To those who have not breastfed or are lucky enough to never experience it, blocked milk duct is a common problem for breastfeeding moms. Basically, the milk duct gets blocked and because milk can't pass through, it clots in the milk duct resulting in a painful lump in the breast. I've ever had it so bad, half the breast was hard and painful even to gentle touching. Carrying Hayden is impossible as it hurts terribly when he presses against it.
It usually clears in a day or two, with the help of Hayden constantly sucking and helping to drain the breast but sometimes when Hayden refuses to feed (probably he's too full yet I keep asking him to suck to help ease the pain), I'll have to turn to manual pumping. However, pumping doesn't do the trick for me. It helps by draining some milk from the breast so that when its time for Hayden's next feed, there won't be enough milk in there so he'll have to suck harder and longer which in turn clears the clot and reduces the lump. While it is very painful, it is essential to constantly massage the lumps, especially when baby is sucking or else the clot may not clear.
Things that are supposed to help are massage, hot compress before massage, cold compress after feeding and getting baby to feed with his chin pointing towards the lump. The last point would mean that baby may be feeding in a different position to how he usually feeds. For me it blocked milk ducts are always at the bottom half of the breast which might mean the position that Hayden is usually feeding might not be correct hence he is always drawing and draining milk from the top half of the breast rather than the bottom half of the breast. I've got to find a way to change his feeding position, which is a challenge since he's almost 9kg now and positions like the football hold won't work.
If it happens to you, remember to be patient and endure the pain till its over. In the meantime, remind yourself on the benefits of breastfeeding and it'll somehow be worth the pain. =)
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