How to relieve chest pain while breastfeeding. Proper attachment is one of the solutions to the problem. Mastitis and its difference from lactostasis

What to do if a nursing mother has a chest pain, do I need to immediately consult a doctor and are there folk ways treatment this disease? To begin with, such a symptom almost always means the formation of lactostasis in the mammary gland.

Most young mothers know that lactostasis is milk stagnation, in which the chest of a nursing mother hurts, a local seal appears, sometimes quite large, and the body temperature rises (when measured in the armpit).

Some have experienced this personally. The appearance of lactostasis can be prevented! There are only a few rules to follow.

1. Closely monitor the chest. When seals, bumps, swelling appear, it is necessary to massage the chest until they disappear completely. Need to do it with clean hands, movements in a circle towards the areola of the nipple. If the seals do not go away, you need to consult a mammologist.

2. Don't be afraid to express if necessary. If the baby "ate" only one breast, and the second remained full, and you feel discomfort, then you must definitely express a little. Especially with hardening of the chest area. If the chest hurts with shv - this is not the norm, you should not endure discomfort.

3. Avoid underwire bras whenever possible, squeezing and tight-fitting models. It is best to wear so-called sports bras or tops. And you can bras specifically designed for use during lactation. The main thing is to choose the right size. Underwear should never be tight.

4. Keep your chest warm. A cool breeze that you don't pay attention to can easily chill your chest. The situation when the chest of a nursing mother is blown is quite common.

5. Do not express unnecessarily. This can easily cause hyperlactation, which sooner or later will lead to lactostasis. Remember that the more milk is “used”, the more it is produced. You should not deceive your body. Let him produce exactly as much milk as the baby needs.

6. Offer the breast to the baby in turn. You can not give twice in a row one breast, leaving the second full. Especially at night feeding. The situation when a nursing breast breaks is very often associated with this error.

7. It is undesirable during the establishment of lactation (up to 4 months of the baby) to sleep on the stomach. The milk ducts can be compressed, making it difficult for the milk to flow. It is also undesirable to somehow hold the mammary gland in the process of feeding a child, since in this way it can be transferred and provoke the development of an inflammatory process, characteristic hallmarks which are chest pain and fever in a nursing mother.

Follow these 7 rules and breastfeed without lactostasis! But this is only a preventive measure. But what if the problem has already arisen, if the breastfeeding mother has a sore chest, and there is no opportunity to visit a mammologist or gynecologist right away?

In this case, you need to try to get rid of the seal. It is best to do this with the help of a child, offer him breasts more often. Moreover, it is correct to apply, the child's chin should be turned towards lactostasis.

From folk remedies, you can use baked onions. Just apply it to the mammary gland and warm something on top. Someone applies another well-known folk remedy for the same purpose - a cabbage leaf. And camphor oil gives a good effect. After compresses with it, it is easier to drain lactostasis.

The process of lactation has many subtleties. And for the best experience for you and your baby, keep in touch with a lactation consultant. He will tell you and why the chest hurts when feeding, and how to get rid of seals will give advice, and will advise on the prevention of mastitis.

Soreness of the mammary gland - unfortunately, it is quite common during breastfeeding. Despite the prevalence, this phenomenon is not considered the norm. Usually its causes are improper feeding, violation of maternal breast hygiene.

It should be understood that optimal feeding should be enjoyable for all participants in this process. That is why pain cannot be tolerated. It is necessary to establish why the chest hurts during feeding, and be sure to eliminate the provoking factor.

The female body prepares for the process of lactation immediately after the fertilization of the egg. When the mammary glands begin to swell and coarsen a little, a woman can even assume that she is pregnant. But similar unpleasant symptoms usually pass quickly.

After the birth of the child, they begin to apply to the breast. However, this process does not always go smoothly. The newly minted and, moreover, inexperienced mother does not have the necessary feeding skills, and the baby is also not very successful in this matter.

If these factors coincide, the nipples become quite sore in the first days of lactation. The fact is that the skin on the nipples is thin and therefore sensitive.

At first, when the child's tongue and hard gums touch them, female sensations cannot be called pleasant.

Having adapted, the baby begins to develop the nipples, which significantly reduces their sensitivity. However, this process sometimes proceeds at a slow pace, because the coarsening of the nipple skin takes a certain time - approximately 10-14 days.

