Engorged Breasts
As your milk volume increases to replace the initial colostrum, it is normal for your breasts to feel overfull and hard. At this time, more blood also flows to your breasts and some of the surrounding tissue swells. For some women, their breasts become extremely full, hard, painful and lumpy, with swelling sometimes extending to the armpit. This is engorgement. Although it is painful and you may feel slightly ill at the same time, take heart, engorgement is temporary and will pass within 48 hours. At least you can be sure that you are producing plenty of milk!
If your breasts become too hard, your baby may battle to latch onto the areola. Prevent this by expressing enough milk to soften the area around the nipple. Then feed your baby as often as he demands so that your breasts soften and a supply-and-demand pattern begins to develop.
The best advice is to keep the milk flowing as unrelieved engorgement can result in a permanent decrease in milk production and blocked glands. Feed as often and possible - every two to three hours. If necessary, express in between, saving the expressed milk for your baby. Only express when necessary so that you do not encourage an overproduction of milk that is out of sync with your baby’s needs. To soften the areola, apply warm towels to the breasts before feeding and stand in the shower with warm water running over them. To ease pain between feeds, apply cold compresses. Keeping the milk flowing is also essential to prevent the milk ducts from becoming blocked which can lead to more serious conditions such as lumps and mastitis.
