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Excess breast milk or improper organization of breastfeeding can cause the development of lactostasis. This is a pathological condition in which milk stagnates in the breast, leading to soreness, swelling, and hyperemia. If the woman is not helped at this moment, lactostasis becomes infected. To eliminate the latter, surgical intervention is recommended.

General information

Most often, lactostasis is diagnosed in primiparous women, which is explained by their lack of breastfeeding experience. The mechanism of its development is simple: normally, milk is produced in each of the 15–25 lobes of the mammary gland during lactation. Subsequently, it is supplied to the nipple through the ducts that stretch from these lobules, and there the baby receives it through the milky pores.

If for some reason the ducts become clogged due to compression or hyperlactation, the milk stagnates and is retained. Initially, a milk plug appears, which best case scenario complicates the process of breastfeeding for the baby, and in the worst case, causes discomfort and pain to the woman.

Note! It is precisely because of the risk of developing lactostasis that doctors recommend that nursing mothers regularly feel their breasts for lumps.

Milk can also stagnate in the lobules themselves. This mainly happens in the first weeks after birth, when it is present in large quantities that the baby is not able to absorb. The situation is aggravated by the milk ducts, since they are not yet sufficiently developed. Just 3 to 4 days of ignoring discomfort and pain can cause the development of uninfected mastitis. In this case, the retained milk begins to be reabsorbed and a fever develops. At the same time, milk re-production slows down.

If pathogenic flora, for example, coccal flora, is added to uninfected mastitis, infected mastitis is diagnosed. The only possible treatment option for this disease is surgery.

Causes of lactostasis

Lactostasis develops when:

Note! Many women turn to breastfeeding specialists with complaints that when the weather changes, lumps form in their breasts. Doctors cannot explain the mechanism for the development of stagnation in this case, however, the fact remains.

Symptoms of lactostasis

The first sign of the development of lactostasis is a lump in the breast (a hard lump with clear boundaries). It can be impressive or small, the size of a pea, it all depends on the area affected. Also noted:

Important! A temperature above 38 - 39 degrees may indicate that a purulent-inflammatory process is already developing. To avoid complications, you should consult a doctor immediately.

Diagnostics

The specialist determines the presence of lactostasis during the first examination of the breast. Along with this, it excludes other diseases that may manifest similar symptoms. Mastitis is excluded if the woman does not have a high fever and she feels well.

Additionally, the patient is prescribed:

• complete blood test– indicators of erythrocytes and leukocytes allow us to assess the degree of neglect of the inflammatory process;
• – the method helps to identify blocked ducts, as well as exclude or confirm the presence of pustular lesions and cysts;
• – prescribed in extreme cases when the presence of neoplasms is suspected.

Treatment of lactostasis

On early stages It is possible to treat lactostasis at home. It comes down to pumping, that is, restoring the normal movement of milk in the milk ducts. To do this, it is necessary to apply the baby to the sore breast as often as possible. To achieve maximum effect, breaks between applications should be no more than 3 hours, even at night. The ideal feeding regime during this period is “on demand”. In other words, you need to breastfeed as often as possible, allowing the baby to drink as much as he wants.

Straining and compresses for lactostasis

If the discomfort does not disappear, it makes sense to use manual expression. It is carried out in several stages:

If after 2 days the lump does not decrease, you should consult a doctor as soon as possible. Another sure sign of a worsening situation is a temperature that lasts longer than 2 days.

Breast-feeding - The best way prevention and treatment of milk stagnation. That is why you should not refuse it during periods of pathology. Moreover, it is important to pay attention to. There is an opinion that from her the right choice The speed of recovery depends.

• When compactions appear in close proximity to the sternum (inner upper quadrants of the gland) feed while sitting, from the armpit. This is when the baby’s legs and butt are left behind the mother’s back, and the head is placed on the breast. They feed in the same way if the lump is closer to the armpits.
• Lumps in the anterior lobes are “broken” by feeding in a top position, bending over the baby.

Medicines for lactostasis

If the performed manipulations do not bring relief, medications are prescribed. This could be Arnica or Malavit ointment. They are applied to the affected area, but must be washed off before feeding.

Note! During lactation, it is not recommended to use alcohol or camphor-based ointments, as they negatively affect the process of milk production.

If necessary, antispasmodics that dilate the ducts are prescribed for a course of up to 5 days, for example. If there is a suspicion of mastitis, the doctor prescribes those approved for breastfeeding - Augmentin, Amoxicillin.

