5 days after cesarean section, abdominal pain on the incision and tight breasts, less milk okay?

Question
The doctor asked me, I gave birth by cesarean section 5 days ago, and I have pain in the upper abdomen, on the right incision. When I touch it, it feels hard and the breasts are tight but there is little milk. Doctor advise me about the case, 5 days after giving birth, abdominal pain on the incision and tight breasts, is less milk okay? I would like to thank you!
Anonymous question
Answer
Hello! Hardness, pain, and itching in the cesarean section are very common occurrences for women who have a caesarean section. Normally, women who have a caesarean section will take a long time for the body to recover, even if the incision has healed outside, it still takes 1 to 2 years for the tissues and nerves inside to heal. fully recovered.
After a period of time, when the sutures are exhausted, the incision will be soft as usual, but this does not affect the health of the mother. Some women have a hard, red, or itchy incision after giving birth, which may be due to the reason that they are not fully digested, this phenomenon is nothing to worry about, please continue to clean the abdomen and the actual incision area. clean, when the target is exhausted, this phenomenon will no longer exist.
If the incision pain is accompanied by fever, there is a lot of fluid coming out of the incision, and the incision is red and inflamed, it is not normal to see a doctor immediately.
In addition, postpartum women may experience postpartum mastitis. Breast milk is produced from the milk follicles, following the ducts to the milk-filled sinus located behind the areola, under the effect of sucking action of the baby, milk will flow out. However, for some reason, the lumen of the duct is narrowed, making it impossible for milk to escape.
At the occlusion site will gradually form a hard clot due to the phenomenon of milk curdling. This phenomenon often occurs in women in the first days after giving birth and during breastfeeding. If blocked milk ducts are not treated promptly and properly, it can lead to more serious problems such as blocked milk ducts with pus causing mastitis, mammary gland abscesses, gradually becoming fibrous bands or tumors. mammary gland fibrosis.
In addition, blocked milk ducts also affect the milk production process, gradually the mother has less milk or will lose milk. With the symptoms described like mine, according to the doctor, I need to go to specialized medical facilities, or a hospital under the Vinmec Health System for the doctor to examine and promptly detect abnormalities for intervention. appropriate to avoid serious consequences.
Hopefully, the above sharing has helped me partly answer the question "5 days after giving birth, abdominal pain on the incision and tight breasts, what's wrong with less milk?" I wish you good health always.

Answered by Specialist I Pham Thi Yen - Specialist in Obstetrics and Gynecology - Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology - Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital