Many young mothers are faced with the fact that after childbirth they have chest pain during lactation. Moreover, unpleasant sensations can occur both in the 1st week and six months after the birth of the child. The nature of the pain can also be completely different: aching or tingling, constant or arising from time to time. In any case, you cannot put up with them, because most often they are alarming messengers of undesirable processes fraught with dangerous consequences for a woman's health. First you need to understand what causes them.

Medicine gives several explanations for why the chest hurts after childbirth: provoking factors can be caused by the external and internal conditions of lactation. The main causes of painful sensations in the mammary glands include:

• lactostasis - milk stagnation;
• mastitis is an inflammatory process;
• stretching of the skin;
• cracked nipples.

All these phenomena can cause severe chest pain after childbirth, and in order to get rid of it, you need to understand why and how this or that disease developed. This will help to make the correct diagnosis and heal quickly.

If you understand what caused your chest pain, which you felt shortly after childbirth, you can eliminate the provoking factor or consult a doctor in a timely manner and get rid of the discomfort.

• insufficient emptying of the mammary glands due to improper attachment of the baby;
• tight bra;
• additional feeding of the baby from a bottle;
• sleeping on the stomach;
• hypothermia;
• narrow ducts;
• hyperlactation;
• bruises, injuries;
• dehydration.

Fact! According to medical studies, in 25% of cases, milk stagnation in the mammary glands occurs due to various experiences, stress, overwork and lack of sleep of a young mother.

• with stagnation of milk, cracks, microbes enter the gland and cause its inflammation;
• the main pathogens are staphylococci, streptococci;
• their sources are a child's mouth, dirty underwear, poor hygiene;
• with an abrupt cessation of lactation (for example, 2 years have passed after the birth of a child, and you decided to quit breastfeeding), the glands cannot empty from all the milk arriving, sometimes even pumping does not help.

• due to a strong increase in the volume of the mammary glands.

• the child does not grasp the nipple incorrectly, from which the delicate and sensitive skin in this place cracks.

Analyze the features of feeding your baby: if the chest hurts after childbirth, the reasons in most cases are associated with lactation. The sooner you can eliminate them, the faster you will get rid of the discomfort.

If there is pain in the chest immediately after childbirth or after a while, listen to your own body. The symptoms will tell you what is happening to him.

• chest pain and temperature up to 38 ° C;
• engorgement of the mammary glands;
• redness of the nipples;
• the pains are tingling in nature;
• heaviness is felt in the mammary glands;
• the formation of seals.

You need to know this! During lactation, the temperature in the armpit cannot be measured: with milk flow, it is increased here even in the norm. It is better to place the thermometer in the elbow bend.

• temperature over 38 ° С;
• strong induration (engorgement) of the gland;
• the skin becomes crimson;
• the chest is stone and it hurts unbearably;
• further the gland increases, the skin becomes hot to the touch;
• feeding becomes unbearably painful;
• the pain is bursting;
• droplets of pus can be seen in milk;
• limiting or stopping feeding increases the pain.

• the mammary glands are not filled with milk;
• there is no temperature;
• aching pain, constant.

If the chest pain that began after childbirth is localized directly in the nipple, upon close examination, you will notice that it is cracked. If you understand that you yourself cannot cope with the situation that has arisen, do not postpone the visit to the doctor.

For chest pains that appear after childbirth, you should consult any of these doctors:

Diagnostics includes the following steps:

1. patient survey, study of clinical data;
2. examination and palpation of the breast, allowing to identify seals and cracks;
3. a blood test showing the presence of an inflammatory process;
4. Breast ultrasound;
5. sowing breast milk to detect microorganisms in it.

The correct diagnosis determines the further tactics of treating chest pain after childbirth and determines a favorable prognosis.

Only a doctor can prescribe treatment and tell in detail what to do if the chest hurts after childbirth: what drugs can be taken and what conservative treatment at home is possible in each case.

• iodine mesh in place of pain;
• ointments: Traumeel, Vishnevsky, Malavit;
• compresses with magnesia;
• oxytocin injections relieve pain and heaviness;
• antibiotics, if there is a threat of mastitis development: erythromycin (when taken, lactation may continue);
• physiotherapy treatment.

Useful information! When resolving the seals with ultrasound, the doctor should warn you that after this procedure, not only will the pain disappear, but also milk production will significantly decrease, if not stop altogether.

• antibacterial drugs;
• antipyretic drugs;
• antibiotics, novocaine blockade.

• anti-inflammatory nonsteroidal drugs;
• pain medications: naloxone, morphine, tramal, promedol, baralgin, analgin, kaffetin, paracetamol;
• ointments and creams for stretch marks: Sanosan, Oriflame, Vichy, Inthenso Guam, Bella mama oil, Baby Teva Ltd, Anti-strech Mark.

• wound healing ointments (Dexpanthenol, Korneregel, Bepanten, Panthenol, etc.);
• liquid solutions of kalahoe or aloe;
• ultrasound treatment.

• Cold compresses with ice can relieve pain;
• cabbage leaf wraps;
• applying cottage cheese and honey cakes;
• compresses from potato starch diluted with water;
• lubricate the crack on the nipples with droplets of your own milk and let them dry like that.

• It is necessary to constantly express milk;
• more often apply the baby to the sore breast;
• drink as little liquid as possible;
• wear a tight, comfortable bra, as for pregnant women (read how to choose the right one);
• Take a hot shower 2-3 times a day, directing the stream directly to the place of pain: such a water massage can help dissolve the seals;
• do not give the child any complementary foods so that he empties the mammary glands to the end;
• do not make any hot or alcoholic compresses;
• Apply dry heat to your breast before breastfeeding.

Competent comprehensive treatment and a combination of medications, folk remedies and conservative methods can quickly relieve a young mother of chest pains that usually occur after childbirth. It is also a guarantee of a successful forecast.

The prognosis of any chest pain in the first weeks and months after childbirth is safe only if you see a doctor in time and complete the full course of treatment. After that, the woman usually continues to breastfeed the baby. In other cases, various complications are possible.

• if the lumps in the chest are not eliminated within 2 days, lactostasis turns into mastitis.

• with purulent mastitis, surgery is often performed: the cavity is opened and drained;
• after elimination of pus, lactation can be continued.

• the ingress of microorganisms into the ducts of the mammary glands is fraught with bacterial contamination of milk;
• often, with unhealed cracks, an inflammatory process begins - mastitis;
• milk production decreases, its quality changes.

In order for the prognosis to be always favorable, it is better to avoid chest pain after childbirth by taking a number of timely preventive measures.

Good postpartum breast care plays an important preventive role in preventing pain of any kind in this part of the body. Women in labor are urged to pay close attention to their breasts every day:

1. correctly attach the child;
2. after each feeding, it is imperative to express milk in the presence of tightness and pain in the breast with a breast pump or manually;
3. keep the mammary glands clean: after feeding, wash with hypoallergenic soap;
4. treat cracked nipples;
5. limiting fluid intake that will increase milk flow;
6. wearing a bra made of natural material;
7. massage;
8. rub your chest with a hard terry towel;
9. after each feeding, check for painful lumps;
10. try to sleep on your back or side;
11. beware of hypothermia, bruises and injuries.

If you feel chest pain after childbirth, you should not close your eyes to it, mistakenly thinking that it will go away by itself and this is a completely natural process. Be sure to try to understand and eliminate its cause, consult a specialist and complete the full course of treatment.

Behind pregnancy and childbirth - a difficult test for all systems and organs of a woman. Now the body is tuning in to a new process - breastfeeding. Tatiana Oboskalova, an obstetrician-gynecologist with 30 years of experience, answers the questions of women in labor.

• The chest swells and hurts very much. How to reduce pain?
• Do I need to use breast pumps? How often?
• Cracks have formed on the nipples, it hurts to tears when feeding. What to do?

Needless to say, it's hard for a young mother in most cases. A child is happiness, but reality makes its own adjustments to joyful experiences. Living in obedience to the needs of a tiny creature is difficult. Especially when unpleasant painful sensations wedge into a heap of worries.

In the first days after childbirth, the breast may swell and hurt - this is due to the appearance of milk. If the breast is hard and painful, then this is usually due to the fact that the mammary gland has produced too much milk, and its stagnation has occurred. Such breast problems can occur both immediately after childbirth and during the first months of breastfeeding. The best medicine in this case will be the baby himself, who will suck up the breast better than any breast pump. The more often you put the baby to the breast, the less painful swelling occurs. Over time, the milk flow begins to coincide with the baby's need for latching to the breast. But it also happens that the child tries to suck the milk, but he does not succeed, he becomes restless and begins to cry. In this case, you need to lightly massage the breast and express the milk yourself - with your hands or with a breast pump. However, modern breastfeeding experts believe that the cause of various breast problems is improper attachment of the baby to the breast.

Recall that proper nipple grip is when the nipple touches the palate. In this case, the breast should "look" with the nipple not into the baby's mouth, but into the palate, which will allow the baby to capture a much larger part of the breast from below than from above. The baby's mouth should be wide open, and the tongue should lie on the lower gum and protrude freely from the mouth. The areola of the nipple is almost all in the baby's mouth, while the baby's chin touches his chest.

A special case is a short frenulum, which can cause painful grip on the nipple due to the strong squeezing of the baby's gums. In this case, it makes sense to consult with your pediatrician about the optimal approach to latching the baby to the breast.

Warming compresses, cabbage and burdock leaves do not need to be applied to the mammary glands. A warm compress will only increase the flow of milk, and there will be no effect from cabbage and burdock.

