition for a baby. When breastfeeding, mother and baby become closer under the influence of joint emotional satisfaction. But sometimes this feeling of closeness is overshadowed by pain in the mammary glands. By immediately identifying and eliminating the cause of concern, you can avoid long-term treatment and interruption of feeding

Normal and pathological

After childbirth, women's breasts are especially sensitive. The flow of milk is accompanied by a feeling of fullness in the mammary glands. Some heaviness, and sometimes tingling or tingling in them are natural signals that it is time to feed the baby. Initially causing discomfort, they reduce their intensity after a few days. But in the first week, hot flashes occur even during feeding, disturbing the young mother.

At this time, slight redness of the nipples is acceptable. Their sensitive skin rubs against the child’s gums and responds with a slight burning sensation. It should disappear after a few feedings. If this does not happen, then under no circumstances should you tolerate increasing pain. It means the appearance of cracks, which become gateways for infection. A nursing mother needs to learn how to properly attach the baby, making sure that it completely grasps both the nipple and the areola.

The described soreness in the mammary glands during feeding can be called natural and it is “treated” by regular feeding. After the menstrual cycle is restored, breast engorgement returns before menstruation. But there are other reasons why a nursing woman has breast pain:

cracked nipples;
lactostasis;
mastitis;
thrush and other infections;
abrupt interruption of feeding.

In maternity and postpartum classes, nurses teach some relaxation techniques to help cope with hot flashes. They show how to hold a baby while feeding and wean him from the breast without damaging the skin of the nipple. At the same time, alarming symptoms during breastfeeding are highlighted.

Incorrect attachment

The mammary gland that the baby sucks must be supported from below by the mother's hand. The baby's chin must touch the breast, and the nipple, along with the areola, is in the mouth. In another case, the mother experiences pain, and the damaged skin hurts afterwards.

If correct attachment does not help, then the nursing mother should pay attention to the length of the child’s frenulum. The short frenulum stretches over time. But for overall health, it may be safer to cut it. This operation is performed by a pediatrician or dentist.

To avoid inflammation of microcracks and abrasions on the nipples, the mother must take care of her own hygiene. For this:

after feeding, express the remaining milk and wash the breast;
nipples are immediately lubricated with sea buckthorn oil or other healing preparations;
dry the skin in the open air;
exclude tight or uncomfortable bras;
use breast pads and change them on time.

These simple treatments will help heal existing skin damage. If there are no diseases, the mammary glands are alternated at each feeding, after which they are cleaned and air baths are performed.

Thrush in mother and child

Sharp burning and itching in a nursing mother are one of the important symptoms of thrush. The activity of the Candida fungus can occur during feeding at any time. Occurring in the baby’s mouth, colonies of harmful microorganisms spread to the mother’s breast.

A whitish coating on the reddened mucous membranes of the oral cavity, and general restlessness of the baby are the first alarming signs of a fungal infection. Although it rarely affects the milk ducts, you should not put off visiting a doctor. The therapist prescribes treatment for two people at once.

Lactostasis

Over the course of three months, the mother's body gets used to the needs of the newborn. During this period, regularity and frequency are important in breastfeeding. At first, there may be less or more milk than the baby needs. Later, the production of the hormones prolactin and oxytocin, responsible for the amount of nutrient fluid, normalizes. It is the latter that prevents stagnation of milk in the mammary gland.

Oxytocin relaxes the milk ducts. Baby crying, caring and even thinking about the baby increases its production. And unnecessary anxiety interrupts the stable replenishment of the hormone. This is one of the reasons for lactostasis, but others can be identified:

incomplete release of milk from the breast;
hypothermia, bruise or injury to the mammary gland;
cracked nipples;
dehydration;
pinching of the milk ducts due to improper feeding or underwear;
refusal to breastfeed while lactation continues.

Feeding becomes painful, but after it you feel relief. The mammary gland, in which stagnation has occurred, swells, compactions are felt in it, the local temperature rises, and milk is sprayed unevenly or does not come out at all. This condition requires immediate response, as it can be complicated by mastitis.

Mastitis and its difference from lactostasis

If milk retention in the milk ducts is not eliminated within 1-2 days, congestive mastitis develops, quickly turning into an infectious form. Mastitis is an inflammatory process caused by the coagulation of milk in the mammary ducts and alveoli. It occurs without previous stagnation if the mammary gland becomes infected through cracks in the nipples.

