Breastfeeding Complications

I had that in the beginning of my first one too and the dr told me to get a bowl of warm water and bend over it and put the painful breast into it for a few minutes. It didn't work for me so I would get into the shower for a few minutes and let the hot water hit it before I fed baby. Also start out breastfeeding everytime with the painful breast. For the pain I put those little avent ice packs in my bra. Goodluck and don't give up!

I agree with the previous person who suggested the honey. I did wonders for me. I put it as compress on the breast. Cabbage leaf is good too. Hope this helps.

How feverish? I came down w/ mastitis 2 days after giving birth to my first son. 103.5 temp w/ intermitent chills. Breasts were rock hard,painful and when expressed leaked regular milk or colostrum and a thicker fluid (sorry if TMI but if you squeeze the nipple and something thicker than milk comes out you have a blockage). Call your OB/GYN. I was put on an antibiotic and it went away within a day or two, although I came down w/ it again about a year and a half later. The antibiotic was safe to use and didn't interfere at all w/ breastfeeding. Good luck!

Pump or hand express. Just keep working at it till something comes out. Your let down might just be really slow. Call your local La Leche League or a lactation consultant.

Definitely call your doctor about the fever.

If you have mastitis (infection in the breast) or a plugged duct, a homeopathic solution that can help is Phytolacca. They sell it at Whole Foods. Here is some information from Kelly Mom, a great breastfeeding resource that I used daily for answers to my questions when breastfeeding.
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mom/recurrent-mastiti...

I also second the recommendation to contact your local La Leche League, they are so helpful:
http://www.lllusa.org/TX/

I had what sounds like a very similar situation to what you are describing, about a week after my son was born. Felt like I had the flu (chills and fever), but the fever was very low-grade. I think a duct was plugged. I took a long hot shower, massaged the breast, used a warm water bottle on it, and nursed like crazy on that breast - whenever he would take it. Finally (after almost a day), while nursing, I suddenly felt a gush and relief. The pain ended as abruptly as it had come; it was as if he had unplugged me.

Hope that helps and good luck to you!
-M.

Its normal when your milk first comes in to have HUGE, hard and HOT breasts.
There are a few things you can do:
First, have your baby suck as much as possible. It may be hard to do if your breasts are really hard because they will have a hard time latching on, so I suggest either pumping a tiny bit out first, or hand expressing it out first and then let them latch on.
Warm showers will be great- they will help the milk come down and thus squirt out of your nipples with a lot of force.
Also, cabbage leaves. Buy a cabbage, and put the cupped leaves in your sports bra (a regular bra will be WAY too uncomfortable) and they are supposed to help.
Keep going- the first week is the hardest, especially if this is your first and you have no idea why your boobs are hot and hard. It IS normal though, and you'll get through it. Your body produces an overabundance of milk at the beginning because it's not sure if you have one or two babies, but very soon your body will figure it out. :)
Hang in there momma, and way to go with the breast feeding! :)

Call your doctor ASAP if you have a fever. They can hopefully help with the brestfeeding as well - if not go see a lactation specialist. Mine (at Plano Presby) was awesome. Unfortunately after 8 days I still was producing any milk (was trying to breast feed every 2 hours and was pumping too - never got more than an ounce), had had a fever for 3 days, so she told me to take my baby home, give him some formula and enjoy him. I still fely guilty about it at first- but unfotunately not all of us CAN breastfeed. He is happy and healthy - and we definitely bonded! So, if it doesn't work out for you (which I hope it will) don't beat yourself up about it - you're baby will be fine. Best of luck - and hope you're feeling better soon!

That happened to me with my first baby. Thank goodness my mom was there to tell me what to do, because I swear I'd have run to the ER, it hurt so badly! Like a few other moms mentioned, take a nice, hot shower and hand express milk while you're in there. Just express enough so you aren't hard as a rock, and then your baby will be able to latch on easier. After a few more days, your body will adjust to the amount of milk your baby is demanding. I think at first, our bodies produce enough milk to feed quadruplets! LOL

Good luck and congrats on your new baby!

feed, feed, feed. in warm shower - express the milk in the engorged side. it will help. dont do the cabbage leaves though unless you are ready to stop feeding. dr had me do cabbage when i was ready to wean...do you have a pump? are you getting any milk - if you arent pumping - rent one from the hospital and see how much is coming out. it is tough to get started if the baby isnt latching right. keep an eye on it - it can turn into mastitis which is bad.

When my milk came in my breasts were huge, hot, and hard. Lay your child on your breasts it will warm them up and make the milk start coming down. The baby can smell the milk and will desire to eat and eat and eat! Don't give up the pain will lessen and you know that its the best thing for your baby! God bless you.

I have heard to take a hot shower and keep trying to pump or nurse until the blockage passes. I never had to do it though. I didn't have my milk come in until 4-5 days after the baby, possibly delayed a bit by the c-section deliveries. I would definitely call or see the ob for an antibiotic though. I had an infected c-section that was not caught as soon as it should have been and it was horrible. Get the antibiotics ASAP. Some are safe for nursing. You are too run down right after having the baby to fight things off effectively (even if you are being good about eating well, drinking water, taking your vitamins, resting, etc).

I second the cabbage suggestion. Put cold cabbage leaves on each breast. It will help the milk be re-absorbed by the body. I used to just put them in my bra.
Also second the mamas who said to watch for a red spot that is hot to the touch. You should seek professional advice if this is the case.
Good luck! After a couple of weeks, you and baby will settle into the nursing routine.

