Milk Blisters

What are Milk Blisters?

Over one year of breastfeeding, and only recently have I experienced this problem. Milk blisters might sound really weird, but they are simply what they sound like - a blister containing milk inside. It happens when skin grows over the opening of the milk duct on your nipple. It appears as a white spot on the surface of the nipple, much like a pimple. If you want to see how it looks like, you can click here.

Fibroadenomas

What are Fibroadenomas?

Fibroadenomas are masses or tumors of the breast tissue. They are moveable, painless, and usually have very well-defined borders. They can be detected by doing breast self-examinations, ultrasounds, or as in my case, incidentally by annual school or work health examinations. Now, all these might sound scary, but fibroadenomas are actually benign or non-cancerous growths.

Can I Breastfeed Even if I Have Fibroadenomas?

Why You Should NOT Breastfeed

I hope the title doesn't get you thinking that I am anti-breastfeeding. =) I am a breastfeeding advocate, and I myself have breastfed my daughter for more than a year now. As long as both you and your infant are healthy and well, then by all means, you can breastfeed safely.

But there are some moms out there who have certain medical conditions that make breastfeeding a contraindication. Here are a few of them:

• If the mother is positive for HIV. The human immunodeficiency virus can pass through the breastmilk. If the baby hasn't been infected congenitally during pregnancy, then breastfeeding might cause the transmission of the viruses to the baby.
• If the mother has HTLV-1, or the human T-cell leukemia virus, type 1. Same as HIV, this virus can be passed through the breastmilk.
• If the mother is on antimetabolite drugs or on radiation therapy or chemotherapy for cancer. The radioactivity stays in the body for quite some time, and may be passed on to the baby and wreak havoc on his little body. If you've just finished therapy and would like to breastfeed, you can have a sample of your breastmilk examined, just to be sure all the harmful stuff has already been eliminated.
• If the mother is ingesting drugs of abuse, such as marijuana and cocaine.
• If the mother has untreated tuberculosis. If the mother is already taking TB meds, then it is considered no longer contagious. Only then would she be able to breastfeed.

Benefits of Breastfeeding

The International Breastfeeding Logo

You can probably find tons of information about the benefits of breastfeeding all over the internet, but during my days as a student nurse, I came across this handy mnemonic. It uses the word BREASTFEEDING as an acronym. Here it is:

Best for babies
Reduces incidence of allergies
Economical
Antibodies
Stool-inoffensive
Temperature always correct and constant
Fresh
Emotional bonding
Easy once established
Digested easily
Immediately available
Nutritionally balanced
Gastroenteritis greatly reduced