What can be done for painfully engorged breasts?

meghan this may sound crazy but when my sil had her baby hers where so bad they made her use cabbage leaves cold in the fridge wrapped around the breast

she said it did a world of good

yes i heard that the cabbage does work...worth a try..

I heard that.. and I asked my midwife.. and she said that the cabbage should onlybe used if you aren't bf'ing...

bummer!!!!

yes bummer thats the only thing i have ever heard used for that

Meghan try warm compresses...

Meghan,

You just have to go to your bathroom and release some of it out. Trust me you'll feel some relief :)

I tried releasing some in the hot shower.. and it didn't go so well.. it hurt so bad I couldn't get much out at all

Meghan, have u tried renting a hospital grade pump? Those work so much better! Your midwife should have a list of where to call and rent one. Honestly the best relief is pumping (which will be awesome cause you can freeze it)..also warm packs, heating pads, tylenol....

Good luck punkin..it'll get better in a few days!

I had this problem for a week. It was awful and with the episiotomy it made my life a living hell. There is NOTHING u can do about it except use the boiling hot compress and pump out every 2 hrs. It really helps. U need the hospital grade pump though. Also, make sure there is no infection when ur severely engorged. Sometimes infection tends to develop and in that case u shouldnt feed the baby with the pumped milk.

luckily mine only lasted like 2 or 3 days! a whole wwek would be unbearable!!!!