Clogged Milk Ducts

Hi J.! I had clogged ducts with my first child. My midwife told me to do a few things that had it cleared up quickly. One was letting the very warm or hot water in the shower run over my chest for 10-15 minutes, the other was to VIGOROUSLY exercise the arm connected to that breast. I worked for a Denny's at the time, so that night, I washed as many windows as I could reach, all with that arm, and for some reason, that really helped! I hope this helps!

Hi, J.!
When i had a clod milk i took a leaf from fresh cabbage wash it with cold water, dry with towel and put on each brest. Change it every 3 hours with fresh one. One day to do that and everything will get to normal.
There is a phone of breastfeeding consultant:

Maria - ###-###-####

She helped me with advice, wich i very appreciated.
Good luck, V..

i nursed exclusively with my first son,but I did not have the problems that you are having. I had other issues! However, I am able to tell you that whenever I did have a problem, I could call Florida hospital's Lactation Center. They always gave me excellent advice (and its free advice!). Call them and usually you have to leave a message, but they get back to you quickly. They are located down at Orange and Rollins Street at Florida South. (by the science center)There # is: ###-###-####.
Tell them everything you wrote in your request and I am sure they will be able to help you! BTW: Have you contacted your OB?
Good Luck!

GOD BLESS YOU how do you have time for anything!!!!!!!

i breastfed for two months and got clogged ducts alot. i got them out by massaging the spot. i'd just rub it for about five minutes and give it like an hour and it was gone. rubbing before feeding/pumping works a little faster.

Hi J.,

I had some problems with plugged ducts too. My son is now 5 1/2 mo. and I HOPE we're done with the problems. I did all the same things you did without relief. But i did determine that the cause was most likely not drinking enough water. Especially in the heat of the summer, make sure you're drinking at LEAST 1 liter of water daily. Sometimes the plugs could just be pressed out while I nursed, but other times they were very painful and lasted about 24 hours. Here's the things that worked best for me:

1. Right before I nursed him, I took a very hot shower and let the water run on the plugged duct. When I got out of the shower, I put him on the breast ASAP (before I even put on clothes!)

2. I normally nursed in the cross-over position. If the plugged duct wasn't loosening with the hot shower, i positioned the baby's mouth with his chin closest to the plug. This can be a little tricky, as you may be nursing him upside down. I'm pretty sure Kellymom advises this technique to be a myth, but it REALLY REALLY worked for me.

3. The last thing i did was similar to #1, but I'd have the pump handy. When you have a plugged duct, sometimes the baby doesn't want to eat from that side b/c it's too much work or maybe they're just not emptying the breast. So i would (with my husband's help) pump while the hot water is hitting the breast.

And about the blood...all the material i've read says it is no problem for the baby to have a little blood in the milk. Although you wouldn't want to nurse on that side if it's injured. If the plugged ducts and blisters are a weekly occurance, maybe you should make an appointment with a lactation specialist, just to be sure your baby is latching on correctly. The La Leche League is also a GREAT support system.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any more questions. Or if these techniques work for you.

K. Fradley

I'll try to cover as much as I can, J.. :-)

1 - Those tanks with the shelf bra can contribute to plugged ducts if the bra part is tight on your breasts. You might find that you get better results with a nursing bra.

2 - Warm compresses are fine right before you feed or pump, but the latest recommendation is to apply cold to the plugged area at other times [ice pack, a bag of frozen vegetables, etc]. The idea is to treat the plugged duct like you would treat any other inflamed body part... with ice to reduce the swelling.

3 - There is no need to pump and dump when you see a little blood in your milk or on your nipple. It won't hurt your child at all. Just let her keep nursing on that side as usual.

4 - I've been hearing a lot of good things about lecithin supplements helping with recurrent plugged ducts and mastitis. You can get lecithin supplements at health food stores (and maybe even at Target or Walmart). Take the dosage recommended on the bottle.

I hope that helps!

Hi J., I can't give you better advice than you've already gotten but I do reccomend you go to www.lalecheleague.org for a plethora of breast feeding resources. Best to you.

J.: It sounds like you have done your homework and are doing everything right. Repeated blocked ducts are not uncommon in some breastfeeding women. I used "The Ultimate Book of Breastfeeding Answers" for a resource. If you have made sure that you don't have pressure on your breasts from bras that are too tight or putting pressure on your breasts (even nursing bras with flaps put pressure from the non-flap areas). Try using ibuprofen or acetaminophen prior to a feed and while feeding be sure the baby latches with his chin pointed to the area of blockage. Short of feeding the baby upside down, try to vary the position of the baby's mouth when nursing. While the baby is nursing on the affected breast, compress the area of the blocked duct. It should be steady and as much pressure as you can tolerate. The baby draws on the breast and mom puts pressure. It should help unclog. You did right to drain the blister, but be sure to put nipple ointment on after each feeding. Dr. Newman recommends ultrasound treatment, but where you can get this done I am not sure. Are you using just one breast per feeding to empty the breast as much as possible? Perhaps this might work. Good luck!!!

