One thing worth thinking aboutin the instance of sudden engorgement at 5
months is whether the woman has done any unusual exercise involving the arm
and breasts.  My sister, some months after weaning, suddenly started leaking
furiously and she found that her breasts filled up.  She had bought a
knitting machine, and the action of moving her arms across her breasts had
obviously stimulated her nipples, which caused milk production to come back
in.  I vaguely remember reading in a book that one thing to do when when
suffering from mastitis is to scrub the floors, the exercise was supposed to
get the milk flowing and hence clear the blockages.  I must confess that in
the various bouts of mastitis that I had, the last thing I wanted to do or
could physically do was to scrub floors!  I guess the advice, impracticl as
it was, was based on the same principle that my sister experienced.
It would be worth checking if the woman had been involved in any activity
involving unusual nipple stimulation.

Philippa Thomson
Melbourne, Australia