Breast massage for lactation

Breast massage for lactation is an effective and affordable tool that every woman can use even at home. Very often during breastfeeding, problems arise that are characterized by milk stagnation, which brings discomfort not only to the child, because he does not get enough, but also the mother suffers because of painful unpleasant sensations. Therefore, you need to use all means to alleviate this situation, and massage is very effective.

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Indications and contraindications for breast massage for lactation

The growth of the child in the first six months of his life occurs only due to mother's milk, which fully ensures his development and normal life. If any problems arise with the mother, then the child does not get enough to eat and loses weight, which is why lactostasis must be treated. For successful feeding, you need to know several rules for successful breastfeeding.

First of all, feeding a newborn baby, that is, in the first 28 days of his life, should be done at his request, without night breaks. At the same time, the interval between feedings should not be more than three hours. Such an interval has a good effect not only on the child, but also on the secretion of milk. At night, under the influence of pituitary hormones, milk is formed in the mammary glands, and under the influence of night feedings, the production of the hormone oxytocin increases, which in turn affects the muscle fibers of the milk ducts and normal secretion of milk into the milk ducts occurs. This process occurs normally, but there are cases when there is not enough milk and the child is fed with mixtures. In this case, the normal process of formation and secretion of milk does not occur and this contributes to the disruption of the lactogenesis process. Then various pathological conditions arise in the form of lactostasis or, in case of infection, inflammation of the mammary gland occurs - mastitis.

It is also necessary to know about the correct toilet of the mammary gland. After each feeding, you should not wash the mammary gland or wipe it with a dry towel. A daily shower is enough, which allows you to clean everything without additional effort. Immediately after feeding, you need to wipe the nipple with a drop of milk and this is enough. Such elementary rules help to avoid the formation of cracks in the nipple, through which microorganisms can penetrate with the initiation of the inflammatory process.

Therefore, it is necessary to be clearly aware of the indications that may be associated with breastfeeding.

Breast massage to improve lactation is an excellent home method of breast care for a nursing mother. It helps to relax the breast muscles, increase milk secretion and increases the contraction of the muscle fibers of the milk ducts, which in turn promotes better milk secretion. Therefore, the main indication for breast massage to improve lactation is lactostasis or milk stagnation. This occurs when feeding rules are violated, with irregular feeding or when there is milk left in the breast after feeding, which can stagnate. In this case, there is a feeling of distension and tension in the mammary gland, pain during feeding, the child does not get enough due to a violation of the flow of milk into the milk duct. If the process is limited to local manifestations only, then breast massage in this case is the main treatment that can be done at home. It resumes the normal outflow of milk and can help in the initial stages of the process without the use of ointments.

Contraindications for breast massage for lactation are obvious signs of an inflammatory process in the breast - mastitis or breast abscess. In this case, massage can only worsen the situation by spreading the purulent focus. It is easy to differentiate mastitis and lactostasis. When mastitis occurs, local changes in the breast occur in the form of reddening of the skin, a burning sensation, the skin is warm or hot to the touch, tense, severe pain syndrome. With infectious inflammation of the breast, there are general manifestations in the form of intoxication syndrome with a rise in temperature. In this case, breast massage should never be performed. It is also necessary to exclude breastfeeding of the child. Also, breast massage should not be performed with concomitant other infectious processes or malignant processes.

Breast massage technique for lactation

How to do breast massage for lactation? First of all, you need to know a few rules. Preparation should include several elements: massage should be done after feeding, when the baby has sucked out as much milk as possible, then the massage will be easier. It is better to do massage several times a day - in the morning, afternoon and evening after feeding the baby. It is necessary to first carry out hygiene procedures in the form of wiping the breast with warm water. After this, it is necessary to express a few drops of milk and moisturize the skin of the nipple and the mammary gland itself with them. Now you can proceed directly to the massage. How to do breast massage for lactation?

The main techniques of breast massage are rubbing with gentle massaging movements. The movements should be in a radial direction from the periphery of the mammary gland to the nipple along the milk ducts. This principle improves the outflow of milk through the milk ducts, and then promotes its better secretion. It is necessary to go over the entire gland with such massaging movements several times, and then express the remaining milk.

This massage should be done for several days - about five - then lactostasis will pass and milk will flow normally. It is also good to apply a warm heating pad after the massage, but not a hot one. Then the heat relaxes the muscles of the milk ducts even more and this improves the effect of the massage.

The use of cosmetic oils is not recommended, as they can have a strong smell that is absorbed into the skin and may not be liked by the baby during feeding.

The consequences of an incorrectly performed massage are its ineffectiveness, which may require additional treatment methods. If you rarely or incorrectly perform a massage, then it is clear that it will not bring any effect.

Complications that may arise from violation of massage technique, as well as from its ineffective use for a long time - this is infection with the development of an inflammatory process. If you have been doing massage and other physiotherapy procedures for a long time, and this is ineffective and breast swelling increases or symptoms of local inflammation and intoxication syndrome appear, then you must stop the massage and all other methods of treatment and consult a doctor. After all, in this case, complications in the form of mastitis or the formation of an abscess of the mammary gland can develop. These are very dangerous complications that must be diagnosed and treated as early as possible. As for other complications, galactocele can form as a result of prolonged lactostasis. This is a cyst formed by an enlarged milk duct lined with epithelium and containing milk. Such cysts significantly disrupt the process of further feeding and can fester. All this can contribute to the loss of lactation, and the child is deprived of the most important food product, which contains many useful substances.

Breast massage for lactation can be done at home and along with its simplicity, the effectiveness of this tool is expressed. With the correct massage technique and continued feeding and milk expression, you can achieve a solution to the problem of milk stagnation in a nursing mother. You should not ignore such accessible methods as massage, because despite its simplicity, this method is effective.