Massage your boob with a electric massager. I know this sounds strange, but I wish I had heard this when I first started nursing. Now I have weaned my son from the boob and have had painfully engorged knots, and someone suggested trying this. Let me tell you it was like night and day.

Hi, J.,

Good for you for continuing to nurse through these challenges. Plugged ducts sure can be a pain, but you are doing such a great thing for yourself and your daughter by continuing to nurse!

You've received a lot of good advice so far, but I'd like add a couple more things:

I definitely second the Lecithin. This really help to get rid of the problems I had.

I also found that sleeping with one of those disposable heating pads (like Thermacare) on the area really helped. Also, I could stick them to the inside of my shirt and they would stay in the right place.

Some folks have problems with plugged ducts when wearing the shelf-bra type tanks you have mentioned. You may want to try going braless or using a different type of support garment when you have the plugged ducts.

And, finally, you will best be able to clear your plugs by nursing with Kate's chin pointing to the plug. This may take some creative positioning, but will help a lot to alleviate your discomfort.

If you want to talk to someone further, I highly recommend calling Kristin Gartner. She is a Jacksonville-based IBCLC who does home visits. Her number if ###-###-####.

Take good care.
H.

ps -- and don't worry about the blood. you can spread expressed breastmilk on the nipple to aid healing, but the little bit of blood won't hurt Kate a bit.

J.,

I had this problem with my first son. I never found out the reason but attributed it to pumping due to the fact that I didn't really have that problem with my 2nd son and I didn't pump very much with him. I have a Medela pump - with the 2nd I always used it on the slowest speed. I only got a clogged duct maybe 2 times whereas probably 8-10 for the first one.

I am going to have another baby soon (3 weeks). I am contemplating buying a different pump. Avent came out with a new (automatic) one. Their system is supposed to be much friendlier and actually "massage" to simulate let down vs. Medela's pump pulls your nipple to force the milk to come out.

good luck.

Hello J.,
First I would like to start by saying you are doing an awesome job at keeping yourself and your daughter healthy by being so persistant at breastfeeding. I know clogged ducted can be very discouraging because I experienced them constantly as you have while I nursed my daughter who is now three years old. I wanted to let you know that you should continue nursing your daughter even if there is a little blood on your breast. It will not hurt you or the baby in any way. By continuing to let your daughter nurse will help the duct open better than any other method. Hope this helps:)

always nurse on the clogged side first. I am right there with you and i clog no matter what I do. call la leche, there is a vitamin you can take that will help, lethacin i think its called. if there is a smidge of blood, dont worry and nurse on the clogged side first.

Add a lecithin supplement to your diet. That will help immensely.

This may sound random, but I would frequently get clogged ducts after pumping. I think I had the suction level up too high or something. Maybe try adjusting your pumping speed? Good Luck

J., I'm going through the Breastfeeding Answer Book and want to offer a couple of their suggestions. Here are some things to check for. Fatigue or stress - try to rest as much as possible. Overabundant milk supply - are both the breasts softening when you nurse? Be sure to offer both breasts when you nurse, allow Kate to finish nursing at the fuller breast before offering the second one. If nipples are sore, cracked or bleeding, check the position of the baby when she nurses. Too much saturated fat, ie butter, cheese, fatty meats, can encourage clogged ducts. One tablespoon of lecithin per day is recommended. I'm surprised at the recommendation by one person to use cabbage leaves. This is a natural method used to dry up your milk supply, so I don't agree you do that. The other thing I want to discourage is picking at the clogged ducts. This can cause an infection to develop. Also, make sure that when you shower or bathe that you are not using soap of any kind on your nipples. This can cause cracking as it dries out the nipples. A little bit of expressed milk and allowing the breasts to air out after nursing are a must. Trying these things if they apply could be helpful.

E. Mills
WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor
CAPPA Postpartum Doula in Training

Hi J.,
sounds like you make really rich and fatty breastmilk , perfect for your baby. Many moms who have the same situation as you try to take a natural supplement of soy lecithin, this helps emulsify the fats so they can pass through the ductal tissue in your breast and not clog or cause as many plugged nipple pores at your nipple tips. The recommende dose is 1400mg 3xday. You can find this in most stores like Walmart, Target or pharmacy. It does not change the calories of your milk just breaks down the fat. try www.kellymom.com for more information.

Hi J.,

You're not alone. I used to get re-occuring clogged ducts too. My son is now five months old and I still get them off and on but they are slowing down. I did not wear underwires nor sleep on one side etc.. and still got them! My lactation consultant thought that perhaps my work out sessions, with over the shoulder activity was related to the ducts, but i still got them when i stopped the work out..so go figure.

I found the only thing that worked for me was to keep a hot heating pad on me THROUGH the night. (some women alternate between hot and cold?)when i nursed my son, i would massage the duct towards the nipple. it is extremely painful but it seemed to quicken the process. usually, in the mornings the clogged ducts were gone. if i picked at the blister and had a tiny but of blood, i would nurse anyways. if your experiencing lots of blood, i would ask my doctor for an opinion.

good luck