This is to help a mother who is breastfeeding (after huge difficulties at
the start - not helped, and in fact largely caused, by unnecessary
intervention and incorrect information from HCPs) her six month old son,
now with some additional solids. She has had a persistent sore bit on one
of her breasts which she describes as a small bump which has been then
since 2-3 days after the birth. It has a small, solid nodule at the centre,
like a seed. It is sore on the outside and the inside. She treats it with
Lansinoh which she says she thinks helps a bit. Dermatologist is puzzled
and says it's probably a small cyst or a blocked duct. Gynaecologist says
nothing sinister. This mother does not live locally to me, and my main
contact with her has been on the phone and via email so I have not seen
this sore bit.

This mum had minor breast surgery on this breast some years ago for cysts.

She has worked so hard at bf, despite huge obstacles - she was pumping,
giving occasional ABM as well as bf for ages and ages . All stemmed fromg
from, IMHO, lousy advice at the start in hospital -  for example, the baby
was fine but because he weighed close to the  'cut off point' of 2500g,
though he actually weighed 200 g more, some  midwife decided to stick to
rules rather too enthusiastically and gave him a 30 ml bottle of ABM on day
1, followed by more ABM in a cup plus a nipple shield by day 2. This was to
stick to a paediatric protocol which is apparently difficult to challenge.
Midwives, who, in the UK at least, are practitioners in their own clinical
right and do *not* have to follow what paediatricians tell them if their
clinical judgement is different, vary widely in their 'courage' in going
against protocols.

Anyway, any ideas on this mother's sore bit?

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc Newcastle upon Tyne UK