How to prevent postpartum mastitis? Postpartum mastitis is a common disease during the puerperium, mostly acute mastitis, often occurring in breastfeeding women 3-4 weeks after childbirth. Mothers not only need to start prevention before delivery but also need to be careful and pay attention to prevention after childbirth.
Pre-delivery
1. At the end of pregnancy, use 75% alcohol to wipe the nipples or wash them with warm water to enhance the resilience and resistance of the breast skin. Squeeze out the lipid plugs in the milk ducts.
2. For inverted nipples, before pregnancy, use your hands to squeeze out the nipples and correct them by massaging and pulling.
Post-delivery
1. Ensure the correct posture for breastfeeding and the correct sucking method for the baby. Do not let the baby suckle only on the nipple, which can cause nipple fissures and allow bacteria to enter the mammary ducts through the fissured nipple, causing acute mastitis.
2. During breastfeeding, let the baby empty one breast before moving to the other side. Do not alternate between both breasts to prevent long-term milk stasis from causing acute mastitis. If the mother has an abundant milk supply and the baby gets full from one breast while the other becomes engorged, it is necessary to pump out the milk from the engorged breast to prevent hard lumps from forming and causing acute mastitis. Develop the habit of feeding at regular intervals and do not let the baby sleep with the nipple in their mouth.
3. Alternate between sleeping on your side and back, avoid sleeping face down. This prevents breast compression leading to milk stasis and acute mastitis.
4. Do not wear bras with underwires. The mother's milk may leak out unintentionally, combined with breast sagging due to milk filling. At this time, new mothers should not wear bras with underwires; instead, they should wear specialized nursing bras to prevent the underwire from compressing the milk ducts, causing local milk stasis and acute mastitis.
5. Pay attention to personal hygiene and cleanliness. Before and after feeding, it is best to clean the nipples with clear water and then wipe them clean with a sanitary towel to keep the nipples clean.
6. Avoid excessive postpartum milk stimulation. After childbirth, nutritional supplementation is not always better when done excessively. Fish soup, meat soup, or chicken soup that help increase milk production should be consumed according to the amount of milk secreted. Since some new mothers have blocked milk ducts when they start secreting milk, and newborns have weak sucking abilities, excessive milk secretion can easily lead to breast engorgement and lump formation, causing pain and discomfort for the new mother. Therefore, food that promotes milk production should be consumed in small amounts after childbirth.
7. During the pus-forming stage of mastitis, consume less milk-stimulating soups to avoid worsening the condition. It is advisable to eat more vegetables and fruits with heat-clearing effects, such as tomatoes, green vegetables, loofah, cucumber, mung beans, fresh lotus roots, tangerines, etc. Kelp has a softening and dispersing effect and can be consumed more often. Also, maintain a pleasant mood.
8. Pay attention to dietary adjustments: consume light yet nutritious foods, eat more fresh vegetables and fruits like tomatoes, loofah, cucumber, fresh lotus roots, oranges, etc., and avoid spicy, stimulating, greasy, and rich foods.
This article originates from Taiyuan Gynecological Hospital http://www.0351ys.com/