Early symptoms of mastitis are very similar to signs of lactostasis, but more pronounced. Complete differentiation is carried out using laboratory tests. But usually there are enough characteristic differences.

Palpation. With lactostasis, palpating the lumps does not increase the pain, and the accumulated milk has clear boundaries. With mastitis, the resulting infiltrate blurs the contours of the inflammation, the breast hurts, swells and turns red.
Milk secretion. Simple congestion is relieved by feeding from the diseased gland. Very painful pumping during inflammation does not bring relief - this is one of the important differences. Purulent discharge is possible.
General state. Mastitis is characterized by a constantly elevated body temperature (37-38 ° C) or its sharp jump to high values.

Treatment of congestive mastitis is the same as for lactostasis. But if the disease has progressed to the next stage, then they take a break from breastfeeding and carry out antibacterial therapy. To maintain lactation, continue to express milk.

Relief of pain during breastfeeding

In breastfeeding, the first months and the end of lactation are considered the most difficult. At this time, unpleasant complications are common. To combat milk stagnation, no special treatment is required, and pain is reduced in various ways.

More often they give the baby the affected breast and express the remainder. Feeding breaks should be no more than 3 hours.
Before feeding, warm the breasts with warm, but not hot water, or apply a warm heating pad for 10 minutes. High temperature is dangerous.
Continue preparation with a light massage. Movements should be smooth, you should not press with force on tight places, so as not to squeeze other ducts.
Since the baby may not have enough strength to draw out thickened milk, express a small amount of milk with a breast pump before breastfeeding.
Possible swelling is eliminated by applying cool cabbage leaves, ointment with arnica or Troxevasin.
If signs of inflammation appear or improvement does not occur after 2-3 days, you should consult a doctor and follow his recommendations.

Throughout the lactation period, a nursing mother must take care of her health and follow the rules of hygiene. The main causes of breast pain can be prevented by wearing comfortable underwear, sleeping on your side or back, regular feeding and expressing leftovers.

The first time a newborn is put to the breast is accompanied by certain, often painful sensations, and the breast needs some time to adapt to feeding the baby.

— Usually pain occurs when the baby grabs the nipples with his mouth and begins to suck steadily. During the feeding process, the delicate skin of the nipple begins to roughen a little and becomes less sensitive, the pain decreases or even becomes dull. It takes seven days to get used to breastfeeding. At the very beginning, this process can be accompanied by the formation of minor microcracks and the appearance of specific white crusts.

- If the nipples hurt from the first moment of feeding, and the pain lasts the entire time, then this means that the child grabbed the breast with force and incorrectly, which can cause abrasions and cracks.

- Pain in synthesis with hardening of the mammary gland indicates the time of feeding or becomes a symptom of diseases such as lactostasis and mastitis.

— A burning sensation in the nipples and areola during feeding, cracks and pain in the breasts between feedings may be a sign of thrush.

Functional pain

From the first day of conception, the female body initiates preparation for future motherhood. The mammary glands increase in volume and become very sensitive. Some women develop stretch marks on the skin of their breasts during pregnancy.

All these changes sometimes bring discomfort to a woman, and if the bra is chosen incorrectly, they can cause quite severe pain. Physiological pain associated with breast swelling often resembles the sensation before the onset of menstruation. They are rarely long lasting and strong.

During lactation, your breasts may also hurt. Most often, this is a signal that it is time to feed the baby. The feeling of heaviness and fullness goes away immediately after putting the baby to the breast. Nature has provided for everything; if the baby sleeps through feeding, the mother’s breasts will immediately remind you that it’s time to feed the baby. She will feel a bursting soreness in her chest and will not allow the baby to get too hungry.

For some women, especially those who have given birth to their first child, the flow of milk gives rise to a tingling or burning sensation in the female mammary glands. Milk let-in may occur before feeding, if a woman drinks, for example, hot tea or milk.

What kind of pain should you pay attention to?

