ok, so i’m right around the end of my first trimester, and i have to admit that i’m still figuring this all out. i have no experience being around pregnant women, so i’m going all on what my doctor and s.o. (who has two kids already) tell me. rest assured that i’ll probably ask my doctor about this next time i go in.
here’s my question, i have this clear liquid leaking from my nipples. s.o. says it’s “pre-milk.” i have no idea what that means, what it’s for, or if it’s normal for this to be happening at this point in my pregnancy. well, except that s.o. is seeming to take this as a sign that i’m farther along than we thought.
Hi, angel, mother of four and childbirth educator here…
At some point during a normal pregnancy, you will begin to produce colostrum. This is the fluid that your baby will drink for the first 2 or 3 days until your milk comes in. It is very important for your baby, as it contains many immunities which will keep your baby healthy in his first months. It also contains a laxative, to aid in getting rid of the meconium. (Meconium is basically your babies first poop. It is the accumulated waste products from his time in your womb and is a black/green, sticky substance quite unlike normal baby poop.)
If you give your breast a gentle squeeze around the areola (the darker part around your nipple) you’ll probably force a little out. Colostrum is quite rich looking, like heavy cream with a yellow tinge. When your milk comes in, it is quite a bit thinner, and more bluish.
Usually, woman don’t start seeing the colostrum until a little later, particularly in a first pregnancy. (You might tend to see it more often in the shower, because the warm water hitting your breasts stimulates the milk ducts.) It could be that your are further along than you thought, or you could just be producing it early. In any case, you should bring it up with your doctor/midwife at your next visit. She can look at it and reassure you that all is well.
I will also recommend, as a wonderful resouce for nursing mothers (assuming you intend to be one,) The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. It is published by La Leche League, and can answer just about any question you might ever come up with in regards to nursing.
Okay, on preview, I see that one of our resident doctors has responded, but I’ll reply anyway.
Just to check in, when I was pregnant mine started much earlier than the books said it would. And instead of looking yellowish and creamy, like my colustrum eventually was, it was clear. Thick, but clear. Not bad enough that I need nursing pads (which I went through like kleenex after Cranky Jr was born) but enough to blot up a dot/drop now and then.
As another dats point, over 12 months after weaning, I can still get a little milky stuff out. I guess I just have hard-working breasts.
Thank you, Quadgop. I think that most women in the US are woefully undereducated about our bodies. We seem to have lost, somewhere along the way, that community of generations of women who taught each other this stuff. (My own grandmother gave up nursing each of her babies when her milk came in, because she thought that she was supposed to keep making the thicker, richer-looking stuff. No one told her any different. ) I’ll take any opportunity to spread a little knowlege. Or, as my husband says, “Babies and boobs…can’t shut her up.”
Have you checked out http://www.babycenter.com yet? They have interesting weekly updates on your baby, interesting message boards, and other fun stuff—(see how big your baby really is vs. what it feels like
Sounds like an ad, but too much information is usually only a bad thing when you’re stuck next too a chatty stranger in a long line…
thank you for the information! i visited the websites you mentioned, and i’ll be looking for The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding when i go to the library tomorrow.
) I’ll take any opportunity to spread a little knowlege. Or, as my husband says, “Babies and boobs…can’t shut her up.”