 Dr.
Jane Morton,
Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford University School
of Medicine, is an expert on nursing premature infants as well
as a
member of the Breastfeeding.com medical advisory board. Dr.
Morton has answered many of your breastfeeding questions.
Dr. Morton works one-on-one with new mothers at the
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University,
teaching moms how to breastfeed successfully. In 1997, Focus
Magazine named Dr. Morton one of the "Best Doctors in the
Bay Area," and she was again selected by her peers as one
of "Silicon Valley's Best Physicians" as reported in
The Sane Jose Magazine in 1999.
 What is causing clogged
ducts?
| NAME: |
Kristi |
| BABY'S NAME: |
Baylee |
| BABY'S AGE: |
9 months
|
|
BIRTH WEIGHT: |
6 lbs 13 oz
|
|
CURRENT WEIGHT: |
18 lbs 13oz
|
Up
until Baylee was 8 months old I never had any problems with
breastfeeding. But, in the last three weeks I have had two
clogged ducts in different breasts. I'm trying to figure out
what is causing these and have a couple of things I'm wondering:
- During the day because she hates to lay down to nurse she
sits facing me and nurses with her head laying over on my
arm. Could this cause a clogged duct?
- I wear an underwire bra, but have always worn the same
ones. I'm also under a great deal of stress right now.
Any
help would be greatly appreciated.
Dear
Kristi,
This is an excellent question - one that I don't know the
answer to. We see plugged ducts most frequently in women who
produce more milk than their baby needs. A common feature of
over production. Also, when women develop mastitis, the
inflammation of infection can cause an irregularity of the ducts
and collecting system which may predispose the milk flow to
turbulence and incomplete emptying. This may be a precursor of a
plug. Mothers who use pumps frequently are also more likely to
develop plugged ducts, perhaps because of uneven or incomplete
emptying. For the same reason, you could postulate that a baby
who is latched on poorly may also not be effectively or evenly
emptying the milk ducts beneath the areola.
My advice is to vigilantly inspect your breast after feeding by
palpating for lumpy, undrained areas of the breast. Learn how to
massage and manually express these areas to avoid milk stasis.
I
am not sure if the underwire bra is contributing to your
problem. It does seem, however, that over the past five years,
as we have developed more "products" for
breastfeeding, such as nipple ointments, nursing pads, nighttime
bras, etc., that we have had more problems with nipple and
breast infections. Personally, I would suggest wearing as little
as possible when you are at home and allowing your breasts to be
exposed to air, even sunshine, when you can.
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