Blocked milk duct making half my breast hard?

[everynamewastaken]

Hi All,

I'm 5 weeks PP and baby hasn't been the best feeder but we had been improving until yesterday when I woke up and my boob was really hurting. I think it's a blocked milk duct but there seem to be a few small lumps but also basically half of my boob is hard which doesn't come up as a symptom on anything I read.

I've carried on feeding from the breast even though it has me in tears because it's so painful as per the advice and expressing after to make sure it's emptied but the boob stays hard. I've also tried different positions / hot compress etc.

Has anyone experienced this and knows if it is just a blocked milk duct or is it something else? Or if you have any tips, I would be so grateful! I don't think it's mastitis yet because I'm fine otherwise / no heat from the lumps etc. Thanks for any insights!!

I had a duct that got blocked multiple times, I know how bad it can feel. Here are some things that helped me:
-hot as you can stand, pressure as much as you can from the shower right on the blockage.
-electric toothbrush!! yes really! take the bush off, use the metal bit on a flannel to vibrate right over the blockage.
-dangle feeding, you might need somebody to "spot" you, but lay baby on bed, kneel above and position their chin towards the blockage and feed them after doing something from above. The "spotter" can just be sure you are both clear of each other, baby's nose is clear etc.

When it backs up behind the blocked duct, it made a triangle towards my armpit, so it can affect an extended area if it's been blocked a day or so.

To prevent, watch your sleeping position, that I believe was what caused my first block, leaning over whilst on my side and it squishing too much

Definitely a blocked duct. What worked for me was a hot compress, followed by taking a comb and raking it quite hard from the back of the affected area towards the nipple. Do keep feeding from it.

I used to get this regularly in the first few months of breastfeeding. I often found massaging it in a hot shower helpful, pressing on the blockage and trying to push towards the nipple.

Sometimes I'd see a little white speck of something in the nipple which would bulge out while pressing on the blocked area, and getting this out would often mean the milk would flow again.

Keep an eye out for fever, red streaks on the breast etc, I did once need antibiotics but the rest of the time I was able to manage the blockages.

The advice has now changed, and heat / massage are no longer recommended.

Cold compress, ibuprofen, and feeding at the same frequency as you would usually are the way to treat both mastitis and blocked ducts:

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0271yQ1giMGp7gE5qnEgBiRmseKmLXZm8NndVCjN5x6Zb8sSMPcXZuYaxP2xgZ63iKl&id=100054342381251 Hope the link works!

Hoping the link below works but it is a post by Kathryn Stagg on Instagram that should help you.

You have blocked ducts and if left it will turn into mastitis which can can come on suddenly and is nasty - you'll feel rough.

Try different positions. I used to try and get the babys chin pointing towards the area too.

Be careful with additional expressing/pumping as you will be creating oversupply and you'll be back at square one. I'd try as much as possible to feed baby with different positions.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cmelqt6tlBT/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Thank you all so much for the advice and clarification. It is so helpful! I didn't realise how much engorgement you could get from a blocked duct! But I think I must have had multiple blocked ducts as I've cleared a few areas but there's still one area to go :-( I'm trying everything so fingers crossed something will work.

If you get any flu-like symptoms you'll need to go straight to out of hours for antibiotics - don't leave mastitis as it can be really nasty.

If you can get a GP appointment today that would be best really just in case.

The lumps can take a little longer to go. So as long as it isn't getting worse & red, and youre not starting to feel ill, then continue to feed as normal and play around with your latch & positioning.
I'm prone to blocked ducts and used to get them regularly - it will clear itself eventually!

Just thought I'd update and say another thanks for the tips and reassurance! All my ducts have now cleared thankfully and we're back to pain-free (ish!) breast feeding. I mainly followed the advice of heat before feeding and gentle massages to encourage the trapped milk towards the nipple. I'll definitely be following the advice about preventing these in the future :-)

Gentle kneading and massage every now and then should prevent blockages.

I used to make a fist, lay the flat bit (between both sets of knuckles) on the breast and sort of stroke/push towards the nipple, best done in the shower

If you find you get blocked ducts repeatedly (this used to happen to me once or twice a week in the first few months, despite tongue tie snip and working with an IBCLC to get a good latch) you could try taking a lecithin supplement. I found it reduced the frequency quite a lot.

Hopefully it's a one off for you though!