Prevention of lactostasis

You can prevent the reappearance of lactostasis:

• Regularly changing your feeding position, for example, lying alternately on your right and left side.
• Refusing tight, uncomfortable underwear. Most often, it remains from the “former life”, despite the fact that the breasts are enlarged and the bones and sutures are compressing them. The best option at this time is to wear a special bra for pregnant women, which has a soft cup and no wires.
• Planning your day. Don't jump into household chores at every opportunity. Sound sleep for 7 - 8 hours is the key to good lactation without concomitant diseases.
• Following a diet and drinking regimen.

Lactostasis is a problem that annoys many young mothers, but can be successfully solved with proper organization of breastfeeding. However, it is important to regularly examine the mammary gland for lumps throughout the lactation period. In this way, it will be possible to prevent its complications, which can be eliminated surgically - mastitis.

Chumachenko Olga, pediatrician

Photo Legion-Media.ru

What is lactostasis

There is a rule: one breast for 2-3 hours, that is, if the child has eaten and after half an hour asks again, you need to give the same breast. Otherwise, the “hind”, fattier milk will remain in the breast and cause lactostasis.

4. Your baby is a reliable assistant in the prevention of lactostasis. Unless, of course, there are contraindications from the pediatrician. Proper latching, feeding on demand, and exclusive breastfeeding are important factors for success.

5. Do not neglect pumping, especially in the first days. A child cannot always cope with lactostasis, especially in advanced situations. A proven breast pump or 9 can come to the rescue. You should not limit the amount of liquid you drink. Even if you don’t drink anything at all, lactostasis will not go away, but your health may worsen.

Becoming breastfeeding is an important and the right stage, both for mother and baby. At the right approach The problem can be solved within the first weeks. Don’t be afraid to once again ask questions at the maternity hospital about how to pump and how to care for the mammary glands.

Symptoms of lactostasis in a nursing mother, treatment of pathology.

After the birth of a child, most young mothers are faced with a problem such as lactostasis. And since this pathology greatly complicates the process of milk secretion through the milk ducts, this ultimately leads to problems in the newborn.

But still, if you notice the appearance of pathology in time and start treating it as quickly as possible, you can get rid of the disease quickly enough. Our article will tell you how to do this correctly.

What is lactostasis, what it looks like, how long it lasts: causes and symptoms

Lactostasis is a blockage of the milk ducts, as a result of which a kind of plug appears, interfering with the normal release of milk formed in the mammary glands. Outwardly, this pathology looks like ordinary tubercles, quite hard to the touch and quite painful. Most often, this disease develops in mothers who produce more milk than the baby needs, as well as in those whose milk ducts are naturally very narrow.

Symptoms of lactostasis:

• Excessive breast swelling
• Pronounced seals
• Redness of the skin
• Increased body temperature
• Asymmetry of the mammary glands may appear
• Quite severe pain syndrome

Causes of lactostasis:

• Squeezing of milk ducts during feeding
• Severe hypothermia
• Breast injury
• Bra too tight
• Pumping too often
• Early refusal to feed the baby
• Incorrect posture while sleeping

Is it possible to breastfeed with lactostasis: position for feeding

If you think that lactostasis is an indication to completely abandon breastfeeding, then you are deeply mistaken. In fact, it is the baby who can completely empty the breast, thereby relieving you of the resulting stagnation of milk. You just have to remember that in order for your problem not to prevent your baby from eating properly, you will have to carry out preliminary preparations for the feeding process.

To do this, you will first need to do a light warming chest massage with your hands. If you have a fairly strong pain syndrome, then the massage can be replaced with warming up under a stream warm water. After this you will need to express not a large number of stagnant milk, and then proceed to standard feeding.

As for what position to feed the baby in, it will be better if the mother puts the baby on the bed, and she herself hangs over him. If the baby can already sit, then the mother can simply place him on her lap and feed him in this position.

Quite a large number of young mothers confuse lactostasis with mastitis and, for this reason, carry out inappropriate treatment. Although in fact, if you study the signs of both ailments more carefully, even a person without a medical education can easily distinguish between them.

Firstly, with mastitis, inflammation develops, which provokes uncontrolled growth of fibrous tissue and, as a result, it is not possible to remove breast swelling with a regular compress. If a woman has developed lactostasis, then a cool compress and proper pumping will literally immediately bring noticeable relief. Secondly, you must remember that with mastitis, the axillary lymph nodes always enlarge.

