Breastfeeding Complications

Avoiding Breastfeeding Complications

Sore nipples

A lot of mothers complain about sore and tender nipples and that it makes for painful and frustrating breastfeeding complications. The good news is that most mothers don’t suffer that long. The nipples will begin to toughen up quite quickly and render breast feeding virtually painless. Nipple Shields can be used to offer some nipple protection and help baby to latch on in cases where baby is strugling to breastfeed. Also quality lanolin Niple Cream can be used multiple times throughout the day to good effect to help clear up breastfeeding complications.

Improperly positioned babies or babies that suckle really hard can make the nipples extremely sore. Below, are some ways to ease your discomfort and reduce the possibility of breastfeeding comlications:

1. Make sure your baby is in the correct position, since a baby that isn’t positioned correctly is the number one cause of sore nipples.
2. Once you have finished feeding, expose your breasts to the air and try to protect them from clothing and other irritations. Keeping the nipples unrestricted so that they have the benefit of air circulating and using Lanolin cream is often all that is needed to complete a cure for soreness.
3. Even if your nipples are irritating and hurting, please try to avoid petroleum jelly and other products with mineral oils.
4. Make sure to wash your nipples with water and not with soap or at least use a very skin freindly product here.
5. Many women find teabags ran under cold water to provide some relief when placed on the nipples. This can present tempoary relief and offer some hydration for sore / cracked skin.
6. Make sure you vary your position slightly each time when breastfeeding to ensure that a different area of the nipple is being compressed each time.

Clogged milk ducts

Clogged milk ducts can occasionally become a breastfeeding complication and can be identified as small, red tender lumps on the tissue of the breast. Clogged ducts can cause the milk to back up and lead to infection. The best way to unclog these ducts is to ensure that you’ve emptied as completely as possible. You should offer the clogged breast first at feeding time, then let
your baby empty it as much as possible. If the problem is persistent, it can often be alleviated by the application of warm towels and / or bathing in fairly warm water to soften and loosen the obstructions within the breast ducts. Of course, if this particular breastfeeding complication goes on to become significantly painful with the breasts becoming engorged, painful and almost impossible to breastfeed or express, one should contact their GP or health care professional without delay.
If milk remains after breastfeeding, the remaining breast milk should ideally be removed by hand or with a small breast pump. A good tip is to keep the pressure off the duct(s) by making sure your drop cup or maternity bra is not too tight; perhaps give yourself a day or two bra free and take a little time to perform some gentle massage to assist the breakdown of the blockage. A great time to do this is when in the bath.

Breast infection – unwelcome breastfeeding complications.

Breast infection, also known as mastitis typically develops when the milk is not properly removed from the breast. This can lead to the milk ducts in the breasts becoming blocked. Infection can be caused by germs gaining entrance to the milk ducts through cracks or fissures in the nipple, and further exacerbated by decreased immunity in the mother due to stress, lack of sleep and / or inadequate nutrition.

The symptoms of breast infection include severe pain or soreness, hardness or extra firmness of the breast, redness of the breast. The affected breast(s) may feel a lot warmer than normal with heat appearing to come from the reddened or swollen area. The mother may even feel unwell and may suffer from chills or appear to have cold / flu symptoms.

The treatment of breast infection includes bed rest, antibiotics, pain relievers, increased fluid intake, and applying heat. Many women will stop breast feeding during an infection, although it’s actually the wrong thing to do. By emptying the breasts, one can actually help to prevent clogged milk ducts and or reduce the possibility of infection and further breastfeeding complications.

If the pain is quite bad and you simply feel you can’t breastfeed, try could try using a breastpump while laying in a bath of warm water with your breasts floating comfortably in the water. You should also make sure that the pump isn’t electric if you
plan to use it in the bath tub. Having said that, a small hand held battery powered breastpump will cause the used any harm if allowed to come into contact with the water but the water may damage the pump internals if it is of the more modern electronic variety.

You should always make sure that breast infections are treated promptly and completely or you may risk the chance of abscess. An abscess is very painful, involving throbbing and swelling. You’ll also experience swelling, tenderness, and heat in the area of the abscess. If the infection is allowed to progresses unchecked or has proven unresponsive to regular treatments, your doctor may prescribe medicine and even surgery. The last thing any dedicated mother wants is breastfeeding complications when looking to breast feed baby longterm.