When should I see a doctor?

If you experience discomfort in your breasts after breastfeeding, this is no cause for concern for the time being. What is important is rest and adequate treatment with frequent application, heat or cold and possibly massage of the breast. However, if the symptoms do not improve after 1-2 days, a gynaecologist should be consulted. Here, the cause of the problem can be determined by means of a physical examination and palpation, but also with swabs and ultrasound. Depending on the cause, medication can also be prescribed.

Therapy of breast pain during breastfeeding

Depending on the cause, the therapy is always different. Therefore a recommendation cannot be made in such a generalized manner. It is important, however, that in most cases breastfeeding should be continued.

If in doubt, a doctor can assess the risk and decide when further breastfeeding should be avoided. It makes sense to try out different positions for breastfeeding so that the baby has a comfortable access to the breast and it causes less pain. For this purpose, aids such as pillows or towels can be used to find the optimal position.

When putting the baby on, make sure that the mother is lying or sitting and the baby is facing the breast. Moist warmth in the form of compresses just before breastfeeding is also often helpful. If there is no infection, massage of the breast can also improve the symptoms.

Some women squeeze some breast milk out of the breast and rub it into the nipple. In most cases, pain relief can be achieved by medication. If there is an infection, antibiotics may have to be used while breastfeeding.

You can read about which medicines can be taken on the page “Embryotox”. or Ibuprofen during breastfeedingIf an infection with bacteria is present, antibiotics can be taken if the mother’s symptoms do not improve after 12-24 hours. However, it is important to ensure that the medication can be taken while breastfeeding so that portions of the antibiotic do not enter the mother’s milk.

The pack should be taken until the end, even if the symptoms have already improved significantly before then. This is because relief arrives when not all bacteria have been killed. However, if some germs survive due to a too short treatment period, resistances can develop and the antibiotic becomes ineffective.

Which home remedies can help?

Depending on the cause of the pain, the approaches differ. However, usually a lot can be achieved with heat. Here it does not matter whether this is achieved with a warm shower, a red light lamp or a warm washcloth.

As long as there is no infection, a massage can also help. By using oil, the fingers glide better over the painful breast and make it easier to knead the breast. You can also try pumping out the breast or putting the baby on frequently to relieve congestion.

Often pumping is more pleasant because the breast becomes emptier than when the baby drinks. Another possibility are compresses with curd cheese or white cabbage to provide relief and have a beneficial effect due to their anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties. For curd compresses you need natural curd and a cloth to which you apply the curd.

The cloth is classically spread with a thick layer of curd and carefully placed on the chest. Here the sensitive nipple should be left out so that it does not soften and becomes even more susceptible. The compresses are left in place until they no longer have a cooling effect.

Then the curd is washed or rinsed off. If you do not want to wash the curd off your breast, you can alternatively cut kitchen paper in circles and adjust them to the size of your breast. Here too, the middle should be left out for the nipple.

A thick layer of quark is then applied between two cut kitchen towels. The kitchen paper-quark construction can now either be placed in the fridge first or directly on the breast. If you want to prepare this kind of wrapping, you should put a layer of cling film between the individual wraps to separate the wraps in the refrigerator well. No matter if you cut kitchen paper or use towels, it is best to apply the wraps to a pumped or vacuumed breast.