In view of this, if your breasts are swollen, but the lymph nodes are not palpable under your arm, then it is lactostasis that you need to treat. But perhaps the most pronounced symptom of mastitis is the inability to express milk. With lactostasis this problem is not observed. As practice shows, even if the pathology is in the acute phase, a woman can quite easily express stagnant milk.

Lactostasis in a nursing mother, upon cessation of feeding and pregnancy: treatment with folk remedies

As you probably already understood, lactostasis is one of those diseases that are quite easy to treat. That is why, if you wish, you can try to cope with this problem traditional methods. The most popular home treatment for this pathology is an alcohol compress.

As a rule, it is applied twice a day in the morning and in the evening, and a bandage soaked in alcohol must be placed on the massaged breast. It is also believed that it has good anti-inflammatory and absorbable properties. raw carrots. If you apply it to the areas of compaction, even for an hour a day, then after 2-3 days you will notice that during feeding the breasts are completely emptied.

Yes, and remember, in order for carrots to have the maximum effect on your breasts, before applying the vegetable to the reddened areas, you will need to grate it on a fine grater and only then use it for its intended purpose. For even greater therapeutic effect, you can mix it with any internal fat animal.

How to apply cabbage leaf for lactostasis?

If you want cabbage leaf to really help you get rid of lactostasis, then keep in mind that in this case you need to make some kind of compress. That is why if you simply tear off a leaf from a cabbage head and place it on sore spot, then the effect will be minimal. In view of this, it will be better if you first lightly beat off the leaf (it should become damp to the touch) and only then apply it to your chest.

Yes, and remember that you only need to use a warm sheet for such a compress. If you try to apply a very cold product, it will cause vasospasm and, as a result, the condition will worsen. That is why, before you start beating the leaf, be sure to pour boiling water over it.

Honey cake for lactostasis: recipe

Remember, in order for this folk remedy had the desired therapeutic effect, it should be used exclusively for its production natural honey. If you prepare a flatbread using poor quality product, then with high probability we can say that your problem will progress even more and, as a result, you will have to resort to more complex treatment.

So:

• To begin, take the rye flour and lightly heat it in a dry frying pan.
• When it becomes warm, add honey (preferably May honey) to it and knead it into a tight dough.
• Form a cake out of it and apply it to the pre-massaged breast.
• Leave it there for 25 minutes, then carefully remove and rinse your skin with water at room temperature.

Breast massage for lactostasis

Most young mothers, when giving themselves a massage during lactostasis, make one mistake. They believe that if they knead their chest as intensely as possible, this will help eliminate the problem more quickly. In fact, if you do a massage quite roughly, it will at least increase the pain syndrome, and at maximum it will only intensify the inflammatory process in the tissues.

That is why it will be better if you try to do the massage as easily as possible. This means that it should be done with light, rubbing and stroking movements, which will help the chest muscles relax well.

So:

• To begin, gently rub your entire breast
• As soon as the skin becomes warm and slightly red, proceed to the second stage
• Find the seal locations and apply mechanical pressure to them
• Rub the seals for 1-2 minutes
• After your breasts relax, express some of the milk and begin standard feeding.

Correct straining for lactostasis: instructions

• On initial stage give a light breast massage
• Next, place one hand under the breast, and with two fingers of the other hand, grab the areola
• Use light pressure to stimulate the nipple area
• Move your fingers a little further behind the nipple and apply pressure to this area of ​​the breast
• If you do everything correctly, then at this stage the first drops of milk will begin to come out of the nipple.
• Continue applying light pressure along the edge of the areole, periodically alternating them with stroking the entire breast
• Approximately 2-3 minutes after the start of these manipulations, whole streams of milk should be spraying from the nipple

Camphor oil for lactostasis: recipe

Camphor oil can be called universal remedy to combat lactostasis. The substances that it contains can simultaneously remove all the symptoms of this pathology. With this product you will remove swelling, reduce pain, help relax the gland tissue and, of course, quickly remove lumps.

Recipe:

• First, warm the camphor oil to room temperature.
• Soak a piece of gauze or cotton cloth in it
• Apply an oil compress to the area of ​​congestion
• Cover it up cling film and forget about it for 2-4 hours
• After this time, remove the compress from the chest and rinse it under a warm shower

Iodine mesh for lactostasis: how to do it correctly?

I would like to say right away that, although the iodine network is considered a fairly effective means of combating lactostasis, it must be used very carefully. It should be applied only if you have a normal temperature for more than a day.

If you use this method treatment during a period when body temperatures are higher than necessary, this can lead to an even greater exacerbation of the disease.

