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Treating Postpartum Breast Edema With Areolar Compression

Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Phoenix, Arizona

Jan Riordan, EdD, RN, IBCLC, FAAN

Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas

This case study describes an occurrence of gross edema in the breast and areolar tissue of a mother in the first 2 days postpartum that interfered with the early initiation of breastfeeding. The mother developed severe generalized fluid retention during labor and early postpartum. Her breasts were naturally large. The edema in her breasts made the areola and nipple tissue firm and nonpliable. The mother successfully latched her newborn onto her breast after being shown areolar compression (AC), a technique developed and named by the authors. AC reduces nipple and areola edema by using gentle positive pressure on the areola. The baby continued to successfully latch onto the breast after AC was used and taught to the mother.

Key Words: areolar compression • breast • breastfeeding • edema

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