How to treat breastfeeding
In the first month of the baby's life, the formation of lactation takes place, the development of a feeding regime, the determination of its one-time and daily needs for breast milk.
This process is often accompanied by conditions such as cracked nipples, stagnation of milk in the gland (lactostasis), mastitis, which require certain treatment. How to treat a breast while feeding a baby? What is the symptom of a lump in the glands when feeding? What methods and drugs are acceptable for treatment during breastfeeding?
The main disorders and diseases of the breast during feeding: symptoms, causes
Breastfeeding is a chain of complex interactions between mother and child, lying in the psychophysiological plane. In the process of feeding, an invisible bond is formed between the woman and her baby. Breastfeeding is a physiologically adequate way to feed and raise a mentally and physically healthy child. Natural feeding is recommended by the World Health Organization because of the exceptional nutritional value of breast milk and its importance in the formation of immunity and the development of the child's body. Therefore, it is extremely important for every woman to maintain lactation and prolong the period of breastfeeding. Often the process of breastfeeding is accompanied by various diseases: cracked nipples, lactostasis, mastitis. How to treat breastfeeding?
Breastfeeding is not recommended to be stopped even during the mother's illness. With breast milk, the child receives antibodies to many diseases of a viral and infectious nature. Breast diseases usually occur for the following reasons:
- Improper attachment of the baby to the breast contributes to improper grip on the nipple, discomfort of the baby during feeding, which can provoke both mechanical damage to the nipple and the areola (areola), which leads to cracks, and incomplete suction of milk from the breast, which can provoke stagnation;
- Wearing tight underwear;
- Violation of the water balance of the body of a nursing mother;
- Eating a nursing mother of foods that increase the fat content of milk;
- Incorrect postures during sleep (position of the body in which the chest is pinched);
- Improper breast care, contributing to dry nipple skin;
- Mechanical damage to the mammary glands;
- Stress;
- Bottle feeding of the baby;
- Hyper- and hypolactation;
- Hypothermia;
- Use of waterproof pads for dripping milk.
The main diseases and dysfunctions of the breast during feeding include:
- Cracks and abrasions of the nipples are mechanical linear violations of the integrity of the skin of the nipples, which are radially located (from the center of the nipple to the edge of the areola). Cracked nipples often appear at an early stage of lactation, when a woman is just learning to attach a baby to her breast. How to treat breasts while breastfeeding? Cracks require urgent treatment, as they pose a potential danger for the penetration of bacteria and the development of infection. The main therapy for cracked nipples is to quickly achieve healing of the damaged area, which is facilitated by regular treatment of the nipples with ointments containing lanolin (animal wax), which promotes rapid healing of cracks, softens the skin of the nipples and areolas, and does not require special rinsing before feeding. Lanolin-based ointments are also used as a means of preventing cracks in nursing mothers;
- Lactostasis - stagnation of secretions in the ducts of the breast. The reason for the formation of stagnation can be the squeezing of one of the ducts, its incomplete emptying for a long time. Prolonged stagnation of milk requires immediate treatment, as it can develop into uninfected mastitis. How to treat breast feeding with lactostasis? You should consult your doctor or breastfeeding consultant. As a rule, the methods of how to treat the breast while feeding with stagnant milk come down to mechanical elimination of stagnation in the breast segment by massaging, exposure to temperatures (applying heat and cold). With lactostasis, feeding is usually not stopped. This disease is characterized by painful sensations and the formation of a lump in the breast during feeding. In this case, the surface of the chest does not change. There may be slight redness on the skin of the breast in the area of compaction and stagnation;
- Mastitis is an inflammatory process in the tissues of the breast, provoked by stagnation of milk in the ducts, infection through cracked nipples, non-observance of personal hygiene and breast hygiene during feeding. The main symptoms of lactational mastitis are breast thickening during feeding, breast enlargement, fever, bursting pain. How to treat breasts while feeding with mastitis can be determined by a qualified specialist.
How to treat breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is not recommended to stop, even if the breastfeeding woman is suffering from any disease. However, in case of breast diseases, feeding a child may be impossible for a number of reasons such as:
- Painful intolerant sensations when sucking;
- Purulent inflammatory processes in the tissues;
- Bacterial lesions.
To determine how to treat breastfeeding, do not self-diagnose. The main recommendations are reduced to:
- Exclusion of factors provoking the development of breast diseases;
- Seeing a doctor.
Self-determination of how to treat a breast while feeding is potentially dangerous for both the breastfeeding woman herself and her baby. Incorrect diagnosis and choice of tactics, how to treat the breast while feeding, can result in a complete cessation of lactation, which will significantly affect the condition and development of the child.
Acceptable Treatment During Breastfeeding
If alarming symptoms are found, such as chest pain during feeding, breast lump during feeding, chills, reddening of the mammary glands, discomfort in the chest, you should first consult a doctor for a correct diagnosis of the disease. The tactics of treatment during breastfeeding for each of the possible diseases is significantly different. So, for the treatment of cracks during breastfeeding, it is necessary to eliminate factors irritating and traumatizing the skin of the nipple, while mastitis requires drug therapy. How to treat breastfeeding? Taking any medications for treatment while breastfeeding should only be done after consulting your doctor, as most drugs pass into breast milk and can affect the baby's condition. Also, when treating with medications during breastfeeding, the treatment regimen is recommended to be selected so that at the time of feeding, the concentration of the drug in the mother's body reaches minimum values. For the treatment of mastitis, antibiotics are selected that are compatible with breastfeeding, which does not interfere with breastfeeding.
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