It cannot be considered true that during the first month of breastfeeding, all women’s nipples, without exception, are susceptible to cracks. Pain, especially acute pain that complicates the process of feeding a child, cannot be the norm.
It is necessary to understand the cause of the pain and eliminate it. Most often, painful manifestations occur when the baby is attached incorrectly, when the baby weakly opens his mouth and squeezes the nipple with his gums.
It is best to give the baby the breast in a latch, when the mother squeezes the nipple and its areola with her index and middle finger. The most important thing is not to pinch the nipples, so as not to lead to stagnation of milk. Normally, the baby should grasp both the nipple itself and the surrounding area with his mouth.
If the latch seems to be correct, but the pain still does not stop, you need to make sure that the baby's hyoid frenulum and upper palate are formed correctly. Doctors can easily determine whether the baby has such a problem. A short frenulum does not allow the baby to suck normally and it is often recommended to trim it. It is possible that the frenulum will lengthen over time, but if severe pain is preventing feeding, cutting it will be a quick fix.
Intense bursting pain accompanying fever most often confirms the assumption of stagnation of milk in the breast - lactostasis. This disease must be treated immediately to prevent the formation of mastitis.
Regular feeding of the child, good emptying of the mammary gland and certain auxiliary measures will lead to a fairly rapid recovery. But even in a plastic breast, slight pain on palpation may be felt for another 2-3 days.
If the cracks in the nipples do not heal for a long time, the areola turns red, the areola looks dry and irritated, the pain remains after feeding or sometimes even intensifies, then we can assume thrush of the skin of the breast. It occurs due to the fact that the fungus living on the skin is activated and can affect not only the skin of a woman’s breast, but also the mucous membranes of the baby’s mouth (about thrush in newborns).
In conditions of stagnation in the milk ducts, mastitis can develop. Most often, this pathology appears after insufficient emptying of the breast from accumulated milk. At the same time, the breasts ache during feeding, they may become red and inflamed. Careful pumping of milk can help prevent the disease.

What to do if you have chest pain when feeding?

The most important thing is to stop frequently washing your nipples with soap. When washing with soap, the lubricant produced by the glands, which has bactericidal properties, is washed out. Before and after feeding, rinse them with plain water..
After washing, you need to cover the nipple with a few drops of mother's milk. You can use ointments that prevent dryness on the advice of your pediatrician.
If your breasts hurt after feeding, this may be a consequence of incorrect weaning of the baby.
You need to choose the right, non-tight bra, specifically designed for a nursing woman.
For thrush, the doctor determines therapy that helps to quickly cope with the disease and preserve breastfeeding. If the diagnosis is confirmed by a doctor, thrush is treated simultaneously in both mother and child.
The mother is prescribed ointments, and the baby is given a special solution that needs to be used to wipe the mouth. Only in advanced cases may the situation require the use of antifungal drugs orally, and the mother will be able to continue breastfeeding if the physician chooses treatment consistent with breastfeeding.
To prevent problems, you need to start preparing your breasts for feeding the baby two weeks before giving birth, namely, massage. To do this, the nipples must be pulled out extremely carefully with your fingers. Such a massage need to be done twice a day every day for 2-3 minutes.
When feeding with unbearable painful sensations, it is possible to use special feeding pads, which are sold in pharmacies, they can be glass or plastic.
In any case, if the breast is not completely empty of milk, it must be expressed and the baby must be fed with a spoon.

If your breasts hurt during feeding, it cannot be ignored, even if we are talking about harmless physiological pain, which, nevertheless, haunts the woman. You need to come to an appointment with a specialist who will find a solution to the issue for any specific case.

Breastfeeding often comes with its own challenges. Some young mothers complain that their breasts hurt when feeding, others notice unpleasant sensations after completing the lactation period. In any case, pain in the area of the mammary glands causes discomfort to the woman, and she strives to find out why her breasts hurt during breastfeeding and how to get rid of it.

Breast pain during lactation may appear in the coming days after the first feedings. Very often, inexperienced young mothers, unable to tolerate such unpleasant sensations any longer, stop breastfeeding without trying to understand the reasons that cause breast pain during feeding. The appearance of pain is most often associated with improper attachment to the breast, because mothers of first-born children do not yet know how exactly to place the breast in the baby’s mouth, and the child himself will only learn this over time. If the mammary gland is inappropriately located in the baby’s mouth, breast pain during breastfeeding is localized in the area of the areola and nipple, and can sometimes be simply unbearable, accompanied by the appearance of cracks.

