Pain in the Breast

Lots of people say that nursing shouldn't be painful, and for the most part, it isn't. But sometimes it can be.

One thing I didn't know about prior to my first daughter's birth was the pain that would occur in the beginning. Not the pain of the latch or my body getting used to it. I am talking about the pain of contraction proportions. You see, breastfeeding causes uterine contractions and helps the body bring th uterus back to size after delivery. It really isn't the slight discomfort my male OB described it as, especially not with my second baby. It was "Am I going to need an epidural to feed my kid" pain.

The good news is that it subsided. The bad news is there are other painful ailments waiting to take its place. I have never had the honor of mastitis, thankfully, but I have had a few plugged ducts. Here is what I do to ward them off and prevent against them.

-Heating pad- from th early pain to the throbbing of a plugged duct, the heatin pad just seems to soothing. With any pugged duct, I would keep the heating pad on it as much as possible. It eased the pain and helped move things along.

-A pump- This may seem strange. If nursing is inflicting pain, why do it more, right? Well because pumping can ease the pain of engorgement as well as help clear a plugged duct. To avoid additional pain, only pump on a level you are comfortable at. To help with a plugged duct, try leaning forward and letting gravity help with some of the work.

-The fridge- I don't know about you, but when I are sore, a few cold ones really help. I'm not talking about beers, I'm talking about pump parts stored in the fridge so that when you take them out to use them, the cold is soothing.

-Ibuprofen- Yeah, it's safe to take when nursing and it really does take the edge off.