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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Blocked duct/mastitis from expressing - can I feed DS the milk?

16 replies

WorrisomeHeart · 04/11/2010 20:42

Hi all

My gorgeous DS is 9 days old and we have had all sorts of problems latching due mostly to him spending the first 3 days of life in the NNU. He just gets overwhelmed/excited/frustrated and won't latch, which led to a dramatic weight loss and we're now expressing and topping up where necessary with formula which is working really well for both of us.

However, I seem to have developed a blocked duct (hopefully not full blown mastitis) in my left boob. I'm worried about feeding the milk from that side to DS as I have read that in b/f babies the infection generally comes from them so is 'fine' to pass back to them, but I think it's more likely I've got it from the pump and don't want to pass it on to him. Likewise, I really don't want to waste the output from that boob! Can anyone advise?

Thanks

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crikeybadger · 04/11/2010 21:18

If you have a blocked duct, the best thing is to feed frequently from the affected breast.

There's more info here

Congrats on your new DS btw- sounds like you've had a hard time of it.

Greythorne · 04/11/2010 21:25

Congratulations on your gorgeous little one.

If you do indeed have a blocked duct, it (most likely) is not an infection, but simply a duct which is not completely empty of milk and the milk is building up. It is probably because your little one did not empty the breast at a feed or you didn't manage to when expressing. It's not coming from the baby or the express pump.

The problem is that the milk has to go somewhere, and if it's not being removed by baby or pump, it will eventually get forced out into the breast tissue and feel horrible.

Best thing to do to get rid of this situation is feed, feed, feed your baby. Do not worry about infected milk, that is bollocks. Your milk is great, you're producing alot of it, your baby is going to do really well and gain loads of weight if you make sure he is latched on properly and takes all the milk in one feed.

If you do not feed (or express, but feeding the baby is better, because babies are better at getting milk out of the breat than pumps), it will continue to be blocked, and eventually be forced into breast tissue and then you've got a full blown mastitis situation. Which you do not want.

But even if that does happen, the advice remains the same: keep feeding!

good luck

Greythorne · 04/11/2010 21:36

BTw, there's excellent information on Dr Jack Newman's site here

Or you can try the kelly mom site

Keep us posted on how you get on.

WorrisomeHeart · 04/11/2010 21:48

Thanks all. It seems a rather cruel blow given all the feeding problems we've had so far - we'd just got sorted with a solution! I have a feeling it's been caused by not expressing frequently enough - am trying to do so after each feed, but it's difficult when you get days like today when he would only sleep on me, and was there for 4 hours! (Oh but what bliss!)

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Greythorne · 04/11/2010 22:11

Worrisome
It's great that you are getting this sorted. I would worry less about frequency of expressing and more about making sure you really try to empty the breast whenever you do express;

"Empty the breast" is a misleading expression, though really, as breastmilk is not just stored in the breast, ready to be taken and when it's gone it's gone. That's an old wives' tale and leads to people / health visitors / MILs / idiots coming to the conclusion that some mothers "do not have enough milk". They think of the breast as entirely analagous to a bottle of milk, but it's not really like that.

The breast does contain milk, but it also produces more milk throughout the feed, on demand. That's why, the more you feed, the more milk you produce. The amount of milk is not finite.

However, all that said, you should try to get as much out as possible in one feed / expressing and then there's no surplus itching to get out and getting blocked up.

HTH.

And by the way, it is completely normal for teeny little ones like your little chap to want to be close to their mums for rather, ahem, extended periods of time. It's normal. 4 hours feels like a lot, of course, so make sure you have what you need to make it bearable:

  • comfortable spot of the sofa
  • good book / magazine
  • dvd loaded into the dvd player
  • laptop with MN at the ready
  • snacks
  • cup of tea / drink of your choice
  • emery board
  • mobile phone

When my DD1 was this age, I watched the whole of House Season 1 and 2 on DVD. It came as a huge shock when I had DD and couldn't lie around on the sofa for days and weeks embrace breastfeeding in the same way. if this is your number one, put your dressing gown and slippers on, get your baby and enjoy some down time important bonding time to establish breastfeeding. I envy you!