If there is no problem with latching, then you should think about other causes of chest pain during lactation. Among them:

- stagnation of milk in the ducts. Occurs due to excessive amounts of milk, rare changes in feeding positions, when the baby skips a regular meal, or due to a blocked milk duct. If a woman has breast pain during lactation due to lactostasis, this is characterized by engorgement of one or both mammary glands, severe pain, heat and redness at the site of stagnation, and may be accompanied by an increase in temperature. The most striking is the feeling of “fossilization” of the breast.
Hyperlactation is excessive production of breast milk. In this case, the breasts of a nursing mother hurt during milk flows. The woman feels a constant feeling of heaviness in the mammary glands, breastfeeding does not bring the expected relief, and the pain in the breast remains after feeding.
- one of the most likely reasons why breasts hurt after feeding. If, while the baby is suckling, the nursing mother does not experience any unpleasant sensations, but begins to notice them when the next feeding is over, then most likely, candida has “settled” in her milk ducts. The main symptoms of thrush can be seen on the nipples: they are inflamed, flaky, may crack and bleed. Bacteria quickly infect the child’s mouth, causing the formation of a white coating on the mucous membranes.

As a rule, if a nursing mother has breast pain, she herself will be able to understand why this is happening by observing the external manifestations of a particular pathological condition, and will consult a doctor with a specific problem. But if the causes of breast pain during breastfeeding remain a mystery to a woman, she should not hesitate, otherwise she may face complications that will require long and difficult treatment and premature termination of lactation.

How to get rid of breast pain during breastfeeding?

To understand how to eliminate pain that occurs in the chest after feeding or directly during it, you must first find out why the chest hurts during feeding. How the young mother will get rid of unpleasant sensations largely depends on this.

Chest pain during breastfeeding, caused by improper attachment of the baby to the mammary gland, will begin to gradually disappear as soon as the young mother begins to follow the recommendations for feeding the baby and observe the attachment technique. You need to carefully monitor how the baby takes the nipple into his mouth: the baby’s gums should press on the areola, and not on the tip of the nipple, then there will be less pain. If cracks have formed on the nipples, they can be lubricated with Bepanten. This drug accelerates the healing process of microtraumas and is absolutely safe even for a newborn baby. Until the cracks heal, a nursing mother can use special nipple covers: if her breasts hurt, this will help reduce discomfort.

If a woman has a blocked milk duct, and this causes the development of lactostasis, you need to act as quickly as possible: stagnation of milk can lead to a serious complication - mastitis. Mastitis is treated surgically in most cases. The first thing doctors advise you to do at home is to feed your baby more often, trying not to pay attention to the fact that your breasts hurt during feeding, and in the intervals between feedings, try to knead the lump with soft massage movements and. Some women try to use folk remedies for lactostasis, for example, cabbage or alcohol compresses, but they do not always help. If the pain not only does not go away, but also begins to intensify, chills and fever appear, this is a reason to seek medical help as soon as possible.

In cases where a nursing woman has breast pain due to thrush, self-medication is strictly not recommended. Often candidiasis is transmitted to the baby, causing him severe discomfort, so therapy is carried out for both mother and child. Only a specialist can prescribe appropriate medications, taking into account the age of the baby and the characteristics of the nursing woman’s body.

Chest pain after lactation ends

You can often hear that women have chest pain after breastfeeding. This is usually due to the fact that a nursing mother completes the lactation period before the natural decline in milk production, when her body is not yet ready for this. If a woman prefers to stop breastfeeding without using medications to suppress lactation, she should be prepared for the fact that for some time the body will produce breast milk in approximately the same quantities as before. It’s good if a nursing mother reduces the number of feedings gradually - this will somewhat minimize the consequences of forced completion of breastfeeding. However, the likelihood that the nutrient fluid will stagnate in the ducts and cause pain in the mammary glands still remains quite high. What to do in this case?

You should not give up pumping for fear that milk will be produced in response to these movements. In order not to provoke strong fluid production, you need to express only occasionally and only until you feel relief in the mammary glands. A complete lack of pumping can lead to the development of lactostasis.
It is recommended to temporarily limit the amount of liquid you drink and the consumption of foods that help increase milk production.
It is allowed to use natural herbal remedies to stop lactation. This could be, for example, an infusion of sage.

