How to Avoid Breast Engorgement While Weaning
Breast engorgement while weaning a baby can be really stressful for some new mothers, and it can be painful. Women are always talking about what a huge sacrifice breast feeding is, but until you experience the engorgement you don’t realize how painful it can be.
Breast engorgement while weaning is usually a sign that the body just wasn’t ready for the weaning process. While mothers are anxious to get their baby onto a bottle, the body may not be caught up just yet. The body can also be a creature of habit, so it’s not unusual that the breast would react in this fashion once mother tries to start weaning the baby. The breast is just used to the flow of milk exiting the breast, and when it stops the breast is almost in shock and will take some conditioning.
When the engorgement occurs, it can cause an infection called mastitis. When the breast infection occurs, it causes the ducts to engorge and the breast begins to swell causing quite a bit of pain. Ice packs can be helpful, but they should be used every couple of hours so that the swelling goes down quickly. In some cases, if the ice doesn’t help right away this could mean having to stay up and monitor putting the ice on and removing the ice pack within the specified time of fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes is usually the best timeframe to keep it on, so watching it closely is important.
One other suggestion offered by many doctors, is to try and pump the breast every few hours to relieve the problem. By pumping the breast, it will help alleviate the problem until the body is ready. Even if pumping is not what you want to do, it can still help you find a way to continue the weaning process until you are done, so that progress is being made. The pumping method is a simpler method than having to struggle to stay awake and keep ice packs on the breast all night. This will only make things harder and much more tiresome for the mother, especially when the mother has other high energy children to care for.
Until the mother gets through the breast engorgement while weaning, the doctor may suggest taking Tylenol or Ibuprofen. These simple pain relievers are helpful in reducing inflammation and swelling and are safer to use than pain killers such as Vicodine or Percocet. Be careful that when the breast is engorged, it may cause an infection to develop rather rapidly. If the mother is running a fever, than it’s best to call a doctor right away and discuss the options for getting onto an antibiotic. Antibiotics are helpful when it comes to reducing a fever, and they are quick to help reducing infection. All of the methods mentioned so far are key to getting rid of the breast infection.
One holistic remedy that was offered many centuries ago and is still used today by holistic doctors is the use of cabbage leaves. The use of cabbage leaves in reducing engorgement may seem humorous, but many women have attested to the fact that it works. To relieve breast engorgement while weaning, just put a fresh cabbage leaf over each breast, or simply secure the cabbage leaf inside the bra over each breast. It is best to be sure and change the leaves as they wilt, or it is best to go ahead and switch them out every two hours. The cabbage leaf has been found to be so powerful in its affects that women are advised to be watchful of overuse because they can reduce the milk supply dramatically if they are used all the time.