Breast Engorgement

Breast fullness is normal whilst breastfeeding, but engorgement is not. This may happen if baby is not able to suckle milk effectively from the breast. The breasts may feel hot and there maybe areas of redness on the breast and they may also feel shiny and tight. The milk doesn’t flow very easily and you may feel like you have a fever. It is very important to offer the breast to your baby, it is a priority to drain the breast either by feeding at the breast or expressing, either by hand or by manual/electric pump.

This may increase your milk production, but only for a short while, as reducing the amount of expressing once the pain has subsided will return the breast milk back to your normal amount.