Mother nature has created a way to provide special nutrients and an easily accessible source of food for infants. Breasts, no matter how big or small, contain the intricate system to provide milk. The flow is usually self-adjusting depending on the needs of the baby.
Why Does Milk Come out of Breast If You Are Pregnant?
1. The Process Begins During Your Pregnancy
The early symptoms of pregnancy include changes in your breasts. They become tender to the touch, fuller in girth and there are changes in color and appearance.These changes represent the onset of milk production.
The area around your nipple darkens and the small points surrounding your nipples are more pronounced. These tiny projections are Montgomery glands. They secrete oil to keep the areola supple and free from cracks when the baby is nursing.
2. Changes Occur Inside Your Breasts
The glands and channels that form milk ducts actually develop when we are embryos. Fat, tissue and milk glands are the main structures in breasts. During puberty, a surge of estrogen causes breasts to grow, some grow more than others do. When you are pregnant, you have another flood of hormones that increase not only the size of the breasts but the number and size of ducts and canals.
The ducts branch into ductules, leading to a sac called alveoli. Several alveoli clumped together form a lobe. You can have as many as 20 lobes in each breast, and each one contains a milk duct. With each duct full of milk, you can imagine how heavy each breast will be. The pituitary gland stimulates secretion of prolactin. This initiates a filtering and absorption of sugar, protein and fat from your blood into the alveoli. This forms mother’s milk, which is pushed out of the nipple to the infant. Establishment of this structure is complete during the second trimester, so even if your delivery is premature, the body is ready to provide nutrients.
3. Full-Scale Milk Production Starts after the Delivery
Shortly after you deliver and expel the placenta, your hormone levels change, estrogen and progesterone drop and prolactin rises to meet the occasion. This means your body is in full-blown milk producing mode. This usually happens within 48 to 96 hours of delivery your first baby, with subsequent pregnancies, less time than that. With the elevated prolactin levels, the body prepares for an influx of blood and the beginning of lactation. Your breasts become swollen and tender due to the blood vessels engorgement and the milk supply is reaching its peak. You are now ready to feed your baby, and after a few days, the swelling and pain will be relieved.
Why Does Milk Come out of Breast If You Are Not Pregnant?
1. What’s the Reason for This Situation?
Having a discharge or drainage from your nipples when you are not pregnant is not always suggestive of serious illness. It should be investigated, don’t assume it’s unimportant. Persistent seeping of fluid from the nipples often has no known reason, but for others it is a basis for concern. While the age and medical condition of the patient is a factor, even young women can get breast cancer.
With any discharge, the color, consistency and odor should be observed to accurately describe it to your doctor. This information will assist with diagnosis.
If the discharge appears, milky colored and you are not breast-feeding or pregnant, you may have a hormone imbalance. For some reason your prolactin level is possibly higher than normal, this is called galactorrhea. It is not a disease, but may be a symptom of a disorder.
In contrast, a clear but sticky substance is frequently one of the first signs of inflammation or infection. The underlying cause is what needs to be determined and medically treated if required. With a severe infection, you will probably see bloody pus like material excreted. You should expect you to have a significant amount of pain with this and intravenous antibiotics may be required.
When leaking pure blood, you must think back and ask yourself if there was any trauma to that breast. Without a physical injury as the explanation, you must consider infection or even cancer as the reason. You need to pay attention to how much blood is coming out, is it a trickle or more.
If one breast is involved, there is a most likely a localized origin, an infectionor a cyst. If both breasts are affected, it broadens the scope of possibilities. It could be a reaction to medication, a pituitary gland disorder, cancer and the list goes on. In either scenario, you will need a complete checkup and to follow the recommendations of your physician.
2. What Can You Do about It?
Your eye specialist may find indications that your pituitary gland is larger than it should be. This development can limit your visual fields and cause an increase in prolactin levels. He would obviously refer you to a specialist for further evaluation to rule out any other problems with your breasts. That sounds ridiculous, but ophthalmologist often detects diseases and disorders first.
As women mature, the incidence of duct ectasia is increased. A milk duct dilates and a milky substance clogs the duct causing inflammation and possibly infection.It is commonly treated with antibiotics, but if this is ineffective, surgical removal of the duct may be advised. This is not likely to happen to women at a young age.
