Lactostasis - Prevention Of Lactostasis

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:43

How to avoid lactostasis

Lactostasis is characterized by congestion in the mammary glands in nursing mothers. Lactostasis can be avoided using a few simple techniques.

Prevention of lactostasis

Lactostasis is characterized by rather unpleasant symptoms that cause discomfort while feeding the baby. The disease is accompanied by pain, seals, fever, in addition, if you do not pay enough attention to the first symptoms, lactostasis can be complicated by mastitis.

The disease develops under the condition of incomplete release of the breast lobules from milk. A blockage in the ducts causes the milk to stop flowing out or to flow out very slowly. In the area of the mammary gland, a seal forms, pain occurs during feeding, palpation of the breast is also painful, the skin in some parts of the gland may be red, and the body temperature in rare cases rises.

Correct attachment of the baby to the breast helps to completely empty each breast lobule. The baby should grip the nipple well so that the sucking and sucking process is as effective as possible, which helps to avoid stagnation and allows the baby to get enough milk. In some cases, all the symptoms of lactostasis disappear as soon as the mother and child learn to properly organize the feeding process, it is this method that often becomes the best prevention of lactostasis.

When feeding, it is useful to change the position so that the emptying of each lobule of the gland occurs evenly. The lobes in front of the child's chin and nose are emptied better, so a monotonous posture contributes to incomplete emptying of some lobes, and this happens all the time. By changing postures, mother should achieve release from stagnation of that lobe that has become denser from excess milk.

Therefore, feeding positions should be alternated so that the baby's nose and chin are over all the lobules of the breast within 24 hours. There are only three main poses: lying, "in the cradle", from the armpit.

Also, the mother should remember that long breaks can provoke lactostasis, so feeding is better done at the request of the child, and not by the hour. In some cases, when the baby breastfeeds every 3-4 hours, and the mother has a lot of milk and she suffers from lactostasis, the baby can be attached to the breast without waiting for him to get hungry, that is, between feedings. In this case, even a slight movement of milk along the ducts will prevent the appearance of lactostasis.

How to avoid lactostasis

In addition to the listed methods, some practical advice, which should also be paid attention to, will help to fully answer the question of how to avoid lactostasis. Lactostasis can be caused by tight underwear, clamping of the duct while supporting the breast during feeding, trauma to the gland, and improper posture of the mother during sleep.

It is also important for lactating women to follow the drinking regimen, avoid intense physical exertion, stressful situations. The likelihood of lactostasis increases during the full moon, during the period of solar and lunar eclipses. In some cases, the cause of the appearance of lactostasis may be the structural features of the mammary gland. However, most often the cause of the disease is the occurrence of stagnation, the movement of milk along the ducts helps to prevent the appearance of which, therefore, the main measure for the prevention of lactostasis is to ensure a constant outflow of milk from all lobes of the mammary glands.

See also: Breast massage while feeding - technique

The author of the article: Lapikova Valentina Vladimirovna | Gynecologist, reproductologist

Education: Diploma in Obstetrics and Gynecology received at the Russian State Medical University of the Federal Agency for Healthcare and Social Development (2010). In 2013 completed postgraduate studies at N. N. N. I. Pirogova.