Milk stagnation (commonly known as “milk knots”) is a very common condition during breastfeeding, which refers to the blockage of milk ducts, resulting in the accumulation of milk, resulting in lumps and pain. There are many reasons for milk stagnation, such as: the nipples of new mothers are delicate, and babies sucking and chewing hard on the nipples or using breast pumps excessively may cause nipple rupture, followed by scabs or “whiteheads” on the nipples (white spots on the nipples after nipple rupture), which leads to milk duct failure and affects normal breastfeeding; too much milk, which cannot be drained in time; and the nipples are not drained in time. The nipple is congenitally sunken or too small, and the nipple neck is too short, which makes it inconvenient for the baby to suckle the breast and leads to poor milk discharge. In life, many new mothers are often tired of breastfeeding and emotionally agitated during breastfeeding, which leads to inaccessible ducts, poor milk excretion and milk stagnation. In addition to emotional factors, over-stimulation of the breast may not only damage the breast tissue, but also stimulate the pituitary center to secrete more prolactin, thus producing more milk, too much milk is too late to discharge, and more likely to lead to milk stagnation. In order to breastfeed easily and not to be bothered by lactation, you should be in a good state of mind, rest well and discharge your milk regularly. You can start from the following aspects: 1. Keep a good state of mind and don’t worry too much. Breastfeeding is a physiological phenomenon, as long as you follow the natural rules of lactation, it is unlikely that lactation will occur. Even if there is a stagnant milk, as long as the milk is drained in time, so that the milk ducts are open. 2, need enough rest. Many new mothers will say that they have to get up at night to breastfeed, so how can they get a good rest? It is true that there is much less time to rest after becoming a mother, but the baby’s sleep time is actually still a lot, as long as you seize the opportunity to rest more when the baby sleeps, new mothers can still get enough rest. 3, to regularly discharge breast milk. Generally speaking, a month after the birth of the baby feeding will be able to be more regular, 2 to 3 hours between breastfeeding, as the months grow older, the interval will be longer. If it is direct sucking, just nurse regularly, no need to nurse and then over express the milk, to keep the milk ducts open. Before going to bed at night, you should empty your breasts as much as possible to avoid stagnant milk after falling asleep and not being able to breastfeed or express your milk in time. If you want to express your milk for feeding, do not rely too much on a breast pump, but massage the milk ducts first and then use a breast pump. In this way, not only will the milk not be stagnant, but also more milk will be left. 4. Massage in time when there are “milk knots”. In case of milk stagnation, don’t be nervous, you can massage your breasts by holding your breasts up with one hand and massaging them clockwise with the other hand in a small circle, applying pressure gradually; starting from the distal edge of the nipple, pushing and pressing in the direction of the nipple repeatedly in a slow and straight line, applying pressure gradually; gently lifting and pinching the nipple several times to open the milk ducts to discharge milk. The above steps can be performed intermittently. Generally, the operation is performed unilaterally for 10 to 15 minutes, with the milk being discharged in a jet-like manner, and the lumps becoming softer and the pain being significantly reduced. What is the difference between acute mastitis and “milk knots”? If you have a high fever and your breasts are red, swollen, painful and untouchable, you are likely to have acute mastitis and need to go to the hospital for prompt treatment. Most of the acute mastitis refers to the acute septic infection of the breast after delivery, mostly caused by the invasion of Staphylococcus aureus or streptococcus along the lymphatic vessels, clinical manifestations mainly include breast swelling and pain, chills, fever, local redness, swelling, heat, pain, hard lumps to touch, enlarged ipsilateral axillary lymph nodes, etc. Blood tests show elevated white blood cells. Most patients with acute mastitis have a history of nipple injury, cracking or milk stagnation, and if left untreated, local septicemia can occur. Once septic, it is advisable to return to the breast in time and requires incision and drainage surgery.