• Week by Week
  • Sex and Pregnancy
  • Weight Gain
  • Exercise and Nutrition

New to the forum? Sign Up Here!

Already a member? Please login below.

Forgot your password? Need Help?  
Learn and Discuss About...

Engorged Breasts PLEASE HELP

4 posts on this thread and the last post was on August 6th, 2007 3:08 PM
There are currently 4854 members logged in.
emr - August 6th, 2007 12:03 PM
[Original Post]

My baby was born on Aug 2nd and she was BF and on Aug 4th she couldn't latch properly and was crying a lot and the baby's nurse gave her a supplement. From that time i found it hard to feed her and for the past two days my breasts have engorged and the pain is so high, even my armpits have swallon. Can anyone please help me. I tried to express the milk out. My DH has gone to get a electric pump cauz with the manual one the pain was so horrible i couldn't pump but kept crying for the past two day. I don't have any idea about this. please help


lily10 - August 6th, 2007 12:14 PM

I think the electric pump should help with this. It will be really painful at first but once you get some milk pumped out you should feel relief. You could try taking a warm shower and hand expressing them while you are in the shower. If you are still planning to BF you should try to nurse the baby once the engorgement is down or you could even try to nurse her while engorged. I Bfed my daughter while I was engorged and it really helped even though it was extremely painful. I wouldn't give up on feeding her just because she was given a supplement you could try nipple shields. You'll feel much better soon!!


emr - August 6th, 2007 12:43 PM

thanks lily... i am not going to give up... is there a way to reduce the pain while pumping. my breasts are hard rock and i feel like carrying two mountains with me. Even the slightest touch makes me squirm in pain.


Val - August 6th, 2007 2:50 PM

emr- i think the electric pump will help as well. If you have parts that are especially hard or feel like a lump, try gently massaging those areas in a circular motion while expressing in the shower or while pumping. When you've reduced the engorgement some, get the baby on there to do the rest. Once the engorgement is down, get the baby on the breasts every 2-3 hours to avoid engorgement. And try changing the baby's position at each feeding - for example alternate between the cradle hold and the football hold. That way your breasts should drain better and hopefully you won't get sore nipples. (Are your nipples sore or is it the breasts themselves?) I would avoid nipple shields... I used one with my baby and I think it confused him - to this day (and he's nearly 11 weeks) his latch is still painful. I'd also avoid supplementing with bottles because it may confuse the baby and create more latching problems. If you have trouble latching the baby or pumping, find out if there are lactation consultants available at your local hospital, or if there are any La Leche League groups in your area. Good luck!



wailing - August 6th, 2007 3:08 PM

All great advice. The pump will def help. And a warm shower is great too. While in there massage the sore spots towards ur nipple so the milk will come out. Alternate between hot and cold compresses. I've read that for the cold compress use chilled cabbage leaves (after feeding) and for warm compress use a washcloth. Don't worry about supplement if u have to use it. My ds supplemented w/ formula for a bit after I came home so I could rest and recouperate. He is 7wks old and b'fding wonderfully:-) Good Luck to u and don't give up!!!