Clogged Milk Ducts During Breastfeeding

by cassie

In my previous post I mentioned a few of the benefits of breastfeeding your baby. In today’s post I wanted to talk about the not-so-pleasant side of breastfeeding, specifically – clogged milk ducts which is something I experienced when I breastfed my daughter a couple months after she was born.

What is a clogged milk duct?

Your breastmilk flows through “ducts” in your breast which can sometimes get plugged for various reasons. You’ll probably notice a hard lump in your breast which can be very sore or downright painful.

If the sore area is warm to the touch and you start to feel feverish or achy, it has most likely become infected. This can lead to mastitis so it’s important to deal with a clogged milk duct as soon as you can.

What causes plugged milk ducts?

In my case, I think the fact that I didn’t vary nursing positions often enough was the cause. Clogged ducts will occur when your breastmilk isn’t drained completely. This can also be caused by:

an improperly fitted or poor quality nursing bra
breastfeeding infrequently
using a crappy quality breast pump
sickness or stress

Not everyone will experience this but even if you do, there are a few ways to get that puppy unplugged.

How to treat a clogged milk duct

The best way to unclog a plugged up milk duct is to breastfeed as often as possible even though it can be extremely uncomfortable.

Try a different nursing position each time. For example, I held my daughter on my lap during one feeding, then I’d lay down and breastfeed her while laying down the next time.

The football hold was my favorite breastfeeding position at that time because her chin was pointed toward the clogged duct.

Something else I did to relieve the pain in between feedings was to keep applying a warm compress to my chest. Massaging the sore area with a warm cloth really helped.

I also stopped pumping since the first pump I used was a cheap, poor quality pump and I’m still not sure if that might have played a part in the clogged milk duct. (I recommend a good breast pump here.) If you already have a good quality pump, you may want to try pumping more often until the duct becomes unclogged.

I tried to hand-express milk while sitting in a warm bath which was suggested to me by a nurse, but it didn’t seem to make any difference.

When my milk duct finally came unclogged, I could actually feel it happen. Hopefully this won’t gross you out, but during a feeding (and it’s useful to note that I was using a breastfeeding position that I had never tried before), I could feel a little “pop” in my breast and I instantly felt 100% better. I asked the nurse how that plugged up, hardened milk would affect my baby and she said it doesn’t affect them at all.

How to avoid getting clogged ducts

With my second baby, I was more careful to vary my breastfeeding positions to prevent uneven pressure.

I also made sure to dish out on a set of good quality nursing bras. My favorite was actually the Playtex nursing bra because it was easy to use with one hand. So comfortable, I even wore it for a year after I stopped breastfeeding.

My favorite position to sleep is on my stomach, but I tried to stay on my back as much as possible because the added pressure to your breasts can cause clogged ducts.

I didn’t experience a clogged duct with my second child so I’ll be sure to follow the same steps the next time as well.