Why is my nipple bleeding now (breastfeeding)?

Question

My child is almost 5 months and I have been breastfeeding exclusively with no major problems until now. This morning while pumping at work (with a Medela advanced pump) I looked down to find blood pouring into the storage bag. It took quite a while to get it to stop and after I cleaned up it appeared that the blood was coming from all around the base of my nipple. There also seemed to be some sort of white residue on my nipple. It does not hurt at all, but I am concerned to continue to feed or pump of of that breast. I have called my doctor, but have yet to hear back. Does anyone have any idea what the problem may be? I have had no trauma to the nipple that I am aware of and my baby does not appear to have white in her mouth, so I do not believe Thursh is the cause. Any tips would be appreciated!

Answer 1

Was the white residue flaky?  Creamy? Mucous-y? Etc?

Can you see an open wound on your nipple or does the blood seem to be coming from a milk duct?

Regardless of whether you offer that milk to the baby you really must empty the breast or you risk serious infection or abscess.

You could have thrush without the baby having thrush, particularly if you haven't been eating well or sleeping enough.  You could be run down enough to have overgrown yeast while your baby is healthy enough that it doesn't overgrow.  Remember most of us have small amounts of yeast on and in our bodies at all times.

http://www.mother-2-mother.com/mothercon...

Occasionally milk may take on a "pink" color. This is often a result of a broken capillary, or surface abrasion to the nipple. The pink color is a result of a small amount of blood, and it will not hurt the milk at all.

http://www.kellymom.com/newman/12more_bf...

6. A mother who bleeds from her nipples should not breastfeed.

Not true! Though blood makes the baby spit up more, and the blood may even show up in his bowel movements, this is not a reason to stop breastfeeding the baby. Nipples that are painful and bleeding are not worse than nipples that are painful and not bleeding. It is the pain the mother is having that is the problem. This nipple pain can often be helped considerably. Get help. (Handout #3 Sore Nipples and #3b Treatments for Sore Nipples and Sore b*****s). Sometimes mothers have bleeding from the nipples that is obviously coming from inside the breast and is not usually associated with pain. This often occurs in the first few days after birth and settles within a few days. The mother should not stop breastfeeding for this. If bleeding does not stop soon, the source of the problem needs to be investigated, but the mother should keep breastfeeding.

Healing Tips for Nipple Cracks or Abrasions

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mom/...

Answer 2

They are dried out, put some moisturizer on them, it happens when breast feeding. Some mothers after they feed use the milk to rub on your nipples and let them air dry.  

Answer 3

You know this happened to me too and it freaked me out also. I was pumping and looked down to see the bottle had a red color in it. I think I had the pump on too high where it was pulling my nipple through to hard and was tearing the tissue on the ends. I did call the consulting nurse and she just said to put the pumping aside for a day to let the nipple heal.

It did only take a day for the wound to heal. Yeah I don't know, it was freaky though.