First an introduction since I am new to Lactnet:

My name is Becky Flora.  I am the mother of four breastfed children and am
currently nursing my 22 month old.  I have worked with breastfeeding mothers
for about six years and am qualified to sit for the board exam in July of
this year.

I have searched the archives for this and although I did come up with some
notes of similar content, nothing I was able to find answered all my
questions.  Hopefully some of you can!

I am working with a mother who is currently nursing an almost 18 month old.
About 3 weeks ago, she noticed a hard lump in her daughter's right breast.
After conferring with the pedi, it was suggested that this was due to
breastfeeding and would need to be checked in about a month and tests
performed if it was still present.  The pedi also raised question as to how
much longer the mother intended to breastfeed.  The mother, fearful of tests
and the cause of the lump, decided to commence weaning since she had heard
that estrogen in the milk could cause this in the baby/child.
Three weeks have now passed and the baby is only nursing once a day.  The
lump, however, is much larger in size.

The mother is currently taking a progestin-only oral contraceptive -
Norenthindrone - and is using two inhalents twice daily to treat her asthma
symptoms - Flovent and Serevent.  She is taking no other
medications/herbs/etc.  She nor the baby consume or have consumed any soy
products in the past.  I mention this because in my search I found a
reference to soy formula containing estrogen.

My questions are:  Is this condition truly more often present in breastfed
babies, and if so, is it linked to estrogen in the milk as this mother has
been led to believe?  I know that swollen breasts are common in newborns due
to hormones still present in the infant's system, but how does this
translate to the breastfed baby?  If this is related to breastfeeding, why
might it just now occur after 17 months of nursing?  If it is related to
estrogen in the milk, is weaning really indicated? I think not, but want to
make sure I am covering all the bases.

I certainly will suggest a second opinion, but want to also be able to shed
more light for this mom if possible.  I truly appreciate any and all input!

Thanks!

Becky Flora

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