If other parts of our bodies can "wear out", why not our breasts.  I worked
with one mom who had been nursing for many years, she was over 40 and had an
eighth baby who was not gaining well. She had nursed all of her children for
3+ years and had tandemed nursed several. She must have had 30 or 40 years
cumulative nursing. This woman was a "proven lactater", she just didn't seem
to make enough milk for her last baby, the baby latched on and seemed to
nurse well, but did not get much milk. A thorough evaluation did not find
any problem with mother or baby. This mother had problems with multiple
galactoceles, some as big as a golf ball, if she pressed on the milk filled
area while the baby was nursing, the galactoceles would empty and then fill
again after nursing. It seemed like an "aneurism of the milk duct" (term
courtesy of Ed Newton). We wondered if after all of the filling and emptying
if her breasts/ducts didn't just "give out". She had several evaluations of
lumps and cysts in her breast while this little girl was breastfeeding and
mammograms, sonograms, fine needle aspiration and even a biopsy just showed
these milk filled areas- thickened at times if not drained well for a period
of time. This mom chose to supplement her baby with an SNS for several
months and she weaned naturally at 4 1/2 years. Plum worn out...it was our
best theory.  Cathy Liles