If you follow these simple steps, your breasts will stop hurting in 2-3 weeks. However, if none of these tips brings relief, the woman should consult a doctor to identify the true cause of the pain.

Some women, trying as quickly as possible, use tight. But experts categorically do not advise using this barbaric method and warn: this often causes breast pain in nursing mothers. Such methods of ending lactation can lead to dangerous complications, including mastitis.

The lactation period is a wonderful time in the life of mother and child, which can last quite a long time if it does not cause discomfort to the nursing woman. This is why it is so important to understand the causes of chest pain that occurs during lactation and try to eliminate them as quickly as possible.

It would seem that the joy of motherhood cannot be overshadowed by any problems.

Moreover, the uncomfortable sensations of pregnancy and worries about the outcome of childbirth are long gone.

But young mothers quite often, with the birth of their baby, have a new problem associated with pain during feeding.

Various myths and medical illiteracy force women to refuse to breastfeed their children.

But there are many simple ways to get rid of breast pain when feeding.

Breast pain in a nursing mother: physiological condition

Chest pain in a nursing woman does not always indicate the presence of some dangerous pathologies that require serious treatment or threaten the health of the baby.

Hormonal changes

Almost all breastfeeding women experience breast pain at the very beginning of feeding. This is due to the production of the hormone oxytocin, which is able to stimulate muscle tissue and cells in the breast, which enhances milk production. Active production of this hormone is observed during the first few days after birth. In the future, even thoughts about feeding stimulate the release of oxytocin. Such physiological reflexes are felt by all women in completely different ways. For some, the discomfort is expressed by a slight tingling or sensation of strong pricks, while others feel quite strong pressure in the chest, accompanied by pain. In the future, feeding becomes natural for the woman, and painful sensations become invisible.

Nipple shape

Women who have nipples that are unnaturally shaped for breastfeeding face the problem of pain during feeding. With inverted, flat or very large nipples, feeding often causes quite unpleasant sensations. In addition to the natural structure of the breast, nipples can become flat under the influence of stagnation of milk, certain ailments, and swelling of the breast.

To avoid pain during feeding in the future, it is necessary to properly prepare unnatural nipples for feeding during pregnancy.

Large volume of milk

Some women, with sufficiently high milk production, experience pain directly while putting the baby to the breast. Unpleasant sensations are concentrated deep in the mammary gland. This condition can be observed in the first 3 months of feeding. Subsequently, if feeding techniques are followed, milk production levels out and fully meets the baby’s needs.

Breast pain in such mothers may appear before and after feeding. Excess milk literally bursts the mammary gland. To get rid of such unpleasant feelings, you can express a little milk before feeding, which will relieve pressure and feeding will be painless. Pumping after feeding stimulates milk production. Therefore, doctors do not recommend resorting to complete breast release.

Breast pain in a nursing mother: pathological causes of the problem

Often, breast pain during or after feeding occurs due to a problem with the nipples or the presence of a breast disease. In such cases, the problem will not disappear on its own, but requires special treatment, and in some cases, the help of a doctor.

Nipple problems

The appearance of cracks in the nipples, which causes unbearable pain during feeding, is associated with a violation of feeding technology and improper hygienic care of the breast.

If a woman places the baby incorrectly to the breast and the baby does not grasp the nipple halo, all the pressure during sucking falls on the nipple. In addition, women quite often make the mistake of trying to remove the breast from a child. Of course, the baby, not being satisfied, does not want to let go of the nipple and involuntarily bites it. To avoid this problem, just lightly pinch the baby and he will release the breast.

Cracks may appear if the skin on the chest becomes very dry. Therefore, it is important to wash off any remaining milk after feeding and wipe the area around the nipple with emollients.

Thrush

The appearance of thrush on the chest is associated with the spread of a fungal infection. Most often, pathogenic fungi enter the breast directly from the baby’s mouth. But a child can become infected with a dangerous disease from his mother.

Thrush appears on the chest:

Changing the color of the nipple to bright pink and shiny;

The appearance of blisters on the chest;

Intolerable itching;

Formation of cracks in the nipples;

Shooting pain in the chest.

