Hi.. I delivered a baby boy on the 9th of Nov.. & he is purely only on breastfeed & nothing else. the problem i'm facing is that i seem to have developed a hard lump in my right breast.. its hard.. reddish & swollen.. hurts on touch.. i visited the doc & he advised me that its bcoz of the excess milk production.. so i should feed the baby only on that breast.. & should also use pump to drain out the milk. while i do follow the advice of feeding the baby only on that breast .. the pump is very painful. also, the lump seems to be shifting its position.. initially when i visited the doctor it was in the side of the breast.. & now its more towards the pump. I also feel feverish sometimes.. doctor advised me to take combiflam & that does help subside the fever & pain to some extent.
What could be the problem ? isnt there a medicine that can dissolve this lump ?? are there any proven home remedies that anyone can suggest ?? does it need surgery .. .

suggestions plz..

Hetal replied. ne lump esp during the first days of breastfeedng,,might be the ones that is because of engrgmnts,,,now i want you to do as below to make sure its just bm fat lump and no other lumps that are signs for serious health conditions:

1. i want you to feed your baby every 2hours,,irrespective of whther or not baby is asking for feed..if he refuses to feed,or is full even after 2 hours,,, i want you to pump the milk and store it for your future use.
also i would like to strongly recmnd you medella pump in style dual electric breatpump that comes with manual pump as wel,, if at all you are in US,,if not,,try for a medella pump that are electric and are dual breastpumps,i think now this brand has its sales worldwide.

2. i want you to massage your breast before you pump your baby..if it pains, i want you to talk to your dr or let me know...also i would like you to do a lil warm pad or heat pack therapy,,put a pan, let it become very hot,,once hot,,make a padded cloth folds and keep the padded cloth on this hot pan,,,let pad/cloth be hot enough that you can bear(dont heat to the extent that you cant bear),,and place it around the lumps first,,,,see the pain level reduces or increases and let me know,,,if there is ne other signs of discomfort.if possble pump at the same time,,,see if it helps to drain out the milk compltely and lump disapprs,,,,pump until you see the last drop of bm(hindmilk),,or until bm stops to come,,pump both the sides and even after your baby has complted the feed,,i want you to pump it,,and see if baby is feeding all the milk or not....

3. change your bra size/bigger cups to 2-3sizes bigger and i would say,,give it a break for a while...dont wear it...go 100% cottons and look for non-wired or seamless or feeding bras that has good comfort..spend good $$ on it if required...

4. take freq warm to hot showers that you can bear to soothe yourself,,it will help relax your breast muscles and it should help.

5.during lactation period,often mother has two types of lumps:
one is because of stagnation of milk or milk stasis and other is microbial infection.Milk stasis results from stagnation of milk within the breast due to inefficient removal of milk.
also, it occurs when the breasts are filled with milk and milk is not removed by below reasons:
1. poor latching of infant to breast.
2.ineffectve sucking which does not ensure complete empty of breast or infant is not able to suck all the breatmilk.
3.restriction of feeds or duration of feeds,,try to feed even if required before every 2 hours or at every 1 hour..
4.blockage of milk ducts which often happns in first time mothers and lactation period to second time mothers when the terms between 2 pregnancies were exceptionally large,,like 8-9years of diff between 2 kids...
5.sudden increased or decreased of milk supply esp with high milk fats/hindmilk which often happens in first 3months of delivery,,,dpnding on how mothers body is at rest and was able to produce more than required or sudden rise of milk supply....
make sure to empty your breast...

the other i mentioned is microbial infection,,could have caused this lump,,if so,,ask your dr if ne test are required to be done and if you have ne chances of gettng these bacterial or fungal mastitis,,,

6.the lump could be the reason for ne infection tht might have caused due to nipple fissures,cracked nipples left untreated for longer times or ne micro organisms spread by ducts into the lobe...all this requires your dr attention at once !!!!!

