Blocked ducts!

[Tiagao]

DS2 is only 17 days old. I’m trying EBF, which had been going on well, until today.

He has been putting on weight steadily, and every time when he came off the breast, it is soft and empty, very satisfying. Today, just out of the blue I feel a lump in my right breast. So I put him on hoping a feed would resolve it. I was also rubbing the lump while he was feeding. He had a good meal and fell asleep quickly, but the lump is still there, getting bigger and more painful. I’m not feeling hot or having fever yet.

Now I’m just anxiously waiting for him to wake up and try to feed again, but I’m terrified of the thought of another feed is not going to remove the lump.

How did you resolve a blocked duct? How long did it take to remove the blockage? When shall I contact the GP, asap or wait till I have fever? And what would happen if the blockage never gets removed? 😢

I frequently got blocked ducts but never got mastitis so it's not inevitable. It usually took two or three days for it to resolve each time. I fed the baby as much as they'd take, drank lots and lots of water, and massaged the lump whilst the baby fed - combined effort from them and you!
Some people find hot showers / hot compresses helpful.

And what did you do to the side that is not blocked? I’m also worried that if I keep feeding from the affected side, the “good” side will get engorged and lose supply.

Hi there

I got loads of these, so painful I'm so sorry you're experiencing them! The advice is now to use cold compress (i used a small sandwich bag of frozen peas as the cold and the bumpy shape worked) and ibuprofen. I also pumped between feeds.

The theory is it's inflamed tissue causing the block, so heat can make it worse.

Always offer both breasts so you are clearing the other one. I sometimes pump as well if baby hasn't cleared it!

1. ibuprofen
2. hot flannel on boob to encourage let down before feed
3. ice pack on boob after feed
4. keep feeding on that side

rinse and repeat.

Lumps don’t necessarily turn into mastitis but make sure you keep on top of it and be VERY careful with pumpkins at this stage. I over pumped as DD wasn’t getting the lumps out (slow feeder) and made things worse!

Pumpkins 😹 PUMPING

My boob looked and felt like a pumpkin when I had mastitis being fair

I often had blocked ducts, would be genuinely hard little grains on the nipple, like grains of sand rather than just a lump inside the breast. I usually managed to dislodge them very carefully with a pin. Once having tried other things first for a few days before resorting to dislodging it myself the resulting jet of milk was intense!! Genuinely shot right across the room. Collected the rest in a Haakaa, was about 100ml, just from one duct!! 🫣

I imagine it's not advisable to be using pins and doing that sort of thing, it's just what worked for me.

Ah sorry I wasn't clear. I would still feed on both breasts as usual but just edge the balance towards the clogged duct breast slightly so it gets a bit more.

I did find that for me it only ever happened when I failed to drink the usual huge amounts of water. So it's worth considering if that might have been a factor for you so you can avoid it again.

I guess the hot weather these days might be a contributing factor. I’m probably not drinking enough water.
It was really frustrating. I only just been to the midwife’s around lunch time. They commented DS was putting on very good weight and the feeding must be good in terms of latch, supply, etc. I also reflected that every time after a feed my breasts were soft, no issue to raise. As soon as I got home, the lump appeared. Almost like I jinxed it by saying “all is well”.
So far, I had a warm shower while massaging the lump. Fed DS many times (thanks to growth spurt, he’s been asking for feed every hour this evening), used cold compress afterwards. The lump is still there, but much smaller and less painful. Fingers crossed it will go away soon.

I usually get a bit engorged at night, seriously hoping it won’t grow big again and my other breast is not affected.

It almost sounds like a movie script 😅
I’m glad you found something that worked for you. I’m still trying to figure out how to deal with mine 😢

This is also what I used to do. Nothing else seemed to work.

I frequently suffered from blocked ducts with ds2. Always in the same breast, more or less same place. Would start as a dull ache and would progress to a pretty large, red, painful lump over the course of a few hours! There was nothing I could do to stop it once that process had started, although I would try to massage and feed off that side as much as possible, pumping the other side if needed. I did end up at OOH GP once because it had progressed to mastitis - luckily very mild as I knew it could very easily tilt that way so I caught it early.

Weirdly, I always found that it would clear at some point during the night feeds! No matter what time it started, it was always the 2/3/4am feeds that I would suddenly get relief 😂

Hope it clears up quickly for you, it’s so super uncomfortable!!

Yeah. One of my fears is starting a fever on a weekend. Last time I called 111, they didn’t return the call after half a day when all pharmacies in my area were closed on a Sunday evening!

Feed feed feed. I would also hand express/work the block down and out with my fingers during a feed or in the bath/shower. Ibuprofen to reduce inflammation. I had quite frequent blocked ducts with, I think, #2 and started taking lecithin which did seem to help.

Feed as normal, ice and ibuprofen are very important. Stay away from heat and massages.

I had several blocked ducts but never mastitis. If you can, position baby so their bottom lip/tongue lines up with the blocked duct, that will help them suck at that duct more. I also used a hair comb on my boob, not sure if that helped, but it was something I read.

Keep feeding as normal, but rotate baby so they line up with the lump (you may need to use rugby hold/get creative with supporting pillows). Gently massage inwards whilst feeding with palm. Cool after feeding. I found sunflower lecthin helped prevent a recurrence.

Change baby’s position when feeding regularly,then you ensure all ducts are emptying equally.
Feed on all fours with baby beneath you. Sometimes gravity can help!
Try tucking a washed, organic cabbage leaf in your bra.
These ideas were all given to me by an elderly midwife 30 years ago.

I suffered blocked ducts too.

I also would have to squeeze out hard little lumps from the nipple, which would then result in an impressive fountain!

I started changing the baby’s position during each feed as a preventative measure and never had another blocked duct.
You have my sympathy!

I was always told to nurse with baby's nose over the blocked duct due to the way they draw from the breast. It worked for me.

NOT HOT! Increases inflammation.

Lymphatic massage - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBOH9DbtF5i/?igsh=MWZmaDcxYTVuY3h5bQ==

Dangle feeding / side lying for gravity

Sympathy!

This is the only thing that worked for me too! It’s also very satisfying.

Don't rub it! It's due to inflammation so rubbing and hot compresses will make it worse. An ice pack and paracetamol are the best options. You might find that you get a milk blister after. They can be really sore, but should go in a few days. If not, the GP can lance it, but don't try yourself.

For me, I was getting lumps and blisters about one a week until 3 months. The baby was growing fine, but it was miserable. It did all get better after 3 months though.

I found this website brilliant, and a bit more practical and informative than LLL or NHS
physicianguidetobreastfeeding.org/