I'm on a break from Lactnet at present, but agreed to find out what I could for a peer supporter currently working with a mother near to me. The situation is actually beyond my boundaries as a breastfeeding counsellor and way, way beyond a peer supporter's boundaries - trouble is, sometimes the PS is the person the mother consults after she has found her HCPs to be lacking in support and information (which is the case here, from what I can gather). Baby is 6 days old. Bf first 2 days in hospital, and then switched on day 2-3 for unspecified reasons, having been very determined to bf all the eay through pg. On day 6 she decided to start again, but has developed a golf-ball sized lump in each armpit, separate from breast tissue. This started to develop in pg, and she was told this was breast tissue and the peer supporter (who I trust) says it certainly seems like an engorged bit of breast. There is no exit (no rudimentary extra nipples). With the peer supporter's help, the mother has had a day of happy bf, but the lumps are causing some discomfort and are getting worse. My suggestion : see a breast surgeon (we have these in the UK, not sure if the speciality is common elsewhere; they are not ob/gyns; some have a clue about bf, and some really don't) who can assess whether there is any link between these lumps and the rest of the tissue, and to get a clinical opinion. It may be that once her prolactin levels fall over the next few days, the golf ball milk will simply go, leaving the breasts merrily producing as normal, and all will be well. But I'd love to know what others' experience has been. Heather Welford Neil NCT bfc, tutor, UK -- http://www.heatherwelford.co.uk http://heatherwelford.posterous.com *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome