advice about sore nipple possible blocked milk duct...?

[creamoftomato]

hoping someone can help or advise...

im 27 weeks today (first baby) and have had a really sore right boob all afternoon - much more than usual pregnant boob tenderness. ive also noticed two red streaks/lines coming out from the nipple and feeling around found a hard lump under the nipple sort of on its left hand side.

i googled and found various things that sound like it could be this e.g. blocked milk duct, blocked montgomery gland, and advice to try a hot flannel/compress. ive been trying this for about an hour and tried squeezing boob - quite a lot of colostrum, some clear(ish), some white came out. id noticed leaking from my (perfectly fine) left boob before but nothing from the right until now, so i wonder if this has been building up in there.

its still really sore though and ive scared myself silly googling because i keep getting hits that say im going to bring on early labour by touching my breasts and/or i've got cancer and will be dead by christmas.

i did do the sensible thing and rang the midwife (there's an advice line at my hospital) and she was really dismissive, she said of course my boobs were sore because i was pregnant(!) when i said i was ringing because i could feel a lump and boob was much sorer than had ever been before she said 'well you should go to a&e then'. i can't see myself heading out in the current storm to sit for hours in a&e when i dont think this is either an accident or an emergency, but it is fecking painful and im really not sure what to do next.

im going to try my gp in the morning but im not sure if they are open and to be honest they have been unbelievably useless in the preg so far so im not very hopeful they'll be able to help. im ashamed to admit ive been crying for 10 minutes now since getting off the phone with the midwife 'help' line :( i was so hoping for a quiet and relaxing christmas with no new pregnancy problems to deal with and just feel overwhelmed. sorry this post is so long :(

has anyone else had this? any advice on what i can do?

That does sound incredibly rubbish of your midwife to dismiss you like that. I think you are right though -it has the symptoms of a blocked duct and possibly mastitis. You could try the breastfeeding helplines - but I think they are closed now thinking about it.

You can take paracetamol and keep up with heat and some massage.

Also, it might be worth seeing a GP because if it does turn in to mastitis you may need antibiotics so it might be worth getting them in just in case.

LLL has a national helpline and it doesn't close. Try the treatments for blocked ducts / mastitis because at least it's something you can do now, at home, whilst still call not go to GP in the am. Paracetamol and ibuprofen, if safe for you to take personally, can be taken spaced apart ie paracetamol at 10 then ibuprofen at 12 then paracetamol at 2pm etc. if you're worried about painkillers think of all the drugs given in labour or during and after a c- section

You won't kick start labour unless your body and baby are actually ready. Many many mums try all manor of things at 42weeks and still don't kick start labour.

Hope you are ok and if it is blocked ducts then keep a special eye out for symptoms once baby arrives.

That was 'still call or go to GP'

Ahh bless you; I am no expert but as Chocolate says you are not going to go into labour by a bit of booby massage unless that baby is ready to pop out anyway (highly unlikely, unless you have other symptoms, its nice and cosy in there).

When I had very similar issues - albeit with a few weeks old baby - I did massage/expressing in a warm bath underwater, hot water bottle (in a fleecy cover) compress; and kept offering baby the sore boob (ouch) and it went after about 48h. I was lucky in that I didn't develop full blown mastitis. I looked on Kellymom for treatment suggestions.

Obv, you don't have the baby yet but I don't see why it would hurt to try similar methods? I would also call a helpline in your shoes though, just for reassurance that it won't cause labour (I really don't think it will, but I can totally understand why you are nervous).