Discussion

The cabbage leaf only helped against congestion and pain.Ice bubble is not needed.It is enough to attach a towel soaked in cold water

Well, you don't need to change a bra every day, there are special hygienic discs that are inserted into it. Here they need to be changed more often. And you don't need to wear a bra all the time.

Thanks for the advice. As I remember myself after giving birth, I think so why this article did not come across to me earlier.

At first, I suffered for a very long time with feeding. The chest ached, cracks appeared. Even managed to earn mastitis due to inexperience. A very useful article for new mothers.

thanks to your become with feeding, now there are less problems and pain))

A baby helped me with milk stagnation.

"It is advisable to change the bra daily, otherwise you can infect yourself and the child." Considering how much such a bra costs, then you can go broke, or wash every day :)

Some sensation after reading the article remained - if you have lactostasis or a lot of milk, or cracks in the nipples - it's all to blame ... The young mother is already in a stressful situation. About nursing underwear - I agree, it is convenient. But the cabbage leaf really helps to cope with painful sensations and milk stagnation. Even if the author of the article does not believe in it, you should not be so categorical.

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After childbirth, breastfeeding is simple and does not require special skills - hygiene, massage, proper attachment of the baby to the breast, a comfortable bra - these measures will help you avoid trouble with the breast during the nursing period. Let's talk about them in more detail.

Latch your baby to the breast correctly

In the first days, a newborn baby still does not really know how to even suck (the sucking reflex is poorly developed in the first days), and even more so, he does not know how to take mother's breast correctly. Your goal is to help your baby. It is easier to immediately teach a child to correctly breastfeed than to retrain later. This will help prevent many breast problems. Try to put the nipple in the baby's mouth at an upward slope during the first feeding so that it reaches the baby's palate. The baby's mouth should also capture the areola. In this position, the delicate skin of the nipple will not be injured when feeding.

Of course, even with proper attachment to the breast, cracks may appear on the nipples, because the skin of the nipples is very delicate. If a woman did not prepare them before childbirth for future feeding, then frequent attachment will inevitably lead to nipple injuries.

Breast care for cracked nipples

Are there any cracks on the nipple? Do not be alarmed, everything is fixable.

• Carefully wash your breasts after each feeding with warm water (do not use soap or other detergents), wipe with a soft towel and lubricate with a special cream (cream helps Bepanten). You can wash the cracks with your milk, it has the properties of destroying bacteria.
• After feeding, use an air bath for the breast. Their benefits are enormous, they allow the skin to rest, "breathe". The duration of the procedure is 10 - 20 minutes.
• Are the nipples severely inflamed, is the pain during feeding difficult to endure? Use special silicone. They are soft and the baby suckles without difficulty. It is important to choose the right size. It should fit the size of your nipple. Otherwise, the baby will refuse to take the breast with the pad.

We read about breast problems:

Hygiene of the mammary glands

After giving birth, a woman's breasts swell greatly from the rush of milk. They need support. It is important to choose a quality bra. It should be comfortable, elastic, made of natural fabric, without pits, with wide straps. Such a bra will help to avoid stretch marks, protect the breast from injury, ensure optimal blood circulation, milk flow, and relieve unnecessary stress on the spine. It is advisable to have several bras (at least two) in order to change them daily. If milk flows out of the breasts, you can put special liners in the bra cups or make them yourself from a sterile bandage laid in 8-10 layers.

To improve blood circulation in the mammary glands, to avoid stretch marks will help daily and taking a contrast shower. Massage your breasts with water jets in a clockwise direction with warm and cool water alternately. After showering, wipe your breasts with a towel from nipple to armpit. Wear supportive tops at night.

Note to moms!

Hello girls) I didn't think that the problem of stretch marks would touch me, but I will also write about it))) But there is nowhere to go, so I am writing here: How did I get rid of stretch marks after childbirth? I will be very glad if my method will help you too ...

To keep the mammary glands in shape, do special exercises to strengthen the breasts. Here are some exercises. Repeat each at least 20 times.

1. Bring your hands together in front of your chest, palms together, as in supplication. Squeeze your palms firmly for a few seconds, then loosen.
2. Stand up straight with your hands on your belt. Rising on tiptoes, take your elbows back as far as possible.
3. Take an expander or a tight, wide elastic band about 50 cm long. Raise your arms above your head, stretch the elastic band, hold it taut for ten seconds.
4. Push-ups (from the floor or chair) also help to strengthen the muscles that support the chest.

What to do if the chest is very swollen and painful?

On the third - fourth day after childbirth, milk "comes" into the mammary glands. To avoid sudden flushes of milk and severe breast swelling, limit drinking and liquid food during this time. A lot of milk came, the breasts are hard, do they hurt? Feed your baby often (). The baby will suck off the excess milk. You can gently stretch your breasts with your hands and pump out excess milk until the breasts feel soft. Is it difficult to do it yourself? Ask a husband or relative to help you pump.