So, when feeding immediately after childbirth, moderate pain in the mammary gland may occur. The following are considered normal:

tiny nipple cracks that do not require special medical procedures;
whitish coating, gradually turning into scabs, which will soon fall off;
a little pain when the baby grabs the nipples (occurs due to the release of hormonal substances when milk flows and the adaptation of the nipple skin to the baby's mouth).

During the formation of lactation, the mammary gland adapts, so some soreness may be observed. It goes away after a while, if discomfort in the breasts only grow, it is necessary to consult a doctor to clarify the possible cause.

Breastfeeding experts identify several factors that cause discomfort when breastfeeding a baby. Some of them can be combined, increasing the already pronounced pain syndrome.

So, possible cause breast pain can be:

incorrect capture of the nipple by the child;
cracked nipples;
breast candidiasis (thrush);
lactostasis (milk stagnates);
inflammation of the breast (mastitis);
vasospasm.

It is necessary to more carefully consider all these provoking factors in order to understand how to save a woman from pain.

Wrong capture

Some experts in matters of feeding consider it is the incorrect capture of the nipple by the child that is the main prerequisite for the occurrence of pain in the mammary gland during lactation.

It is precisely this kind of erroneous capture that often leads to the emergence of other undesirable consequences: cracks, mastitis.

If the baby does not grasp the nipples correctly, the woman may feel sharpest pain while breastfeeding. In this case, you must immediately stop feeding and wait until the baby correctly takes the nipple.

Only after this will a pleasant sensation appear, and the baby will begin to drink milk completely.

The procedure for optimal nipple latching by the baby should be accompanied by certain maternal actions:

First you need to wait until the child opens his mouth wide. If this does not happen, you should pass the papilla along lower lip. Usually, after such an action, the sucking reflex, which is innate, “works”.
The next step is to pull the baby's head to the bust. The mother needs, as it were, to "fasten" the child's mouth onto the papilla in such a way that the small often chest areola remains in sight. In the case of a correct grip, the nipples are located on the same level with the tongue root, which means that the child cannot damage them in any way.
If the baby fails to grasp, the woman needs to tighten the areola. To do this, the thumb is located on top of the areola, and the index finger is located below. The skin is pulled together, forming a kind of "fold", then it is put into the child's mouth and lowered. After the voiced actions, the areola straightens, thereby providing the necessary grip.

The order of the mother's steps should not depend on the position when feeding. If the child develops normally, then very soon he will “understand” what is required of him, and the mammary gland will no longer suffer.

What can get in the way? First of all, milk will reach the child with great difficulty if he has a shortened frenulum or a violation of the structure of the upper palate.

IN similar situations you need to contact facial surgeons (with the "cleft palate") or dentists to trim the frenulum. Such operations are now quite common and are performed only by qualified specialists.

The mammary glands during lactation can also hurt due to cracks in the nipples. Factors that cause damage skin pacifier, a few. Sometimes they occur in combination, intensifying the pain.

With the formation of shallow cracks, you just need to exclude all of the above factors: teach the child the right grip, forget about frequent washing mammary gland and stop taking the breast from the baby.

However, if the mammary gland is damaged too much or an infectious inflammation is connected, it is necessary to consult a doctor for appropriate therapy.

The doctor will select medications aimed at combating the fungus or bacterial pathogen, if any. Milk remains in the child's diet, since many drugs do not require the obligatory cessation of breastfeeding.
Most likely, you will need to pick up special ointments and gels designed to heal wounds. This should also be done by a professional. The most popular means are Bepanten, Actovegin, Sudocrem, Zinc ointment. Sometimes they help folk recipes- the mammary gland is smeared with sea buckthorn or cedar oil.
Experts recommend during lactation (before and after feeding) to walk more often with bare breasts. If this advice is not feasible, use loose linen from natural materials. So that the nipples do not rub against things, you need.

When connecting various infectious pathogens to cracks, it is not recommended to deal with this problem on your own. If the fungus is connected, the development of thrush is possible, if bacteria - mastitis.

Cracked nipples and other damage to the skin of the breast often lead to fungal infections. The first symptom is a whitish coating covering the nipples, passing to the gums and cheeks of the child after feeding.

It is painful for a woman to breastfeed, the pain syndrome persists even during rest, this happens when pathogens penetrate deep into the milk ducts. Thrush occurs with a weak immune system, hormonal imbalance or because of improper hygiene chest.

