Breast Care

Subject: Midwifery III (Theory)

Overview

Before and after feeding the baby, wipe the breasts and check for any abnormalities. The primary goals of breast care are to teach the mother how to clean the breast and nipples, to prevent breast and nipple disorders during the puerperium, to stimulate blood circulation on the breast, and to provide health education about diet, personal hygiene, and how to care for the baby, among other things. Make the woman sit facing you to ensure comfort and care during the process. Wear a supporting brassier to avoid overstretching the tissue. To avoid cracked nipples, clean the breasts with damp rags after feeding and leave a small bit of milk on a nipple and dry air.

Cleaning the breasts before and after feeding the baby in order to detect any abnormal conditions.

Purposes

To instruct the mother on how to clean her breasts and nipples.
During puerperium, avoid breast and nipple disorders.
To increase blood flow to the breast.
To provide health education on diet, personal cleanliness, baby care, and so on.

Articles required

A tray containing

Bowl of cotton swabs
Towel
Small mackintosh
Jug
Sponge cloth
Kidney tray
One basin with lukewarm water

Procedure

Gather all of the articles.
Tell the woman about the operation.
Bring the articles to the bedside.
Make the woman sit facing you to ensure her comfort and attention during the process.
By screening the bed, you may maintain your privacy.
Make the breast visible.
Examine both breasts visually and palpably.
Under the breasts, place the mackintosh and towel.
Pour water into the breasts after cleaning the far side breast with a midwife.
Wash the breast with lukewarm water and a sponge.
To avoid duct blockage, clean the nipples and remove all plugs with plain cotton swabs.
Look for broken nipples or breast engorgement.
If the breast is engorged, pull it up with one hand and grab the areola, compressing the area with a deep inward movement and expressing the milk until the breast is soft.
Apply a cold compress to provide comfort and reduce pain caused by engorgement.
Place the baby on the breast after drying it with a towel.
After feeding, clean the breasts with wet clothes and leave a small bit of milk on a nipple and dry air to prevent cracked nipples.
Wear a supporting brassier to prevent overstretching of the tissue.
Make the mother and child feel at ease.
Replace all things in their proper places after cleaning them.
Make a note of any irregularities.

Things to remember

Cleaning the breasts before and after feeding the baby in order to detect any abnormal conditions.
The primary goals of breast care are to teach the mother how to clean the breast and nipples, to avoid breast and nipple disorders during the puerperium, to stimulate blood circulation on the breast, and to provide health education on diet, personal cleanliness, baby care, and so on.
Make the woman sit facing you to ensure her comfort and attention during the process.
If the breast is engorged, pull it up with one hand and grab the areola, compressing the area with a deep inward movement and expressing the milk until the breast is soft.
Encourage her to wear a supporting brassier.
After feeding, clean the breasts with wet clothes and leave a small bit of milk on a nipple and dry air to prevent cracked nipples.

Questions and Answers

What are the proceure of doing breast care ?

Prepare all the articles.
Explain the procedure to the woman.
Take articles to the bedside.
Make the woman sit facing towards you to facilitate comfort and care while carrying out procedure.
Maintain privacy by screening the bed.
Expose the breast.
Examine the both breast by inspection and palpation.
Place the mackintosh and towel under the breasts.
Pour water in breasts, first, clean the far side breast from a midwife.
Wash the breast with a sponge by using lukewarm water.
Clean the nipples and remove all the plugs with plain cotton swabs and prevent blockage of the ducts.
Check for cracked nipples or engorgement of the breast.
If there is any engorgement lift up the breast with one hand and grasp the areola and compress the area with deep inward movement and express the milk till the breast is soft.
Give cold compress to promote comfort and relieve the pain due engorgement.
Dry the breast with a towel and put the baby on the breast.
Clean the breasts with wet clothes after feeding and leave a small amount of milk on a nipple and dry air to prevent cracked nipple.
Advice her to wear supportive brassier to prevent over stretching of the tissue
Make the mother and child comfortable.
After cleaning them, replace all articles in their respective place.

What are the objectives of doing breast care ?

To teach the mother about how to clean the breast and nipples.
Prevent from breast and nipple disorder during puerperium.
To stimulate blood circulation on the breast.
To give health teaching about diet, personal hygiene, how to care baby, etc.