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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
Many new parents experience postpartum breast engorgement when their milk comes in.Some common questions that they have include: How much should you pump to relieve engorgement? What’s the difference between engorgement and mastitis? Can you prevent engorgement when you’re exclusively pumping?Here are some information and tips that will hopefully help.This post may contain affiliate links, which means that if you click through and make a purchase, I’ll be compensated at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I love! More info here.What Is Engorgement?Engorgement occurs when breasts feel overfull with milk, which can be uncomfortable or painful. When this happens, it’s usually at one of two different times – when your milk first comes in, or when you wean.Engorgement usually lasts anywhere from a day to a few weeks.What are the Symptoms of Engorgement?Engorgement can occur in one or both breasts. Some of the common symptoms include:Your breast may feel hard (like your forehead), or there might be hard spotsSkin on the breast may feel stretched, and be shinyYour breast may be warm, tender, and/or throbbingYou may have a low-grade feverNote: Because axillary breast tissue can sometimes extend up to your armpit, engorgement may not be limited to the breasts.What are the differences between engorgement and mastitis?It can be tricky to tell the difference between the two if you have a fever, as both mastitis and engorgement present with low-grade fevers and breast pain.However, the fever for mastitis tends to be higher (101.3°F or greater) and also is accompanied by chills, general malaise, and flu-like aching.If you have any of these, the issue is more likely mastitis than engorgement. More on treating mastitis here.What are the differences between engorgement and a blocked duct?It can also be difficult to tell the difference between engorgement and plugged milk ducts if you have “hard spots” in your breasts that feel like they may be lumps.The major difference between the two is that with a clogged duct, usually you’ll have very localized pain in the area of the lump. Putting pressure on the lump will really hurt.Engorgement is a more general pain encompassing the entire breast, and not usually focused at the spot of a single lump.More on treating clogged milk ducts here.How Should You Treat Engorgement?Usually, you don’t have to do anything to “fix” the engorgement – it should resolve on its own within a few days to a few weeks.However, there are some things that you can do to manage the discomfort associated with it. These include:Try warm compresses or a short shower before feedings, though only briefly (less than 5 minutes) as too much warmth can increase the swellingUse cool compresses before/after feedings to ease some discomfortTry using cabbage
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