In a child, the symptoms of candidiasis are as follows:

A nursing mother should contact a doctor who will select the necessary medicines that fight a fungal infection. With successful treatment, the mammary gland will soon recover, and treatment can be continued.

The doctor will also advise drugs to cure candidiasis in a child.

lactostasis

Milk can stagnate in the breast different reasons– for example, the refusal of the mother to feed on demand. Due to lactostasis, the mammary gland noticeably hurts when the child takes food.

Breastfeeding experts advise mothers to remember that not only can a baby demand food, but a woman can freely apply her baby to the mammary gland after she feels fullness in her chest. This should be done regularly, otherwise the milk will stagnate, which will lead to lactostasis.

If, nevertheless, one or the other mammary gland is sick and the woman suspects lactostasis, attention should be paid to the following signs: stagnation is accompanied by hardening of individual sections of the chest, swelling, fever.

The main methods against milk stagnation are:

resorption by the child of a certain mammary gland;
massaging hard areas in the damaged chest.

Most often, the mammary gland stops hurting after a few days, but with severe lactostasis, discomfort during feeding can be observed for another week.

Inflammatory processes occurring in the mammary gland are called mastitis. Inflammation develops as a result of severe congestion in the chest. Another reason may be damage to the breast (cracked nipples) after penetration of infectious pathogens.

The main symptoms of lactational mastitis are:

At initial stage the inflammatory process will be enough to apply cold to the mammary glands and completely empty the chest (feed the baby more often or). If pus comes out with milk, we are no longer talking about breastfeeding.

What should a breastfeeding mother do? Doctors prescribe antibiotics, in a particularly neglected case - surgery. If the mammary glands affected by mastitis are not treated, their deformation, blood poisoning and even death of a woman are possible.

Vasospasm

If a nursing mother has breast pain when feeding a child or after it, discomfort manifests itself in the form of painful pulsation, the nipples begin to turn white after the procedure, she probably suffers from vasospasm. It is rarely diagnosed.

This state was first described in detail by the Canadian scientist Newman. The above symptoms, he considered, are due to spasms small vessels located next to the breast nipples.

The reason for the development of spastic phenomena is the temperature difference between environment and warm oral cavity of the child. The baby releases the nipples, due to spasms, blood stops flowing to them, this leads to a painful syndrome.

If similar symptoms during breastfeeding occur constantly, when the baby releases the nipple, it is better for the mother to consult a doctor to exclude various autoimmune diseases that also provoke vasospasm.

To prevent spastic reactions, experts advise doing the following:

keep the mammary glands warm all the time, immediately covering them after feeding;
avoid taking coffee drink and strong black tea;
visit a massage therapist and.

Pain in the chest while breastfeeding will not bother a woman if she does everything necessary recommendations specialists. Preventive procedures usually consist of hygiene standards and right way feeding.

First of all, the mother needs to learn how to properly attach the baby to the breast. "Old-fashioned" obstetricians are sometimes advised to use the so-called scissors when feeding, when one or the other mammary gland is captured with two fingers. Such a method is fraught with the fact that the milk ducts are experienced, the milk does not flow out, it stagnates, which. You should not hold the breast in such an uncharacteristic position, on the contrary, you need to provide yourself and the child with the most comfortable position: the baby captures the nipple and the areola, while it is better for the mother to lie down on the bed.
It is not recommended to wash the breast constantly. The mammary gland a priori cannot become contaminated, unless, of course, a woman begins to soil her with dirt. Optimal breast hygiene includes daily washing warm water, and the use of soap and alcohol solutions should be avoided.
Pads and absorbent liners should be used very infrequently. "Milk flow" is usually observed during the formation of lactation (the first 4 weeks), then female body adapts to the needs of the child. From this point on, the liners become unnecessary. If you wear them constantly, an environment is formed that is favorable for the development of pathogenic microorganisms that love heat and humidity. This leads to infectious diseases.
You should not dismiss the outbreak of inflammation. As soon as a breastfeeding mother notices the signs inflammatory processes She needs to start treatment right away. At first, you can simply apply cabbage leaves, lubricate the nipples with breast milk. For severe symptoms, special ointments should be used, for example, Bepanten. IN special occasions surgery may be required.
“I caught a cold - my chest got sick,” is how the onset of diseases of the mammary glands is often described. Therefore, women need to avoid hypothermia, dress warmer and avoid drafts.
As already mentioned, it is forbidden to tear the child from the nipple by force, focusing only on your feelings. Experts recommend waiting until the baby eats and let go of the breast.
Buy clothes that do not fit the mammary glands, do not put pressure on the chest. Items must be made only from natural materials, synthetic fabrics excluded.

