Massage, hot compress completely clear milk?

This is an automatically translated article.

This article is professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Ly Thi Thanh Nha - Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology - Vinmec International General Hospital Da Nang.
Milk blockage is a condition that often occurs during lactation because the milk ducts are not open, making the milk flow unable to flow out, causing the mother's breasts to become swollen, swollen, painful, if prolonged, it will cause a high fever. and can lead to dangerous complications. So massage, hot compress completely clear milk? Let's find out in the article below.

1. Causes of clogged milk

Milk congestion is a fairly common phenomenon in inexperienced first-time mothers. Manifestations of breast disease are two erect breasts, very painful, hot, in many cases with moderate or high fever. If not treated promptly and properly, the mother can have mastitis, breast abscess, and eventually become fibrous or fibroadenomas of the breast. In addition, blocked milk also affects the milk production process, gradually the mother will lose milk, must feed the baby with formula milk.

Causes of blocked milk:
The mother does not breastfeed her baby early and often. Milk secreted in the first few days after birth is colostrum, so it is often thick and thick. If the baby is not breastfed early to release it, it will stagnate, causing lactation. Do not express all excess milk after the baby sucks or express milk improperly, the mother wears a bra that is too tight, etc. Infections, bacteria often enter from the outside through the nipple and mammary duct system by the mother. Poor nipple hygiene during lactation. The infected milk duct system will be narrowed, preventing milk from escaping, leading to milk blockage. Mothers suffering from mental stress during lactation or inadequate nutrition for the mother, etc. also increase the risk of lactation. After giving birth in many women: Do not rub the breast evenly to clear milk ducts right after giving birth. Do not express excess milk when the baby does not finish sucking, causing stagnation of milk leading to milk blockage. Mother has a cold, so it is difficult for milk to circulate. After feeding an unhygienic baby, wipe clean nipples, ...

2. Signs of clogged milk

The first sign of milk blockage is that the breasts are larger than normal and gradually increasing, accompanied by pain and no milk or little milk, no expressing. There is a feeling of fever, pain increases when the milk has stagnated much inside. When entering the position of the milk stasis, you will see that there are round blocks of rough surface, hard density with many different sizes, very painful to the touch. Milk does not come out when breastfeeding or when sucking or expressing. In addition, the mother may appear other symptoms such as fatigue, headache, high fever, etc. The early opening of the ducts will reduce the disease and limit the consequences of prolonged blockage.

3. Treatment of blocked milk ducts

The thawing of stagnated milk sites that have frozen, unblocking the duct system and limiting the appearance of new locations will solve symptoms and limit consequences caused by blockages such as: Glandular inflammation. milk , abscess - mammary gland , fibrosis , ...
Currently , there are many methods to treat blocked milk ducts , but no method has brought the best effect for pregnant women . There are still cases of blocked milk duct treatment that does not improve, leading to inflammation, abscess - mammary gland. Many women have had to make incisions to release stagnant milk or take medicine to reduce lactation. One of the things they never wanted.

3.1. Day manual compression Use 1 hand to press the breast against the chest wall or use 2 hands to press together and press on the chest wall. Both pressing and rubbing will dissolve the clogged milk positions. "Day pressing" is not "rubbing", because only the force when squeezing will work on the clogged milk position located deep inside the breast and can dissolve the milk block. Apply gentle pressure within the tolerable pain level, slowly in a circle, gradually increasing, about 20 - 30 times and vice versa. To do so repeatedly.
3.2. After squeezing and still feeling tight breasts, you can apply a hot compress, under the effect of hot water (not too hot, it can cause burns) clogging the milk to dissolve gradually, opening up the flow to facilitate new milk flow. . Along with supportive massage movements, the situation of clogged milk will gradually improve.
3.3. Breast pump Use negative pressure to suction, so it is usually used only in the early stages when the milk block has just formed and with the blockage located near the nipple. For deep milk occlusion or in milk follicles, it is very difficult because if the pressure is small, it cannot dissolve the clotted milk, and if the pressure is high, it will cause more serious damage to the blood vessels. , the duct is stretched; especially when the phenomenon of clogged milk has an infectious factor. In the late stage when the milk stasis has formed large lumps and patches, using a breast pump has almost no effect. Therefore, use a breast pump only when the early signs of the disease appear.
3.4. Physical therapy for blocked milk ducts Physical therapy for milk duct obstruction includes: Multi-frequency ultrasound combined with infrared irradiation and pulsed current is a very successful application for unfortunate mothers blocked milk is being deployed at Vinmec International General Hospital.
This is an effective treatment method, which has many advantages such as:
Quickly dissolves coagulated and clotted milk glands. Does not damage the milk glands and other normal milk duct system. 3.5. Infrared light used in the treatment of milk stasis Once an average treatment: 30-45 minutes.
Immediately after the first treatment, pregnant women have had significant improvements:
Reduce erection and pain. The mammary glands soften and milk begins to secrete when the baby suckles or sucks. Maternal treatment 2 to 3 times is effective, a full treatment package is 5 times. The special thing of the combined treatment of ultrasound, infrared and pulsed electricity is its ability to quickly melt the curdled milk, loosen the milk's consistency, expand even where the milk ducts are deeply blocked, so Milk glands are opened quickly. Not only that, the blocked milk area relieves pain and swelling, the mammary gland tissue softens and stimulates the release of milk. After the treatment, the blockage of milk is gone, so it is easy for the baby to breastfeed or pump.
Milk congestion is a concern of pregnant women, but if you know how to prevent and treat it properly, it will bring very good results.

4. Preventing clogged milk

To prevent postpartum mastitis, the most important thing is to prevent cracked nipples. In the early pregnancy, if the nipple is inverted or flat, you need to gradually pull it out every day, especially from the 8th month of pregnancy.
Next, you need to breastfeed on time, every day. The feeding time is not too long, about 10-15 minutes is enough, do not let the baby sleep with the nipple. Each feeding must be completely sucked from one side and then changed to the other side, if the milk does not finish, then squeeze it out.
Every time you breastfeed, you need to keep your nipples clean, especially between the nipples. Before breastfeeding, you must wipe and squeeze a few drops of discarded colostrum, after feeding, you must wipe it clean and dry. If milk is blocked or does not flow when expressing milk, you must rub the breast to soften, then express vigorously to clear the milk when feeding, or use the milking machine so often to avoid milk clogging.
Should drink a lot of water, eat full of nutrients meat, fish, eggs, milk and fiber from vegetables, limit eating saturated fat...

Please dial HOTLINE for more information or register for an appointment HERE. Download MyVinmec app to make appointments faster and to manage your bookings easily.