Plugged Ducts / Mastitis

Ouch! Your breast is tender, red and very sore. What's going on? Or even worse, you're suddenly overcome with an extremely quick onset of shaking, shivering and a fever! You may have a plugged duct (if it's just red and sore) or mastitis. I experienced both during the times I breastfed my boys.

As you may pick up as you read my "story" on our website (http://www.pumpinpal.com/html/about_shannon_odonnell.htm), I tend to be an "alternative medicine before western medicine"-type mom (we had home births with both boys). When I experienced mastitis, I didn't want to go my doctor right away. I was concerned he would tell me I had to stop breastfeeding (not knowing his beliefs/recommendations for treating plugged ducts and mastitis and having heard other women's experiences of their doctors telling them to stop breastfeeding immediately, etc.) However, with that said, I don't hesitate in the least to seek medical treatment when necessary and have immense gratitude for modern medicine and medical procedures.

Anyway, I didn't know what was happening the first time my breast became red and very tender in a certain area. I called a breastfeeding friend who told me I had a plugged duct. She told me that I needed to get it unplugged immediately. Her recommendation: soak my breast in a bowl of warm water for about five minutes and then gently massage it from the area closest to my chest outward toward the nipple, trying to gently "push" the milk out of the duct. Also, she told me to check my nipple and see if I could see a little hard "plug" which I might be able to remove. I used a glass bowl and noticed the breast milk suddenly rush out of my breast as I gently "pushed" toward the nipple and the duct unplugged (this didn't happen right away but took several minutes of massaging and sometimes several bouts of soaking my breast).

I also called my midwife (she'd had six children and had delivered thousands of babies and I trusted her immensely). In addition to soaking/massaging, she recommended placing a moist washcloth over my breast and then putting a heating pad on top to add moist heat. She also told me to continue breastfeeding (very important!), placing my baby's chin toward the area of the plugged duct.

Sometimes when I'd experience plugged ducts in different areas, it meant leaning over my baby on the bed -- being careful not to cover his nose with my body or breast -- so his chin could face the plugged duct. Yep, it was a bit awkward at times, but thankfully, the combination of soaking my breast, massaging it while it was in the warm water to push the milk out of the duct, removing the visible plug in the nipple, moist compresses, and breastfeeding my baby with his chin facing the tender area helped me unplug the ducts each time, including when I had mastitis.

Speaking of mastitis: Thank goodness for my sister who'd experienced a bout of mastitis with her baby. She had told me that if all of the sudden I got the chills and felt like I had flu-like symptoms, I might have mastitis. Well, it happened. And when it came on, it came on IMMEDIATELY! I knew I needed to get the duct unplugged and went into my routine. Once I got the duct unplugged, the symptoms subsided.

After having my second baby I got mastitis twice in one week. The second time it happened, my husband was standing there when I told him I thought was getting mastitis. He told me to get in my jammies. Within seconds (literally!), I couldn't undo my bra because I was shaking so badly. Again, calling my midwife in a bit of panic, she reassured me that I didn't have to rush to the doctor right away and again suggested the same things. But, she also "grounded me" -- she told me I had to go to bed and rest, saying that if I'd experienced two bouts of mastitis in one week, my body was telling me to slow down and rest. I'd had an easy birth with my second baby and felt wonderful. With a toddler at home, it was hard to rest, especially since I felt great. I started crying, unsure of how I was going to stay in bed and take care of my toddler at the same time. Somehow it worked out (thanks to my husband, I might add). And I didn't experience another bout of mastitis after that.

So what about exclusive pumpers? Some moms have found relief for chronic plugged ducts and mastitis by using our angled flanges (Super Shields http://www.pumpinpal.com/html/super_shields.htm). They are certainly worth trying if you're experiencing chronic plugged ducts. When using them, try turning them from a direct up and down position (12 o'clock/6 o'clock) to an off-center position (11 o'clock/5 o'clock, 10 o'clock/4 o'clock), etc. to mimic placing your baby's chin toward the plugged duct.

Before I close, here's a link from kellymom.com addressing plugged ducts and mastitis that may be helpful. Kelly Bonyata is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC): http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mom/mastitis.html. "kellymom" has a lot of helpful information on her website.

Until next time . . . . happy pumping!