Few breastfeeding moms know that nature has already made the perfect cure for inflammation, cracks and other damage to the breast. This remedy is regular breast milk.

Breastfeeding is a process that brings pleasure to all participants: mom and baby. If it is painful for a woman to feed a child, it is imperative to deal with the cause of this phenomenon.

Unpleasant sensations usually signal improper application baby to the chest or about the beginning of the inflammatory process. In any case, it is better for a woman to consult a specialist who will determine the provoking factor and prescribe the right treatment.

Hello, I'm Nadezhda Plotnikova. Having successfully studied at SUSU as a special psychologist, she devoted several years to working with children with developmental problems and advising parents on raising children. I apply the experience gained, among other things, in the creation of psychological articles. Of course, by no means do I pretend to be the ultimate truth, but I hope that my articles will help dear readers deal with any difficulties.

logical continuation postpartum period is the beginning of lactation, in which serious changes occur in the body of a woman. In nulliparous women, the mammary glands are not adapted to the production and accumulation of breast milk therefore, the initial stage of lactation may be accompanied by pain and a feeling of heaviness.

Under certain circumstances, during breastfeeding, a woman may notice intense pain in one or both mammary glands. Except pain syndrome may be disturbed by an increase in body temperature and the presence of a seal in the area of \u200b\u200bthe mammary gland.

Causes

Among all the variety pathological conditions that may occur during lactation, there are 2 main causes of pain in combination with an increase in body temperature.

lactostasis

Increased production of breast milk contributes to overstretching of the breast tissue. In situations where a woman has an excessive production of breast milk or its discharge is disturbed, stagnation (lactostasis) develops. Stagnation causes the appearance of pain and a feeling of fullness in the area of the mammary glands.

With the development of stagnation of breast milk, there is no increase in temperature, however, delaying treatment can lead to the development of a more serious pathology, such as mastitis.

The initial stage of mastitis is no different from the symptoms of lactostasis, but it should be borne in mind that this disease endangers not only lactation, but also the health of a nursing woman. The main manifestations of mastitis are local tenderness in the mammary gland, the presence of compaction and fever.

In places where the inflammatory process develops, foci of reddening of the skin are formed. The initial cause of mastitis is lactostasis, against which bacterial infection. Breast milk from a diseased breast must be expressed regularly. It is unsuitable for feeding a child.

Symptoms

The main manifestations of stagnation of breast milk in the mammary glands include:

the presence of a seal in a certain part of the mammary gland;
the appearance of edema pain when feeding a child and when pressing on the chest;
redness of the skin over the area of \u200b\u200bdensification;
when pumping, the number of milk streams is significantly reduced;
an increase in body temperature when measured in the armpit on the side of the development of lactostasis.

Treatment

If during breastfeeding a woman is faced with the problem of mastitis, then the treatment this disease should be carried out under the direction of a physician. Medical therapy includes admission antibacterial drugs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antipyretic, absorbable agents for external use in the form of compresses and ointments. At the same time, a nursing woman is recommended to regularly empty the diseased mammary gland through pumping.

If the process is one-sided, then feeding the baby should be continued with a healthy breast. If mastitis is bilateral, then doctors usually recommend temporarily switching to artificial feeding.

For the treatment and prevention of lactostasis, every nursing woman is recommended to adhere to the following rules:

Pay attention to the condition of the mammary glands. If foci of swelling and compaction are found, self-massage techniques must be used. The purpose of the massage is to improve blood circulation in the mammary glands, expand the milk ducts, and facilitate the discharge of breast milk.
During breastfeeding, the baby empties only one mammary gland. For the purpose of prevention congestion a nursing woman is recommended to express milk from the second breast.
Choose your underwear carefully. When choosing bras, attention should be paid to bra-free underwear, which, when worn, can compress the mammary glands. The best option is wearing sports tops or special bras on rubber bands.
Protect mammary glands from hypothermia. While indoors or outdoors, it is recommended to ensure that drafts do not fall on the chest.
Don't overdo it with pumping. It is recommended to express breast milk only if necessary, when a woman begins to feel discomfort and a feeling of fullness.
Drink no more than 1.5 liters of fluid daily.
It is best to sleep on your side, avoiding the position on your stomach. Before applying the baby to the breast and after feeding, it is recommended to take a warm or cold and hot shower avoiding hot water.

