I don't know what the story is with the clear secretion Pat describes after
a mother freed the blockage from a bleb.  If we can see the thick
spaghetti-like strands of milk solids expressed, I would guess that what
was happening with this case was that either the thick milk solids were
removed unnoticed or uncommented on by mother (or baby), or were possibly
still in the breast, and the clear liquid left is what was seen.  But
that's just a wild guess.  What happens to this clear liquid at other times
when the breastmilk has 'consolidated' due to a blockage??  Maybe it is
drunk by the baby and we never know, or perhaps it is reabsorbed.
I was under the impression that is was the casein that gave milk its white
colour - hence breastmilk, compared to cow milk looks bluish because of the
lower levels of casein.  Nothing to do with the fat content.

Christy writes:  <quote> I have an idea that when a breast isn't emptied or
nursed on for a few
hours, let's say five hours, it takes about five minutes to get past the
foremilk and get to the hind milk. If she expressed after she opened the
bleb, maybe there was so much foremilk backed up from not being drained that
it came out clear as in lots of foremilk was there. Just an idea.

My guess is as good as yours Christy, but do recall that all we can really
say about foremilk and hindmilk is that one of them is at the beginning of
the feed and the other is definitely at the end, and the only difference
between the two is in fat content ... but fat content increases in a linear
fashion, so it's impossible to say when one stops and the other starts.

Donna Ramsay's work on milk ejection too is well worth reviewing about how
long it takes for a breastfeed.  The JHLs which have featured the work of
Kent and Hartmann just recently will cover all of this.

Denise

Denise Fisher
mailto:[log in to unmask]
http://www.health-e-learning.com

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