Salty breastmilk.. whats going on??

[BubblyMum]

Hello Ladies,
to start from the begining i never managed to get my little Beth onto my breast. I was very disapointed to not be able to do it. I tried several times to put her back on with no success so She has been getting expressed milk which is the next best thing. i felt even though i cant have the closeness of her feeding from my breast at least shed be getting the best milk. My supply has been getting lower and lower no matter how much i express.. Now my milk tastes really salty and is a grey colour rather than white Is this the end of breastmilk for my little princess?? What does salty milk mean. I havent changed anything in my diet so cant work out what is going on. I hope someone can help me out.
Thanks in Advance!!

from
A very tired dissaponted confused Bubbly!!

[Mrs Nietzsche]

Are you getting your period? or pregnant?

[BubblyMum]

Not sure about period. Havent had one since Beth was born 7 weeks ago. Just bits of blood on and off. And as for pregnant I surly hope not lol. That would be crazy!! But i doubt it as i dont think ive had a proper period....

[Oblena]

About the expressing, I found it got harder as I got more and more tired over the weeks, and the pump, may not be working as effectively as you'd like. Firstly, the baby would get more, but seeing as you've only expressed your body should be asscociating the pump with the let down iykwim.

Maybe it your pump???? If it has been used every day for 6 + feeds, it may not have been heavy duty enough to cope and now doesn't do the job properly.

Are you using the hospital grade on that is designed for use all teh time? Most pumps are designed just for the occasional express session, so mums who need to express for every feed, have to use a better quality one.

Maybe call the ABA or your chemist to go about hiring a different and more efficient pump and see how you go.

Good job by the way - pumping every feed is HARD work

[UmmInayah]

Salty breastmilk can be caused by mastitis.. Don't know if this helps.

[BubblyMum]

Hi ladies,
Thanks for ur replies. i am using a medela one from the chemist..so i dont know if its that... its still salty.. i dont have sore breasts or any lumps in them... i still am not sure what is going on...

[littlemissmoi]

i also heard that salty milk is a syptom of mastitis. I'm not sure if it's the only symptom that can show, but if you're feeling rundown, you might not notice if you have a low-grade infection. Perhaps it's worth a visit to the GP, and also a phone call to the ABA?

[lukaelmo]

My milk was salty when I had mastitis, and (sorry way too much info coming!) even now, a good year and a bit since Felix weaned, I have a teeny bit of milk and it's salty.

I asked the ABA about it once, and I can't remember what she said it was, but she did say it wasn't harmful to the baby.

In my very inexpert opinion, I might venture a guess that it's because your supply is lowering. Have you tried those lactation cookies? There is a recipe on here somewhere for them, when I was running out of milk I ate them and took lots of herbs... it helped .

Good luck, and yes, well done on the expressing, hard hard work, I couldn't do it!

[SpottySocks]

I'm sorry, I don't know about the saltiness but as for the colour, breast milk does change as you bub grows. I have expressed milk that sometimes looks very greenish, other times it is a grey/blue colour and early on it was white/creamy coloured.

It may be that the taste also changes, hence the saltiness??

Have you tried the lactation boosting cookies, I have heard they are very good for boosting your supply. Make sure you are drinking lots of water too.

It might be too late but have you tried a nipple shield? Just thought bub might find this similiar to feeding from a bottle.

Goodluck. You've done a great job to express for 7 weeks!