If a nursing woman has developed lactostasis or mastitis, then it is highly recommended not to warm up and vigorously massage the mammary glands. Exposure to high temperatures and excessive pressure on the chest provokes damage to the milk ducts, and also creates a favorable environment for the development of pathogenic microorganisms.

Breastfeeding is a harmless, joyful, but at the same time responsible process, thanks to which the newborn receives the necessary useful trace elements and vitamins. Breast milk helps create close connection(sense of security and closeness) between mother and child. However, this pleasant period can be overshadowed by chest pain during feeding, not only in young mothers, but also in more experienced ones. There are many reasons for this, which means that discomfort and pain in such a tender place should not be ignored.

When breastfeeding, a young mother may experience breast pain

Possible reasons

Why does the breast burn, prick and itch during feeding? Painful sensations are often associated with the restructuring of the woman's body. Milk flushes (especially in a new mother) can cause burning and tingling in the chest; after feeding or pumping it goes away. Also, the causes of pain in any period of lactation include:

rapid flow of milk before, after or during feeding;
wounds, cracks or other injuries on the surface of the nipples;
lactostasis (milk stasis) or, as a result, a complication - mastitis (inflammation of the mammary gland);
mastopathy (benign disease of the mammary gland, not associated with breastfeeding);
ill-fitting bra.

The degree of discomfort depends on the woman's pain threshold. One nursing mother may feel the usual tingling sensation in mammary gland during lactation, and the other hurts not only to breastfeed, but also to touch it. In any case, a woman should monitor her health and conduct preventive examinations more often to prevent possible complications.

Not all young mothers are aware of such a concept as the hormone oxytocin. It is he who is responsible for the reflexes during labor activity and during lactation. At first, a woman may even have complaints that her chest hurts during feeding, there are unpleasant sensations in the lower abdomen or in the nipple area. Oxytocin increases blood flow, due to which increased milk production occurs even just with the memory of a child or thoughts about previous feeding.

Often, breast pain in a nursing mother appears just because of an excess of milk: the child is full and there are leftovers. In this case, it is important to learn how to observe the daily routine and follow a certain schedule. Then milk will be produced in the right amount no surplus.

Milk flushes are one of the causes of chest pain. If the baby does not have time to eat everything, then the milk must be expressed.

Nipple injury

At first, when the baby is not yet able to attach to the breast, you have to interrupt feeding yourself by pulling out or tearing out the nipple. However, such careless actions can lead not only to pain and burning during breastfeeding, but also to injuries (wounds, cracks, abrasions, bruises), which, in turn, are the causative agents of infectious and inflammatory diseases.

Also, excessive sterility will not lead to anything good. Too clean mothers often make the mistake of washing away with soap not only possible dust and dirt, but also the necessary, kind of useful microflora. A woman is deprived of a protective film that has bactericidal and moisturizing properties, and a child does not fully develop immunity to external stimuli. This is one of the reasons why the nursing breast hurts, the skin dries up and is injured, wounds appear and.

Often the causes of complications are improperly selected underwear, which rubs or strongly compresses the mammary glands. During lactation, you will have to abandon the sexy breast-lifting bra in favor of health. For nursing mothers, special no less beautiful underwear has also been created.

These are Candida fungi that appear as white patches and cracks on swollen, dry nipples. At the same time, feeding and expressing milk causes severe chest pain in a nursing mother due to damage to the milky streams. You can cope with the disease on your own only on early stages however, breastfeeding should be discontinued in this case.

Thrush is a contagious infection that is instantly transmitted to the child. On the lips and tongue of the baby, you can also notice white coating. Mom should start using ointments, and the child should start using oral solutions.

If the young parent does not want to deprive the baby of breast milk, then you should immediately consult a doctor who will prompt you quickly and safe way treatment, select and prescribe the right medicines. Self-medication can only cause complications, because if the thrush caught you by surprise, then you are already doing something wrong.

If hygiene rules are not followed, thrush may appear on the woman’s chest and in the child’s mouth, which must be treated immediately after detection

lactostasis

Milk stasis - frequent occurrence about which they complain inexperienced moms(We recommend reading:). It is accompanied not only by painful feeding, but also by compaction of the alveoli, redness and hardness of the chest, and an increase in body temperature. However, do not stop feeding. On the contrary, the baby will help disperse the stagnant milk and play the role of a breast pump in this case. If the chest hurts after feeding, then you can additionally use absorbable ointments, do compresses and massage, gently or with special devices.

