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Subject:
From:
Maurenne griese <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Wed, 7 Jan 1998 06:33:46 -0600
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After looking through the Lactnet archives, posting to Lactnet and looking
through my most reliable breastfeeding references(Riordan and Auerbach;
Lawrence; and LLLI BF Answer book), here's what I've found:

Pink or pink-orange milk has been attributed to food dyes in orange sodas,
sports drinks, or other artificially colored food products.  Pink or
serosanguineous discharges can also be attributed to vascular engorgement,
trauma, or intraductal papilloma.  One poster to Lactnet also indicated she
had one case of a lactating mom with pink breastmilk who loved beets (beet
powder is a natural food coloring also).

Green milk or green urine in the bay have been attributed to the mother's
ingestion of Gatorade, kelp, seaweed, vitamins (possible containing
ferritin or ingest a large amount of green vegetables.

One case of black milk was reported in a woman who had been taking
minocycline hydrochloride for four years.

It seems that when a mother expresses an unusually colored milk, it's
important to carefully review her diet.  The pink and serosanguineous
discharges seem to be of greatest concern due to the possibility of
intraductal papilloma and warrant further investigation.  According to Ruth
Lawrence, MD, the suspected foods were eliminated from the diet and then
reintroduced to confirm their effect.  In most cases, explaining that this
is a normal variation in color and the cause of the color change will
suffice.  We shouldn't throw this milk away!

If the mother weren't expressing her milk, though, we wouldn't know it's
color,  now, would we?  How many rainbows have been ingested by little
ones, without our knowledge and without any harm?

PS-The Earth Mother is enjoying her Birk clogs(thanks for those who
inquired)

Maurenne Griese, RNC, BSN, CCE, CBE
Manhattan, KS  USA
[log in to unmask]

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