In addition, pain not only accompanies feeding, but also appears after it. Dealing with the problem on your own is problematic. Quite often, treatment is required not only for the woman, but also for the baby.

Lactostasis

Overfilling of the breast and stagnation of milk in the ducts is always accompanied by unpleasant sensations. At the same time, the breasts increase significantly in size. Redness, hyperemia, pulsation and flattening of the nipples may also be observed. Sometimes lactostasis is accompanied by a slight rise in temperature.

The problem is related to the mother's inexperience in matters of feeding. Tight underwear, incorrect position of the baby during feeding, violations of the drinking regime are common causes of lactostasis. Overzealous pumping can also provoke excess milk production and its stagnation in the inflows.

Mastitis

Perhaps the most dangerous reason that provokes chest pain in a nursing woman. This is an inflammatory disease of an infectious nature. Mastitis develops quite rapidly and manifests itself:

Chest tension;

Hyperemia of tissue on the chest;

The presence of pus or blood in the milk;

The presence of unnatural stripes or spots on the chest.

Increasing temperature.

The disease poses a threat to a woman's life. Therefore, it requires immediate treatment.

Breast pain in a nursing mother: reasons not related to feeding

A breastfeeding woman may also have pain in her breasts for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with breastfeeding. A woman may encounter a similar problem:

1. When wearing an uncomfortable bra. In order for the breasts to be properly supplemented with milk, it is necessary to select a bra whose seams are located on the sides and the cups do not squeeze the breasts. It is better to give preference to underwear designed for nursing women.

2. During the onset of menstruation. The restoration of the menstrual cycle is almost always accompanied by unpleasant sensations in the chest area. Similar symptoms appear at the beginning of menstruation and can bother a woman for a couple of weeks. The pain subsides after ovulation in the middle of the cycle.

3. In the presence of fibrocystic mastopathy. However, such an illness is not a reason to refuse feeding, but increases the risk of lactostasis.

Breast pain during feeding: treatment

In most cases, a woman can get rid of breast pain during feeding on her own. To do this, it is enough to learn how to properly put your baby to the breast, follow a feeding schedule and carry out hygiene procedures in a timely manner.

If you have problems with feeding, you can seek help from breastfeeding specialists who will help regulate the process and teach the correct feeding technique. During feeding, the baby should completely cover the nipple halo with his lips, and his chin should be adjacent to the breast.

Proper latching of the baby will also help cope with the problem of cracked nipples.

In addition, if there are cracks, you can use healing ointments that do not penetrate into milk and blood. For breastfeeding women, products are available in the form of Bepanten and Videstim. They must be applied to the damaged nipple immediately after feeding. Before the next feeding, the ointment is washed off the nipple.

If feeding causes very severe pain, you can temporarily stop feeding the sore breast. If both nipples are damaged, you can use special pads that can distribute the load and reduce pain.

Thrush on the breast is a clear ban on breastfeeding. The woman will have to undergo treatment with antifungal drugs. If such a disease is detected, the baby must also be examined for the presence of infection.

With lactostasis, the best way to get rid of painful sensations is to continue feeding. You can alleviate the condition if you express a little milk immediately before feeding. This will reduce the pressure, and it will be easier for the baby to suck on the breast. You can also cope with blockage of the mammary glands with the help of massage, which must be carried out in a circular motion around the perimeter of the entire breast. A warm shower will help relieve swelling, and a compress made from chopped cabbage leaves with honey will help to cope with inflammation.

If mastitis is present, only a doctor can determine the advisability of continuing breastfeeding. Unlike lactostasis, pumping and massage for mastitis do not bring relief. Acute or serous mastitis requires the use of antibiotics. During the period of such treatment, feeding is prohibited, but you can use pumping to prevent lactation from stopping.

If mastitis has a purulent or infiltrative form, surgical intervention is inevitable, during which surgical cleaning of the mammary glands is performed. Usually, after such an intervention, lactation is no longer restored.

To avoid problems that arise during breastfeeding, including pain, a woman is recommended to take special courses during pregnancy. This will help you become familiar with the intricacies of proper breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding brings mutual satisfaction to both the baby and the nursing mother. With natural feeding, the baby grows healthier and calmer. No wonder experts urge women to breastfeed their babies for as long as possible. But it happens that a woman experiences pain during lactation

Why do breasts hurt during lactation?

