I'm asking again about a different mother who has bm oozing/leaking after
weaning two years ago. The baby was weaned at 6 weeks (due to cracked
nipples). The weaning itself wasn't particularly difficult on her breasts
as fas as she remembers--she doesn't recall any significant engorgement or
mastitis. After a short period of time, the only milk she produced was the
little bit that would leak out from time to time. But that has remained
constant over the last 2 1/2 years. Her breasts are about the same size now
as they were when she weaned the baby. They are not tender except right
before her menstrual periods--and that has been true for many years, not
just since her baby was born.
        The milk that leaks out is yellowish and a bit thick (sounded like
colostrum to me). It leaks mostly when she isn't wearing a bra. Even when
she wears a bra, it occasionally leaks, sticking to her clothing. She wears
a bra almost all the time, including to bed at night, in order to decrease
the leaking. She does not notice an increase in leaking during intercourse,
or at any other time except for when she takes off her bra.
        She is not taking any medications and is otherwise in good health. I
don't know how old she is. It sounded like she has just one
child, who is 2 1/2 years old now.
        At first this seemed like a minor annoyance, but now she's worried
about it because a friend told her that she started leaking again five years
after the birth of her baby and it was due to a cancerous tumor on her
thyroid. (I explained about prolactin and other hormones sometimes being
affected by problems with the thyroid, but that didn't mean that she
necessarily had a hormone problem, and that cancer was not the only cause of
thyroid problems.)
        She does not have health insurance, and doesn't want to go to a
doctor to have it checked out until she knows more about it.  I have
informed her that some forms of breast cancer can cause this, as can
pituitary and thyroid problems.  Any other ideas?
She'd like to know:
1) is it normal to continue producing colostrum/milk so long after weaning?
2) could this be an indication of a health problem?
3) will it go away on its own?
4) is there a name for this condition?
5) is there any way she can get the milk to stop leaking?

TIA!!! (sorry this was SO long).
Chris


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Chris Hafner-Eaton, PhD, MPH, CHES, IBCLC email: [log in to unmask]
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