Heather asks:

<Mother is 8 months pg and during pregnancy she has become aware of 
extra mammary tissue building up near her armpit, but apparently 
separated from her breasts. It feels tender and lumpy to her touch, 
and the tenderness is inside, not on the surface. There are no extra 
nipples that she can see.>

Two things come to mind: This is the normal anatomic location of the axillary segment of breast tissue known as the Tail of Spence. Perhaps she has more milk making tissue than most mothers in that area, in which case, covered ice packs for no more than 20 minutes at a time, both now, for comfort if desired, and then about every 2 hours starting at birth, will keep the circulatory vessels less likely to send in huge amounts of blood when the placental hormones drop. Milk that is formed will reabsorb normally from FIL when it is not removed.

The other thing that comes to mind is some sort of lymphatic blockage, since that is the anatomical site of a large number of lymph glands in the axillary area which is responsible for 75% of the lymphatic drainage of the breast. Neither heat nor cold is advised by the lymphedema self-help books I have read. Gentle sporadic upward massage of the area with about the same pressure advised for self breast exam, might help. As I mentioned in a previous post about a similar finding during pregnancy that seemed to continue into lactation, daily lecithin round the clock with meals seemed to have resolved a similar-sounding issue for my granddaughter. We thought maybe this may have helped milk fat globules in my granddaughter's milk (determined by the type of fats in her diet) to pass through the ducts more easily. 

These might be some things to consider, and none of these things would seem to do any harm to try. Let us know how things go. I learn so much from finding out how others on the list approach problems when I find out if the solutions helped or not.

K. Jean Cotterman RNC-E, IBCLC
WIC Volunteer LC     Dayton OH 

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