7. if you had a complicated delivery, if you are in age range 21-35,or you had issues related to mal nutrition,poor nutrition, high salt or high fat intakes,,or issues with anemia,,you have gone thry maternal stress or fatigue,,ne injuries wat so ever on breast or even chest or on your back,,ne extra drug that might have taken,,,is quite possible for you to get these types of lumps...
talk to your dr , if you had ne of these in your past...

8.if you have red patching and white spots at the end of the nipples,,and if your fevers comes and goes off in period of 24hours,,its quite normal !
keep your breast nipples clean, by rubbng them gently with some 100%cotton sterile pad or cotton ball..no deposits should be formed on nipple.
and yes i would like to reinforce on what your dr said about breast feed very often from the affected breast...and pain should not stop you from breastfeeding.
avoid fatty foods in your diet,,keep refrigerated cabbage leaves,,cold packs to overcome pain when the pain aggrevates or becomes unbearable.
i would like you to add parsley in your diet or drink boiled water with some fresh parsley leaves in there,,,in 1 litre bottle, add in 10-12fresh leaves of parsley and boil,,or add 1/2tsp of dried parsley in 1ltre of water....this wil help prevent blockage,,include parlsey in all your dals,curries,,just throw in some like a dash as a part of seasoning or garnishngs...keep your nipples conditiond and well cleaned to avoid ne infections..
use of breast shields and breast shells will help you recover from pain...check my post to condition your nipples and nipple care in link below :

http://www.indiaparenting.com/boards/showmessage.cgi?messageid=1372&table_name=dis_breastfeeding

if you do all this, as i pointed out,,in 3-4days,,i expect your pain as well as lump should decrease or let me say that it should not form....but continue doing these things,,,if these pointers are working,, thn it means the lumps are caused by milk fats and engorgemnts which is perfectly normal......dont let it become lump,,,if required pump out the milk even if its not 2hours yet !!!

now if all the above DOES NOT HELP,
1.ask your dr to take a Mammogram for both the breasts,,,,,dont want to scare you but its better to conside the possbility than to suffer longer...it could be sign of breast tumour or cancer...
i want you to read the below article and let me know your feedbacks,after doing self examination :

http(:)//www(.)breastcancer(.)org/dia_detec_exam_idx(.)html

http(:)//www(.)breastcancer(.)org/dia_detec_exam_5step(.)html

2.while doing that heat therapy, i want you to keep an eye on colour of lump,,becomes darker,,i want you to stop doing this therapy at once..and just give a gentle massage before pumpng milk,,,

3.if the colour of lump increases or decrease,check the colour by looking in mirror and judge the colour difference at diff times of day,,like before feeding,after feeding,,during feeding,,before sleep,,early morning and,let your dr know about it...

surgery and all such things cannt be ruled out until proper breast care or nipple care is done..

but as of now,,try the above and i would appreciate the feedback...
i want you to look into below post as well, see if it helps in reducing the size or the colour of the lump,,,ne changes what so ever,,do let me know,,,

http://www.indiaparenting.com/boards/showmessage.cgi?messageid=1290&table_name=dis_breastfeeding

http://www.indiaparenting.com/boards/showmessage.cgi?messageid=1282&table_name=dis_breastfeeding

keep this lump on check and make sure to note all the signs or changes occurng in your body,, with its presence and absence....

also i want you to check on your baby activity levels and if ne further problem persist,,dont wait for my reply,,i would strongly get this lump checked by your lactation consultant...

she will be the right/best person to examine your breast and let you know if its the milk fat thats causing it or its some other sign of seriousness.mastitis should not be left untreated and can lead to breat abscess and your health will be badly affected...

if you have further signs of nausea,dizziness and high temperature above 1 and the temp does not continue to decrease or stays at 1 for more than 24hours,,it means that the lump in your breast has become firm and might be risky to you health,,,and if it happens, i want to you to see your dr immediately,,and get the lump drained out,,,,which is the last i want to hear..

good luck to you,,would appreciate to hear an update !