Breastfeeding Question - Jamaica,NY

When I had clogged milk ducts someone told me to have the baby's chin positioned right where the pain was when he nursed. So at one point he was propped on my shoulder, but it totally brought relief because of the way he was pushing down in the right spot. I think my lactation nurse told me the same thing and it really was a good tip. So make sure her chin is on the side of the boob where it hurts; you may have to put her in a weird position but it really clears the clog.

DO NOT stop nursing/pumping, that is the worst thing you can do!!!
I had the most extreme BF issues with my firstborn I have ever heard of but overcame them and nursed her to about 2 years. I learned a lot.

I'm not clear from your post if you have been nursing the past few weeks or you mean that you stopped and are now having problems. The very fist thing to do is call the La Leche League hotline and explain exactly what's happening.
24 hour Hotline: (877) 4 LA LECHE ###-###-####)

You may have quit nursing/pumping too suddenly and now have mastitis, clogged ducts and/or an abcess. All those problems are caused by not draining the breast. Below is info from a site I found with a google search but the same info is pretty easy to find anywhere:

How Will it Affect my Baby?
"Breast milk from an inflamed breast is perfectly safe for the baby, as the breast milk contains antibodies that protect your baby from diseases and infections.

Your infant may get fussy and refuse to drink milk from the inflamed breast. This is because your usually sweet breast milk has a salty taste due to your infection. If the breast is entirely refused, be sure to express it manually or with a breast pump."

Breast Abscess
"Mastitis can get very serious if not treated promptly, becoming a breast abscess. In extreme cases, untended mastitis can lead to hospitalization to drain the breast via incision. An abscess is a pus-filled boil under the skin. The abscess will remain even after treatment of mastitis, signaling the need for drainage. It is therefore important to consult your doctor on mastitis or plugged ducts, so that you can prevent a more serious condition."

If you are still nursing, continue, if you recently stopped start again. Call the hotline or a lactation consultant for breastfeeding information and see a Doctor for treatment of the infection.
In my experience most doctors know very little about BFing. This often does not prevent them from giving advice on the subject so please take it with a grain of salt and balance it with what a professional lactation consultant says.

Do not wait one more minute as this can get very serious and please let us know what happened. Good Luck!

You might have an infection and need to see a doctor. There are medications you can take while nursing. You might also need a different pump or different sized horn for the pump. You should also talk to a certified lactation consultant about how to get the baby to nurse (my sister was able to get her son, preemie, to nurse using a nipple shield).

Sounds like either clogged ducts or mastitis. If it's mastitis, you need to STOP nursing/pumping and see your doctor ASAP for antibiotics.

If it's clogged ducts and you're still nursing/pumping, hot compresses or a hot shower will help.

If your milk is drying up (you're not nursing/pumping), do NOT take hot showers or use warm compresses. It's very painful when your milk is drying up, but it won't last but too much longer if this is the case.

Stand in a hot shower and massage your breasts. Kind of massage fropm the outside towards your nipples. If that doesnt help I would wonder if it is mastitis. Then you should call you dr.
If you milk is drying up, try putting cabbage leaves in your bra--seriously. It helps so much with the pain.

I had Mastitis, which is a case of clogged milk ducts with symptoms of painful, enlarged breasts, high temperature etc.

Here's what was helpful to me, and I suggest you do:
1. Call your gynec asap and have her check your breasts for any symptoms of mastitis or clogged ducts. If you have a lactation consultant at the hospital where your baby was born, call her too for advise.
2. Take a hot shower, like the other person said, and express your milk during and after your bath. If you have a wide tooth comb, move the comb from back to front of your breasts during your shower to get the milk from the back out. Hot showers encourage the flow of milk.
3. If you are still pumping or feeding your baby, continue doing so. It will give you some relief.
4. Another great remedy is to take a small face towel, wet it, squeeze out the water and pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes or so it till it is very hot. Place this carefully in a zip lock bag and give your breasts a hot compress. Please be careful to test it so as to not burn yourself.

I was hospitalized for mastitis when my baby was 3 weeks old. Had to take a bout of antibiotics and the nurse had me doing the hot compress (#4) and then pumping every 2 hours to get rid of any clogged milk.

Please remember, excessive pumping (for longer than 10 to 12 minutes on each side) could also trick your boobs into thinking they need to produce more milk.

Do call you gynec, either way. Hope you feel better soon.

See a doctor to make sure you are healthy. if you want to try to breast feed again, get a referral to a lactation consultant. They can be super helpful, cause breast feeding may be natural but it's not always easy. Take care!