Greythorne · 04/11/2010 22:12

Sorry, that sounds wrong, I don't envy the worry and blocked ducts. But you know what I mean. Relax and cuddle your baby.

crikeybadger · 04/11/2010 22:20

It must seem like one thing after another worrisomeheart. Sad

Is DS's weight going back on now?

WorrisomeHeart · 05/11/2010 10:16

Thanks Greythorne, I must admit, I loved the snuggles, it just feels so right, especially after not having him with me for the first three days of life - I feel like we've got lots ot catching up to do! Good thought re emptying the boob, will do my best to try that.

badger yep, he's a greedy guts now and on Monday was almost up to birth weight again. M/w is visiting today so will be interesting to see how much more he's put on.

Another couple of quick qs for you knowledgeable ladies!

  1. He spills heaps of milk when drinking - even when full-on sucking, it seeps out the corner of his mouth. Do you think we should try a slow flow teat? He's getting all he wants but we're wasting a lot down his chin - ok when its Aptamil, not so ok when it's b/milk.
  1. Also, do bottle fed babies clusterfeed? He was really hungry last night and ended up feeding twice in a couple of hours - was definitley hunger too - all the cues were there. I worry about overfeeding him but don't want to limit his feeding, especially as we're trying to get the weight back on.

Thanks for your help!!

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crikeybadger · 05/11/2010 11:00

Hi,

Hope things are better today.

Lots of snuggles is great- skin to skin is lovely too and will help him reconnect with you after his days away. Smile

Good to hear that he is putting the weight on now- so reassuring isn't it.

Sorry- can't answer the question about bottles as don't have enough experience of them. Someone else will definitely give you some advice though.

Are you managing to get him to latch on at all? As Greythorne mentioned, the breast is 'emptied' more efficiently by the baby so if he is not feeding directly from you, this could be causing the engorgement.

WorrisomeHeart · 05/11/2010 12:04

Thanks badger, m/w has just been and he's now past his birthweight whihc is fab. However she thinks it is definitely mastitis as opposed to just a blocked duct - not so fab.

No, we fail consistently at the latch - he gets so freaked out and I get stressed. I want to try bio nurturing once my c-section has healed, and am not giving up on it altogether, just have to pump for longer to make sure the mastitis clears!

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crikeybadger · 05/11/2010 12:57

Smile about the weight gain
Sad about the mastitis.

Are you going to get some antibiotics from the GP?

here is a good article about babies that don't latch on.

Good idea about the biological nurturing and good on you for persevering.

WorrisomeHeart · 05/11/2010 13:16

No, she doesn't think I need antibiotics yet, just need to make sure I'm emptying the boob and massaging etc to get the milk flowing. He's all snuggled up in the sling now, little angel!

Thanks for the link, v interesting, esp the bit about latching by 4-8 weeks. Hopefully we'll get there in the end! He tries to do the bio nurturing on DH, but isn't impressed with the results - a mouthful of chest hair! Grin

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crikeybadger · 05/11/2010 20:34

Glad you found the article useful and hope you're managing to keep the mastitis under control.

Try and rest and keep your fluid intake topped up.

You're right - you will get there- latching on is a new skill for you and your DS to learn.

marzipananimal · 06/11/2010 08:48

by the way, if you do need antibiotics, they are supposed to give you 10 days worth (according to NHS, WHO, LLL info) but 3 different GPs only gave me 7 days worth (i've had it 3 times) so your GP may not know this

KristinaM · 06/11/2010 08:56

Is if a lump on your breast that's painful? Or do you have a red swollen area that's getting bigger and you are feeling flu ish? I thought proper mastitis usually needed anti b?

Agree with everyone else about getting baby to feed on affected side if at all possible

And following all the advice on these links about clearing blocked ducts. Massaging while pumping worked for me. Bloody painful though

WorrisomeHeart · 06/11/2010 10:05

No lump, just a red patch from chest to nipple, if that makes sense? Seems to be improving, and no flu symptoms as yet. Thanks for the tip, marzipan will bear that in mind if needed.

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