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Lactation breast massage

, medical expert
Last reviewed: 19.11.2021
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Breast massage for lactation is an effective and affordable remedy that every woman can use even at home. Very often during the feeding of a child, problems arise that are characterized by stagnation of milk, which causes discomfort not only to the child, because it does not eat up, 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 at the expense of the mother's milk, which fully ensures its development and normal vital activity. If there are any problems with the mother, the child does not gorge on 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, the feeding of a newborn child, that is, in the first 28 days of his life, should be carried out at his will, without overnight breaks. The interval between feedings should not be more than three hours. Such interval well influences not only the child, but also the milk secretion. At night, the formation of milk in the mammary glands occurs under the influence of the pituitary hormones, and under the influence of night feeding, the production of the hormone oxytocin increases, which in turn affects the muscle fibers of the dairy and normal milk is released into the dairy. This process is normal, but there are cases when there is not enough milk and the baby is fed with the formula. At the same time the normal process of formation and allocation of milk does not occur and this contributes to the disruption of lactogenesis. Then there are different pathological conditions in the form of lactostasis or in case of infection, there is inflammation of the mammary gland - mastitis.

Still it is necessary to know about the right toilet of the breast. After each feeding, do not wash the mammary gland or wipe dry with a towel. It is enough just a daily shower, which allows you to clean everything without any additional effort. Immediately after feeding, you need to wipe the nipple with a drop of milk and that's enough. Such elementary rules make it possible to avoid the formation of nipple cracks, through which microorganisms with the initiation of the inflammatory process can penetrate.

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

Breast massage for improving lactation is an excellent home way to breastfeed a nursing mother. It helps to relax the muscles of the breast, increase the secretion of milk and increases the contraction of the muscle fibers of the milk duct, which in turn promotes better milk release. Therefore, the main indication for breast massage for improving lactation is lactostasis or milk stasis. This happens when there is a violation of the rules of feeding, with irregular feeding or with the leftover milk in the breast after feeding, which can stagnate. At the same time there is a feeling of bursting and tension in the mammary gland, soreness in feeding, the child does not eat up because of a violation of milk intake into the milk duct. If the process is limited only to local manifestations, 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 carrying out a breast massage for lactation are obvious signs of an inflammatory process in the chest - mastitis or abscess of the breast. In this massage can only worsen the situation by spreading a purulent focus. It is not difficult to separate mastitis and lactostasis. When mastitis occurs, local changes in the breast occur in the form of redness of the skin, burning sensations, the skin warm or hot to the touch, intense, severe pain syndrome. With infectious inflammation of the breast, there are common manifestations in the form of an intoxication syndrome with a rise in temperature. In this case, you can not breast massage. It is also necessary to exclude breastfeeding of the baby. Also, breast massage can not be performed with other infectious processes or malignant processes.

Technique of breast massage 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 performed after feeding, when the baby sucked out milk as much as possible, then the massage will pass easier. It is better to massage several times a day - morning, afternoon and evening after feeding the baby. It is necessary to first carry out hygiene procedures in the form of rubbing the chest with warm water. After this, it is necessary to express a few drops of milk and moisten them with the skin of the nipple and the breast itself. 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. In this case, the movements should be in the radial direction from the periphery of the mammary gland to the nipple along the dairy courses. This principle allows to improve the outflow of milk through the milk ducts, and then contributes to its better isolation. It is necessary to walk through such massaging movements several times across the gland, and then dissolve the remains of milk.

This massage should be performed for several days - about five - then lactostasis will pass and the milk will normally return. It is also good to apply a warm water bottle after the massage, but not hot. Then the heat still relaxes the muscles of the dairy moves and this improves the effect of the massage. 

The use of cosmetic oils is not recommended, because they can have a harsh odor that is absorbed into the skin and may not like the baby when feeding.

The consequences of an improper massage are its inefficiency, which may require additional treatment. If it is rare or wrong to carry out a massage, then it's clear that this will not bring any effect.

Complications that can occur when the massage technique is violated, and when used for a long time, is ineffective is infection with the development of the inflammatory process. If you spend a long time massaging and other physiotherapeutic procedures, and this is ineffective and the swelling of the breast is increasing or there are symptoms of local inflammation and intoxication syndrome, then it is necessary to stop the massage and all other methods of treatment and contact the doctor. After all, in this case, complications can develop in the form of mastitis or the formation of an abscess of the breast. These are very dangerous complications that need to be diagnosed and treated as early as possible. As for other complications, due to prolonged lactostasis, galactocele can form. It is a cyst, formed by an enlarged dairy duct inside which the epithelium is lined and milk is contained. Such cysts significantly violate the process of further feeding and can be suppressed. All this can contribute to 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 carried out at home and together with its simplicity, the effectiveness of this remedy is expressed. With the right massage technique and continuing feeding and expressing milk, you can solve the problem of milk stagnation in a nursing mother. Do not ignore such available methods as massage, because despite the simplicity of this method is effective.

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