• Prepare a 5% iodine solution and an ordinary cotton swab
• Take your breast in your hand and try to locate the lumps.
• Dip the stick in iodine and start drawing on the skin horizontal lines at a distance of 1 cm from each other
• Draw vertical lines at the same distance
• As a result, you should have perfect squares on your skin.
• Repeated mesh can be applied to the skin only after this one has become completely invisible.

If you do not have time to prepare some home remedies, you can always try to cope with this problem with the help of magnesium. All you need to do in this case is simply pour the required amount of the medicinal substance into a container, moisten cotton wool or gauze in it and apply it to the place of stagnation.

If you use magnesia in the form of a dry powder, then you will first need to dilute it with water and only then wet the fabric in it. You should leave such a compress on your chest for at least half an hour, and it is advisable to do it immediately after feeding your child.

Ointment Traumeel, Vishnevsky, arnica, Malavit, Troxevasin, heparin for lactostasis: instructions

Perhaps ointments can be classified as the most effective means fight against lactostasis. As practice shows, they are the ones who help get rid of this problem in the shortest possible time. But still, if you want to forget about your problem as quickly as possible, then use them in combination with other therapeutic measures. Be sure to massage your breasts and pump at the initial stage. We told you how to do all this correctly a little higher.

Instructions for use of ointments:

• First, warm up your breasts with a stroking massage.
• Squeeze the ointment out of the tube and apply an even layer to the skin.
• While distributing the ointment, try to do additional massage of the areas where milk stagnates.
• Wait until the ointment is absorbed and calmly go about your household chores.
• Before feeding, be sure to remove any remaining ointment with warm water.

Amoxiclav, Oxytocin, Dostinex, Paracetamol, Lecithin, No-spa for lactostasis: instructions

It’s probably not even worth mentioning that taking tablet medications during breastfeeding can have a direct effect on the newborn. That is why similar means Under no circumstances should you self-prescribe. It will be better if you find time, go to see a doctor, and he will select the right dosage for you.

• Do not under any circumstances try to underestimate or increase the dose during a single dose.
• Take your tablets with pure water only.
• Use exclusively non-steroidal drugs for pain relief
• Take tablets only after eating

Homeopathy for lactostasis

If you have come across homeopathic medicines at least once in your life, then you probably know that in order for them to begin to have at least some minimal therapeutic effect, they must be taken for at least a week. In view of this, you definitely will not be able to get rid of lactostasis when it is in the acute phase with such medications. As practice shows, such drugs are best taken for preventive purposes, solely to ensure that a woman does not have problems with feeding again.

If the young mother’s condition does not improve within 7 days after the first symptoms of lactostasis appear, she is prescribed physiotherapeutic procedures. Only a specialist can decide whether it will be ultrasound or a magnet. As a rule, in this case it all depends on how quickly the pathology progresses and how much damage it has already caused to the milk ducts.

As practice shows, after the 4th session in sick women, swelling will disappear and the pain syndrome will decrease, and by approximately the 8th session the problem will disappear completely. True, you must remember that such treatment has its own nuances. Most often, in this case, a woman has to drink a little more fluid than before. This helps the milk become less fatty and viscous, and it passes through the milk ducts more easily.

How long does the temperature last during lactostasis?

In principle, the temperature with lactostasis lasts no more than 3 days. If a woman discovered the problem in time and began to take action as quickly as possible, then temperature readings can return to normal even within one day.

In view of this, if you see that, seemingly, with proper treatment, the temperature does not drop to normal, then immediately see a doctor. It is likely that you are doing something wrong, thereby contributing to the stagnation only getting worse.

Consequences of lactostasis

Although lactostasis is a fairly harmless disease, its treatment must be taken as seriously as possible. Because this problem may cause cessation of lactation, then you should not delay its therapeutic measures.

Besides, this state It is dangerous because without proper treatment it will quickly affect large areas of the mammary glands and after some time the entire body will become inflamed in women. inner part breasts If she does not take the necessary measures at this stage, then the chronic inflammatory process can cause the development of mastopathy or even malignant and benign tumors.

Prevention of lactostasis during breastfeeding

• Put your baby to your breast at least 7 times a day
• Make sure your breasts are completely emptied during feeding.
• If necessary, pump after feeding
• Change positions regularly during feeding
• Do not pump very often (the body will begin to perceive this as a signal to produce milk)
• Drink plenty of fluids
• Be sure to practice pumping (especially if this is your first child)

Video: Breastfeeding and lactostasis: what to do? Tips for parents