Dealing with Engorgement
I took to breastfeeding very naturally, although of course it didn’t come without its self-doubt and feelings of uncertainty at times. What I wasn’t expecting though was the pain. Was it even supposed to hurt? It was 5 days postpartum when I was hit with the intensity of being engorged! I had skipped a feed, albeit consciously as I could feel the leakage happening, but I was too busy enjoying the company of other adults after being attached to my newborn all day and night. Once I made my way up to feed, my baby had fallen asleep so I took the opportunity to express some milk.
I ensured that during the next few feeds throughout the night I had completely emptied effectively. Slowly the pain began to wear off.
I’d like to say I learnt my lesson, and prevented further engorgement, but life happens!
Upon the next occasion, (yes- I skipped a feed again!) the unbearable pain and hardness was awful. I contacted Shaheda who advised me to continue to feed my baby and stay calm. The more I feed and empty and ensure the latch was good, the more the engorgement will slowly calm down.
She also told me that taking a hot shower and massage would help - and boy! What a remedy that was! Just the simple things making the biggest difference.
The third time I became engorged (my life is a joke) I refuse to take any blame. My son who was 4 months, had begun to pull and tug, causing an incorrect latch. This meant he wasn’t emptying effectively during each feed and therefore I was filling up with milk, pain and headaches.
Luckily, I had Shaheda on hand again who replied immediately and advised me on what a proper latch should look like and showed me images to refer to.
I mentioned earlier that I took to breastfeeding naturally, but really it was my son who did the work. After giving birth, the midwife simply pushed his mouth onto me and that was that! I never really knew what the right latch should look like until Shaheda had shown me and her advice really helped relieve my engorgement.
