Whether it’s the week after your baby’s birth or somewhere down the road, engorgement can be a pain – literally. Read on for updated advice on how to manage this tricky phase.
What you should know about breast engorgement
Engorgement often happens shortly after birth, and is commonly referred to as your “milk coming in,” a process during which a woman’s breasts rapidly become bigger, more tender, and often harder 3-7days after delivery. Engorgement can also happen any time later on during your breastfeeding journey if you go an unusually long time without feeding or pumping.. Early engorgement isn’t all about milk. While your supply is gradually increasing after you give birth, your body is also dealing with a lot of pregnancy swelling that needs to be flushed out – yes, even in your breasts and nipples.
How to deal with it
If you’re breastfeeding, you can reduce breast engorgement by feeding Baby often based on feeding cues and not a schedule that spaces out feeds. If you’re not breastfeeding, on the other hand, feeding, pumping, or hand-expressing milk is not recommended, since this can encourage the body to produce more. If engorgement lasts longer than a day or two if you’re breastfeeding, or 3 to 5 days if you’re not, check in with your healthcare provider about treatment. In addition, consider these four tips to alleviate some of the pain.
- Use cold to tamp down inflammation and provide some relief. If you’re feeling pain between feeds, try a cold pack for 5 minutes or so every hour. Ibuprofen is also okay for most folks, but always check with your provider if you’re unsure.
- Massage with a super gentle touch. Breasts are glands, and too much pressure or “deep tissue” action can actually cause damage. But gentle breast massage or stretching (sometimes called breast gymnastics) can help keep milk flowing if you do it before a feeding, and soften things up in general by getting excess swelling up and out of the breast. You can do this for a minute any time you remember during the day.
- Deal with hard or flat nipples. If you’re breastfeeding, hand-expressing some of your milk can help reduce swelling and soften your areola so that your infant can nurse more effectively. If you’ve fed your newborn and your breasts still feel uncomfortably full, it’s important to get help to make sure Baby is removing milk well.
Pumping after or between feeds for comfort is an option. But if your baby is removing milk well AND you add on pumping, you’re sending some powerful extra messages to your body. Keep any extra milk removals to a minimum (maybe just a little hand expression to start) to avoid a tough cycle of engorgement and the need to continue extra pump sessions.
- Remember that engorgement is very manageable. Unless there is a more serious medical issue, like signs of mastitis, early breast engorgement lasts for an average of 24 to 48 hours. After it improves, you may still have some moments (especially in the morning) before feeds where you feel hard, firm or even have some lumpy areas. This should go away with a quality feed or pump session.
Another big piece of managing engorgement early on is making sure you’re resting. Staying close to home means you can follow your baby’s cues and keep your feet up. Down the road, it’s all about staying consistent with feeding or pumping, and thinking back to these tips if you do have a long stretch without milk removal and feel some engorgement again.
Sources
- “Breast Engorgement.” CHOP. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, August 1 2012. Web.
- “Engorgement.” Australian Breastfeeding Association. Australian Breastfeeding Association, October 2014. Web.