In order to prevent stagnation, you should observe the daily regimen and diet, wear comfortable underwear, and do not sleep on the same side. Fatty food can also provoke blockage of the duct, as the viscosity and fat content of milk increases. A diet for nursing mothers is the only right decision.

This is a severe form of breast inflammation; develops with improper treatment of lactostasis. This complication is accompanied high temperature 38-39 ° C, sharp and severe pain, discharge of pus or discoloration of milk (more in the article:). Naturally, it is impossible to feed a child in this state, and it is impossible, since the mammary gland hurts at any touch.

Calling a doctor immediately will be the most right decision, because in advanced cases it will only help surgical intervention with a further ban on breastfeeding.

Mastitis, as well as lactostasis, can be triggered by improper expression of milk, uncomfortable squeezing underwear, injuries and damage to the nipples, non-compliance with the feeding and nutrition regimen, non-compliance elementary rules hygiene. At the same time, even a weakening of the immune system, for example, after a difficult birth or a cold, can cause an imbalance in a woman’s body, therefore, if the first symptoms are not ignored, then it will not come to inflammatory processes (more in the article:). Everything can be cured early stages.

If mastitis is found in a woman, you will have to stop breastfeeding and immediately consult a doctor

Prevention

This article talks about typical ways to solve your questions, but each case is unique! If you want to know from me how to solve exactly your problem - ask your question. It's fast and free!

For a woman, discomfort in the chest area is one of the main problems both physically and emotionally. To avoid unpleasant consequences possible with the help of certain preventive measures:

Proper feeding technique. It is important to learn how to put the baby to the chest so that it is convenient for him to eat, and this process does not cause inconvenience to you. In some maternity hospitals, you can still see caring doctors teaching inexperienced parents to hold their breasts in a natural position. The “scissors” grip is also known to our great-grandmothers: not only the nipple, but also the main part of the areola should be in the baby’s mouth, and the mammary gland must be supported with fingers. The main thing is not to pinch the ducts.
hygiene procedures. A regular daily shower will help keep you fresh and clean. Do not wash your breasts several times a day or before each feeding. As already mentioned, this has a bad effect on the microflora.
Air exchange. At first, due to an overabundance, milk begins to leak, causing discomfort to the young mother. Many solve the problem by constantly wearing special liners that absorb milk. Of course, this is very convenient, for example, when going for a walk or visiting, but at home it is recommended to free the chest from unnecessary tissues, thereby creating natural ventilation (air exchange) and preventing the development of infections. By the way, after feeding, it is advisable not to close the chest for some time.
Timely treatment. At the first signs of the disease (whether it be the usual irritation on the skin or temperature), you should consult a doctor. If nipples hurt due to cracking or rubbing, then as a preventive measure, you can use the Bepanten or Purelan wound healing gels.

It is important to teach the child to come off the breast correctly, so that in the future, when the teeth appear, he does not accidentally bite you. Feeding a baby is a responsible but enjoyable task. Subject to all the rules, newly-made parents will never know such a word as "painful."

The first attachment to the breast of a newborn is accompanied by certain, often painful sensations, and the breast needs certain time to adapt to feeding the baby.

- Usually, the pain occurs when the baby grabs the nipples in his mouth and starts measured sucking. During feeding soft skin the nipple begins to harden a little and becomes less sensitive, the pain decreases or even dulls. It takes about seven days to get used to breastfeeding.. At the very beginning, this process can be accompanied by the formation of minor microcracks and the appearance of specific white crusts.

- If the nipples hurt from the first moment of feeding, and the pain lasts all his time, then this means that the child has grasped the breast with force and incorrectly, which can cause abrasions and cracks.

- Soreness in synthesis with hardening of the mammary gland indicates the time of feeding or becomes a symptom of diseases such as lactostasis and mastitis.

- Burning sensation in the nipples and areola at the time of feeding, cracks and pain in the chest between feedings, may be a sign of thrush.

The pain is functional

From the first day of conception, the female body initiates preparations for the upcoming motherhood. The mammary glands increase in volume and become very sensitive. In some women, stretch marks appear on the skin of the breast during pregnancy.