A fever is NOT a normal complication of breastfeeding. Fevers indicate infection, so please go to your doctor.

warm shower-let the water run over your breasts and cabbage leaves to help pull out the heat. I know it sounds weird, but just regular cabbage from the grocery store-place the leaves directly to your breast. Hope this helps!!
BTW, only use the hot shower if you are planning to continue breastfeeding.

I was on ibuprofen for a few weeks for the cramping and it helped with breast pain. I also had horribly large, hard, engorged breasts, but no fever. You might want to check with your doctor. I soaked in the bath, which helped with the cramps and hand expressed in the bathwater--the heat and water was very soothing and helped with the let-down a bit. Otherwise, I recall that it just really hurt for a day or so. :(

First, I want to applaud you for trying breast feeding!! Stick with it, you won't regret it. I nursed both my girls until they were about 15 months, and it was such an awesome experience. That said, at the beginning, it's not awesome, usually. :) As some other posters have said, engorgement (huge and hard breasts), with some pain, too, is totally normal at this point. Your body hasn't regulated your milk supply yet to match what your baby needs. So because of that, I would be really careful with the pumping. I had to pump at first to help my babies latch on, because my breasts were over-full, but you only want to pump out just enough so that your nipple is a little softer. Your breasts work on supply and demand, so if you pump a lot, and then your baby feeds, your body is going to keep producing all that milk.
I think a warm shower is a good idea - let the water run over you for a little while, and massage your breasts to let some milk come out. Like some other posters have said, if you have a red area on your breasts, and you have a fever, you might be developing mastitis. Call your ob/gyn right away. This is not a fun complication and you need to get on antibiotics ASAP if you have it.
Don't take ibuprofen. It's not great for nursing mothers. I would be very careful with the cabbage, as it can completely stop lactation. Also, I'm not sure that you should use honey at all. Remember that infants should NOT have honey, so if you were to use it on your breasts, you would need to clean them thoroughly (mild soap/water) before your baby nursed.
If you just continue to nurse your baby at regular intervals, and use the hot shower and hot compresses, your engorgement will go away in a few days to a week, most likely. You shouldn't need to use any other remedies. However, do call your doctor if you have a fever. God bless, and congratulations!!!

Don't give up! The warm shower is a great idea, but cabbage leaves will cause you to slow down production. Warm water though will open up your ducts and cause you to let down. Then just get out quickly and nurse baby!

One other thing, though... watch out for the "feverish" part. I don't know if you mean you have fever, however, fever and red streaking is indicative of mastitis. This is caused by a clogged duct(s) and will cause pain and sudden fever. It's an infection so you'll need antibiotics, but nothing that hurts your milk or the baby! Just watch out for that.

Good luck and congratulations!

If you have a read painful spot and are feverish it sounds like mastitis, you talk to your doctor about. It is common and it can be pretty quickly releived, but it can also make you sick and make mothering very difficult and needs to be treated. Put warm compresses on the area.

Please call your doctor. If you develop mastitis you will need antibiotics. It is a very serious condition that needs to be addressed. I think we all feel so crummy after child birth that we assume everything is going to be somewhat uncomfortable, but this is something you need to be vigilant about to avoid more pain and possible further complications.

Take care of yourself! And good luck with that perfect new baby.

Kel

I didn't have any trouble producing milk my first day, but my sister did, she tried for about 2 weeks and she had little to nothing coming out. The lactation specialist told her that not every mother produces milk or enough to take care of a child. I would suggest talking to your lactation specialist (at every hosptial) they might have a better sugggestion but just be prepared for the possiblility that you might not be able to breastfeed and as for the pain, honey that goes the territory. Mine hurt so bad even wearing a bra hurt but the pain goes away after awhile and if you can breastfeed your gonna have t let your milk dry up and thats going to HURT, but it does do away. Some ppl I know have taken hot showers used hot pads (i never tried) and ended up lactating..sorry if this doesn't help and good luck with the new baby

The best thing to do is just keep nursing. It will eventually let go and flow. In the mean time, take Tylenol and keep warm compresses on the breast.

cabbage works really well for knots in your breasts. plus warm showers and pumping are good suggestions. I have had plenty of trouble breast feeding my two girls and everytime i go to the lactation consultants at my hospital they solved my problem right away!! breast feeding can be so overwhleming. It was so nice to talk with people who really knew what they were doing and could take care of me and my baby. Especially don't wait to go if you are worried about your baby getting milk. I highly reccommend it! (i went to harris downtown btw). and don't wear bras with underwire. I know this can be painful and stressful. But get the help you need and push through it! this uncomfortableness doesn't last long!

Been there! Get in the shower under hot water and massage the breast from your back foward in long strokes. This helps the milk push foward and you can leak a lot out in hot water. While sitting up you can also put a heating pad across your chest. This will also make you leak so make sure you have some pads on. I did this shower and heating pad combo for a whole day and it really helped. I was engorged with my first for almost a week until someone told me about heat and massaging. This time it only lasted two days. The first time though I did get a fever and it ednded up as mastitis. If it goes on too long you will need antibiotics. It is an infection of a plugged duck. When you massage, feel for any hard places and work on those first. Always attempt to feed on the worst side first. Hopefully it is just engorgement!

Call a volunteer with your local Le Leche League. These ladies will be able to help.

http://www.llli.org/Webindex.html?m=0,0,2

Since you have a fever, it sounds like an infection. I would call the Dr./Nurse you may need antibiotics to clear it up. So sorry, good luck. You can try hot compresses in the shower and massaging the breast (painful I'm sure).