From the beginning of pregnancy and during lactation, significant changes occur in a woman’s mammary glands. The body is preparing for upcoming motherhood. The breasts increase in size, swell, and react more sharply to touch. Often these changes are accompanied by pain.

Breast pain during lactation is considered a common physiological reaction to changes occurring in the body due to pregnancy. Often during lactation, pain feels similar to premenstrual pain in the mammary glands.

During lactation, the breasts hurt with normal swelling before feeding the baby. During the period of feeding the baby, the woman’s body gets used to a certain frequency of feedings and independently begins to signal readiness. The hormone oxytocin, produced in the first days after birth in response to the baby's sucking, causes milk to flow to the breast.

As the gland fills with milk, the woman feels discomfort, swelling and slight tingling in the chest during hot flashes. Typically, when breastfeeding a woman's first child, hot flashes are more painful than when breastfeeding after a second or third birth. If the discomfort does not disappear after the baby is attached, this may indicate the first symptoms of incipient mastitis.

Pain during lactation can be felt in the nipple area. If you feel pain in your breasts only when feeding, then the cause may be improper latching of the nipple by the child or cracks that have formed on the nipples. A burning sensation may be a symptom of skin thrush.

Wearing uncomfortable clothes or tight underwear can also cause breast pain during lactation.

Other pain during lactation

Toothache can occur due to tooth decay or gum inflammation. In addition, during breastfeeding, a woman loses a large amount of calcium necessary for teeth. Under no circumstances should you endure toothache, but should consult a doctor as soon as possible.

It is almost impossible to cure a tooth on your own and get rid of pain forever without the help of a specialist. In addition, by postponing going to the doctor, the likelihood of losing a tooth or waiting for inflammatory suppuration inside the gum or tooth is too high.

If you experience toothache, do not try to relieve it yourself. There is a possibility of introducing an infection into the facial tissues when rinsing. There are no contraindications for dental treatment during lactation. However, before starting treatment, you should tell your doctor that you are breastfeeding.

Many nursing mothers often have a question: what to do if your throat hurts during lactation? First of all, you should never refuse feeding. With breast milk, the baby will receive antibodies to the pathogen. But as a precaution, to protect the baby, the mother needs to wear a disposable gauze bandage on her face while feeding.
Sore throats are best treated with folk remedies that have a local effect and do not penetrate the blood. Rinsing with calendula tincture, soda, and chamomile decoction are ideal. Bioparox, a local antibiotic, is excellent for relieving sore throats during lactation.

Drink as much liquid and warm teas as possible. But when breastfeeding, you should be especially careful when using herbal infusions and infusions to avoid allergies in your baby.

Painkillers

It has long become the norm to take painkillers on your own, without resorting to the help of a doctor - you took a pill and the pain went away. But when breastfeeding, you need to be very careful when using any medications, since your baby’s health is at risk.

In order to relieve toothache during lactation, you can take Ibuprofen or Paracetamol or any drugs based on them, of which today there is a huge range in almost any pharmacy. For quick pain relief, the most effective way is injection; to obtain a long-term effect, rectal suppositories based on these drugs are more suitable.

Painkillers are suitable for pain relief Ketanov allowed for nursing mothers.

Taking analgesics will quickly relieve pain, but during lactation it is justified only in the most extreme cases. If taking medications prohibited during lactation is unavoidable, then you need to strictly follow the rules of administration according to the instructions and stop feeding the baby for a while. Usually the instructions indicate the time frame for removing the drug from the body, but it is better to consult a doctor. Until the medicine is completely eliminated, the baby should be bottle-fed with artificial formula. To prevent your baby from getting used to the bottle and refusing to breastfeed, use a tight nipple with a small hole. To avoid the occurrence of lactostasis and to maintain the amount of milk produced, a nursing mother needs to express herself regularly.

During lactation, avoid taking the following analgesics: Tempalgin, Spazmalgon, Andipal and Pentalgin. Ketorol is especially contraindicated during breastfeeding. If you experience a sore throat during lactation, you should not take Analgin and Aspirin and drugs based on them.