All these changes sometimes bring inconvenience to a woman, and if the bra is chosen incorrectly, they can cause quite a lot of pain. Physiological pain associated with swelling of the mammary gland, often in its manifestations, resembles the sensation before the onset of menstruation. They are rarely long and strong.

During lactation, the breasts can also hurt. Most often, this is a call to the fact that it is time to feed the baby. The feeling of heaviness and fullness immediately disappears after applying the child to the breast. Nature has provided for everything, if the child oversleep feeding, then the mother's breast will immediately remind you that it is time to feed the baby. She will feel bursting soreness in her chest and will not allow the child to be very hungry.

In some women, especially those who have given birth to their first child, the flow of milk gives rise to a tingling or burning sensation in the female mammary glands. Milk inflow can occur before feeding, if a woman drinks, for example, hot tea or milk.

What kind of pain should I pay attention to?

It cannot be considered true that during the first month of feeding in all women, without exception, the nipples are prone to cracking. Pain, especially acute, complicating the process of feeding a child, cannot be the norm.
It is necessary to understand the cause of pain and eliminate it. Most often, painful manifestations occur with incorrect attachment, when the baby weakly opens his mouth and squeezes the nipple with his gums.
It is best to give the baby the breast in the grip, when the mother squeezes the nipple and its areola with the index and middle fingers. The most important thing is not to pinch the nipples, so as not to lead to stagnation of milk. Normally, the baby should capture both the nipple itself and the surrounding area with the mouth.
If the grip seems to be correct, but the pain still does not stop, you need to make sure that hyoid frenulum and the upper palate of the baby are formed correctly. Doctors can easily determine if the baby has such a problem. A short bridle prevents the baby from sucking normally and is often recommended to be cut. It is possible that the frenulum will lengthen over time, but if feeding interferes strong pain, its dissection will become quick fix Problems.
Intense arching pain, accompanied by fever, most often confirms the assumption of stagnation of milk in the chest - lactostasis. This disease should be treated immediately to prevent the formation of mastitis.
Regular feeding of the child, good release of the mammary gland and individual supportive measures will lead to quite speedy recovery. But even in a plastic breast, slight pain on palpation may be felt for another 2-3 days.
If the cracks in the nipples do not heal for a long time, it turns red, his areola looks dry and irritated, the soreness remains even after feeding or sometimes even intensifies, then we can assume thrush of the skin of the chest. It occurs due to the fact that the fungus living on the skin is activated, and can affect not only the skin of a woman’s breasts, but also the mucous membranes of the baby’s mouth (about thrush in newborns).
In conditions of stagnation in the milk ducts, mastitis can develop. Most often, this pathology appears after insufficient emptying of the breast from the accumulated milk. At the same time, the chest aches during feeding, it can turn red and become inflamed. Prevention of the disease can be a thorough straining of milk.

What to do for chest pain while breastfeeding?

The most important thing is to stop frequently washing your nipples with soap. During washing with soap, the grease produced by the glands, which has bactericidal properties, is washed out. Rinse with plain water before and after feeding.
After washing, you need to cover the nipple with a few drops of mother's milk. You can apply ointments that prevent their dryness on the advice of a pediatrician.
If the chest hurts after feeding, then this may be the result of incorrect weaning of the baby from the breast.
You need to choose the right not tight bra, specially designed for a nursing woman.
With thrush, the doctor determines a therapy that helps to quickly cope with the disease and save breastfeeding. If the diagnosis is confirmed by a doctor, thrush is treated simultaneously in both the mother and the child.
Mom is prescribed ointments, and the baby is given a special solution to wipe his mouth. Only in advanced cases, the situation may require the use of antifungal drugs by mouth, and the mother can continue to feed if the doctor chooses a treatment that is consistent with breastfeeding.
To prevent problems, you need to start preparing the breast for feeding the baby two weeks before the birth, namely, massage. To do this, the nipples must be extremely carefully pulled out with your fingers. Such a massage should be done twice a day daily for 2-3 minutes.
When feeding with intolerable painful sensations it is possible to use special pads for feeding, which are sold in pharmacies, they are glass or plastic.
In any case, if the breast is not completely freed from milk, it must be expressed and fed to the baby from a spoon.

If the chest hurts when feeding, it cannot be ignored, even if we are talking about harmless physiological pains, which, nevertheless, haunt a woman. You need to come to an appointment with a specialist who will find a solution to the issue for any specific case.