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In addition to being indicated as the main means of feeding babies up to 6 months of age, breastfeeding is a moment more than expected by all mothers or at least almost all. A magical, inexplicable and totally surrendered moment is fantasized, but it is not always so. Especially in the first days of adaptation, where the nipple cracks, bruises, bleeds and pains in the entire region of the breast due to stony milk can occur.
But breastfeeding is synonymous with persistence and determination and above all a great desire to feed your baby, just so as not to give up on the first bite of pain. And one of the most common problems during breastfeeding is stony milk or breast engorgement as it is known by medicine. Stoned milk makes the breasts hard and very sore, making the breastfeeding process very difficult. It usually causes fever in the breast, fissures in the beak, in addition to the extremely uncomfortable pain that makes it impossible to even hold the baby in your lap. In more aggravating cases, high fever may occur and requiring special care so that the problem does not get worse.
But why does stoned milk occur? And the answer is quite simple! In the beginning, the woman produces a quantity of breast milk above what is necessary to feed the baby, and since he does not breastfeed everything, this leftover ends up hardening inside the breast creating small, very painful lumps that end up making it difficult to breastfeed. There are some ways to prevent stoned milk like the use of a breastfeeding bra, which accommodates the breasts correctly. In addition to the absorbent disks that are positioned correctly, which are sold in large markets and pharmacies.
Treatment For Stoned Milk
The best way to avoid cobbled milk is to offer breast milk on demand . Waiving the old recommendations to offer only every 2 hours or every 3 hours. If the baby cries and asks, the ideal is to let him breastfeed, so it prevents the excess stones and creates disorders.
But if you chose to breastfeed at the correct times, another tactic is manual milking. When the breast is very full, you can massage it with your fingertips and perform the milking in order to get out some of the accumulated milk. This procedure should be done in about 15 minutes until the breasts are very soft and comfortable for the baby to be able to breastfeed properly.
Another method that is widely used and which, contrary to what many indicate and imagine, only offers immediate relief, increasing the problem after a few minutes is the hot bath. During the bath, the hot water that falls on the breasts full of milk provides immediate relief since the hot water expands the mammary glands and makes the milk drain easily. But in this process, what also happens is the production stimulus, which ends up increasing minutes after the procedure.
Opt for warm to cold compresses, and do it right after breastfeeding. The compresses will act to relieve pain, reduce swelling of the breasts and inflammation. You should not stop breastfeeding under any circumstances, because with the continuation of breastfeeding the breast will produce only what the baby consumes, disappearing the problem of stone milk naturally. If the problem persists after performing these procedures and is accompanied by a lot of pain and fever, a doctor should be consulted to assess the case.
See also: How to Increase Breast Milk – Beginning Breastfeeding
My name is Dr. Alexis Hart I am 38 years old, I am the mother of 3 beautiful children! Different ages, different phases 16 years, 12 years and 7 years. In love with motherhood since always, I found it difficult to make my dreams come true, and also some more after I was already a mother.
Since I imagined myself as a mother, in my thoughts everything seemed to be much easier and simpler than it really was, I expected to get pregnant as soon as I wished, but it wasn’t that simple. The first pregnancy was smooth, but my daughter’s birth was very troubled. Joana was born in 2002 with a weight of 2930kg and 45cm, from a very peaceful cesarean delivery but she had already been born with congenital pneumonia due to a broken bag not treated with antibiotics even before delivery.
