Breast Engorgement

Breast engorgement is when your breasts get swollen and painful. It occurs around the start

of breastfeeding. Some signs of breast engorgement include very hard, lumpy, swollen and painful breasts. Sometimes the breast pain can be more intense. But there is usually no inflammation or redness of the breast. When there is redness and pain in the breast while breastfeeding it is mastitis pain not breast engorgement.

Breast engorgement might be as a result of skipping breastfeeding few times. If treated well, breast engorgement should stop between a day or two. But at severe cases it could last for a week or even up to two weeks. If it lasts more than two days it is important to let your doctor know.

One of the complications of breast engorgement is that the milk duct may be blocked. You could feed the baby more from the affected breast to reduce the pain though it will be difficult for the baby to feed from it since the hardness of the breast makes it difficult for the baby to latch on to it.

If the breasts become engorged overnight you can use your hands or breast milk pump to express the milk from your breasts. You can also place ice packs on it to take care of the swelling. Taking a pain medication also helps.

A natural remedy is to wear a loose fitting bra and place cabbage leaves on the bra before wearing it. Leave it for about 30 minutes two to three times a day changing at it stage with fresh cabbage leaves. Continue this natural treatment until it subsides.

Some have suggested applying heat for engorged breasts while others may suggest cold applications. Both are recommended but it is important to identify when applying heat is necessary and when you have to apply cold to it. For instance you can have a warm bath to soften your breasts and make the milk flow easily when you want to breastfeed. When you want to make less milk, you can apply ice packs.