Glossary
A
Abscess
Thankfully it’s rare, but an abscess can present as a small pus-filled lump that doesn’t move when you massage it. It can be really sore, hot and painful, and it can come with the flu-like symptoms of mastitis. If you have one of these, see your doctor. They may do an ultrasound or put a needle in to check what’s in there or try to remove it. Don’t stop nursing or pumping, as you need to keep removing milk from your breast. If it’s too painful to pump or nurse as usual, then try a lower setting on your pump or expressing just with your hands.
Alveoli
These are the little glands in your breast that create breast milk. They are hollow on the inside and have milk-making cells on the outside. They group together in little grape-like clusters called lobules. There are about 15-20 spaced out (not evenly necessarily) around your breast. Your milk gets stored in the hollow space within your alveoli and then they travel down towards your nipple along tubes, or milk ducts.
Areola
The areola is the darkened area around your nipple. During pregnancy your areola and nipple can become darker and larger. The little bumps around your areola are called Montgomery Glands, which also can become more visible as your body prepares for lactation.
B
Bleb
a.k.a milk blister. A bleb is a little, hard, white clump of solid milk, stuck over or near your nipple pore. Usually you can loosen it by soaking your breast in warm water or gently hand expressing some milk out. But sometimes skin can grow over the bleb, which means you might need to see your doctor to remove it. A bleb can be super painful and the pain can feel like it’s really sharp and running through your breast. If you keep getting blebs, it’s worth going to see a lactation consultant who can help you figure out what might be causing it. Common culprits are tight bras, pumping or nursing only in one spot, and wrong-flange sizes or pump setup.
Blocked duct
Blocked ducts can occur if you’re not able to effectively remove milk from your breast from expressing or nursing. You can get inflammation which can feel like a lump, and it can block milk flow along your duct. If you keep nursing or pumping as usual, and use ice or anti-inflammatories, you may be able to resolve it. If your lump doesn’t resolve, or starts to get painful or hot or red, or you start to have flu-like symptoms, then see your lactation care provider or doctor. If you keep getting blocked ducts, it’s worth going to see a lactation consultant who can help you figure out what might be causing it. Common culprits are tight bras, pumping or nursing only in one spot, and wrong-flange sizes or pump setup.
Breast compressions
Also known as compressions. You can use breast compressions as a way to increase milk flow when you nurse or pump. Shape your hand like a C and gently press back into your breast rhythmically with pumping or nursing. When we say gentle, we mean it. Harder compressions do not equal more milk and you don’t want to bruise or damage your breast.
Breast shell
A breast shell is a small, curved cup that is worn inside a bra to help gently draw out inverted nipples. Some people use them during pregnancy and after birth to help prepare the nipples for breastfeeding. Some women find breast shells to be helpful in drawing out inverted nipples, although their effectiveness may vary.
Breastshield
Also known as the breast pump flange, this is the cone that you put your breast into on your pump. It can be hard plastic or hardish but thinner silicone. It has a hole at the end for your nipple to pass through and for milk to flow through into the pump bottle. Most pumps come with a standard size (around 23 to 24mm), which may not be the right size for you. We made Milkdrop cushions to attach to your breastshield or flange to make it more comfy on your nipple and areola.
→ Read: Flange Size 101
C
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The CDC is housed in the United States Department of Health and Human Services. It became a household name during the pandemic, but COVID-19 advice is not anywhere near all that they do. They are a great source of truth and evidence-based guidelines for practical questions you might have like how to clean your pump, how to store your milk or how to travel while breastfeeding.
Closed system / loop pump
A “closed system” pump means that the pump is designed so that your milk flows straight from your breast, through your flange to your bottle. In a closed system, your milk is prevented from coming into contact with the air-filled tubes that run from the pump/battery pack to the parts that touch your breast. It’s the opposite of an open-system pump. Hospitals like to use closed system pumps because it means that they can just provide you with parts for your breast, but not have to clean and sterilize the tubes that connect to the pump because they haven’t been contaminated. If your pump isn’t closed system, you need to take a bit more care cleaning the tubing.
Colostrum
The thick, sticky, clear to yellow, “first” milk that your body starts to make in the last couple of months of pregnancy. You tend not to make high volumes of colostrum, but you don’t need to – it is full of protein, vitamin A and immunoglobulins which protect your baby from disease and help them grow in the early first few days after birth.
