Newborn milking method

From ancient times to the present, our ancestors have left many customs to us, the descendants. Although many of them have no scientific basis, we often follow these rules tacitly because of the experiences of our predecessors. For example, in the north, many old people say that the milk kernels should be squeezed for newborn babies, because the nipples of newborn babies are often as big as broad beans, a little hard, and contain milk. Therefore, in order for the baby's breasts to develop normally, they should be squeezed. So, is this tradition worth continuing?

The breast tissue of newborns is affected by the hormones (progesterone and prolactin) secreted by the mother during pregnancy in the fetal stage. Therefore, both girls and boys may have swollen breast tissue and even secrete a small amount of fluid or milk after birth. This normal physiological reaction can last for 2 weeks or longer, and then subside naturally, and generally does not cause any problems. However, within 1-2 weeks after birth, the congested and swollen breast tissue is prone to suppurative infection due to trauma, suppurative infection in areas adjacent to the breast, or other reasons, forming acute suppurative mastitis. [b]However, some parents, influenced by traditional customs, worry that their children, especially baby girls, will not be able to develop breasts and secrete milk when they grow up, so they adopt the practice of "squeezing the nipples". Squeezing the swollen mammary glands is not only unhelpful to the future development of the children, but also causes mammary gland injuries due to squeezing, which allows pathogenic bacteria to invade and cause secondary infection, resulting in unilateral or sometimes bilateral suppurative mastitis.

Although some newborns do not have swollen breasts, they have inverted or inconspicuous nipples. Parents will try to correct this by squeezing the nipples, which often results in purulent inflammation of the breast. Some newborns, whose parents have not squeezed their breasts, may become ill due to the following reasons: 1. The newborn's swollen mammary tissue may cause mammary secretions or milk stasis due to poor mammary ducts or other reasons, leading to secondary suppurative infection.

2. The newborn suffers from other suppurative infections, such as impetigo, prickly heat, sepsis, etc., which affect the mammary glands and cause suppurative mastitis.

3. A small number of newborns, due to malnutrition, diabetes and other diseases, have far less resistance than healthy newborns and are prone to various suppurative infections, including mastitis. The most common pathogens are Staphylococcus aureus, followed by Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, and Group B Streptococcus. In order to reduce and prevent suppurative mastitis in newborns, young parents should abandon the old unscientific custom of squeezing nipples, and at the same time must persuade the elderly (who often do the operation) to raise children scientifically. If you find any abnormalities in the newborn's breasts or nipples, you should consult a doctor (or consult) for diagnosis and treatment in time.

So, it doesn’t really matter whether or not to express milk for a newborn. At first what we see is just a normal physiological phenomenon. As the child grows, it will gradually disappear. If you insist on expressing milk for your baby, remember to be gentle. Children's skin is very tender and easily broken. If the skin is accidentally scratched, it may cause infection. So our doctors do not recommend expressing breast milk for newborn babies.