→ Read: Collecting colostrum
Compressions
Also known as breast compressions. You can use breast compressions as a way to increase milk flow when you nurse or pump. Shape your hand like a C and gently press back into your breast rhythmically with pumping or nursing. When we say gentle, we mean it. Harder compressions do not equal more milk and you don’t want to bruise or damage your breast.
D
Double electric
A double electric pump just means that you have two sets of flanges and bottles, and that the whole pump is operated with a button (electric pump), rather than your hands (manual pump). Double pumping can save you time because you’re pumping both breasts at once, and there is some evidence that double pumping can increase your milk flow. Just keep experimenting to see what works for you.
Dyad
You might hear your health provider talk about you as a “dyad”. This is just a word to describe you and your baby as one unit together.
E
Engorgement
If you aren’t able to “remove” milk from your breast often or effectively enough then your breast can become swollen to the point that your milk flow is blocked. Your breast can be hot, your skin tight or even shiny and it can be very painful. It can happen in the first few days and weeks after birth as you learn to nurse or pump effectively and is beyond the typical swelling you have around Day 2 to 4 after birth and typical “fullness” you feel when you need to pump or nurse. If you have engorged breasts, keep trying to nurse and pump as normal. For the pain and swelling, you can try a shower or a bath, or soaking breasts in a pan of lukewarm water (yes it sounds strange, but it can work) to allow a little bit of excess milk to flow out. If you start to have flu-like symptoms and redness, see your health provider. What about cabbage leaves, cold gel packs, herbal compresses or massage? Unfortunately reviews of studies on engorgement treatment have found that although some of these treatments could be promising, there’s not enough evidence to draw any conclusions about their effects.
EBF / Exclusively breastfed
This is a term used to describe a baby who is receiving only breast milk as their food. It historically was more of a clinical or policy term, defined by The World Health Organization, but unfortunately the word ‘exclusive’ ended up being used more widely, and can make you feel really down or judged if you’re trying to feed your baby only breast milk but struggling. Don’t let it get to you, you’re doing just fine.
EP / Exclusive Pumping
This is when you are feeding only breast milk to your baby via breast pumping. You may do this if you’re unable to feed directly at the breast or would prefer not to. The “exclusive” part of the term can leave you feeling a bit judged if you are pumping and also feeding a bit at the breast or supplementing with formula. Try not to let the definition get you down, the community of EPers tend to be quite welcoming and will want to support you.
Expression phase (or mode)
This is a mode on most pumps that is designed to mimic the pattern of sucking that a baby tends to transition to once they’ve latched and stimulated your nipple, and have slowed down to suck and swallow milk. It’s a slower phase than the stimulation phase, and you may find that at this point you might increase the suction a little to make it stronger (only if comfortable). As usual, the key to pumping is trial and error, to find out what works for you.
F
FTT / Failure to Thrive
Ooof. This is a hard one to hear. It’s a clinical term that describes a baby whose growth is lower than medical professionals advise and needs some medical attention. It’s not meant to be a judgment on your ability to look after your baby, but if your baby has been described by this term it can feel like a kick in the guts. Thankfully, it just means that you’re going to get some extra help to feed your baby.
Flange
Also known as the breastshield, this is the cone that you put your breast into on your pump. It can be hard plastic or hardish but thinner silicone. It has a hole at the end for your nipple to pass through and for milk to flow through into the pump bottle. Most pumps come with a standard size (around 23 to 24mm), which may not be the right size for you. We made Milkdrop cushions to attach to your breastshield or flange to make it more comfy on your nipple and areola.
→ Read: Flange Size 101
Foremilk
This is the milk that you express at the beginning of your feed. There’s an idea out there that suggests that your foremilk is watery and your hindmilk is creamy, and therefore your hindmilk is better for your baby.
Like with most things in the human body, it’s probably not that simple. This idea came from a study in the 1960s, when they looked at fat content from one woman expressed with a breast pump. She had higher fat content in the second half of her pump, than in the first half of her pump. This may have been true from her, but this idea doesn’t translate to every person every time.
More recent research is suggesting that fat content is correlated more with how quickly your baby or your pump can remove milk from your breast. Watch this space for more research.