Breast Milk Leakage Stories from blis.com

    "I took my month-old baby to Florida for my grandmother's 80th birthday and family reunion. I decided to go to the beach with my sister and her family. Clara was asleep when we left, so I didn't wake her up even though it was almost time for her usual feeding. She woke up and starting crying about 15 minutes before we got to the beach, and I let down my milk. I was wearing cotton breast pads, but the milk leaked through the pad and poured down the front of my shirt, so by the time we got to where we were going my shirt was drenched."
Lynn Gumert
Harrisburg, PA


    "Being a first time mom I had NO idea that milk would leak even right after I had fed my son I would hear a baby crying (Not even mine) and I felt the slight cramping that warns that the milk is coming down, at first I just folded my arms across my breasts as hard as I could but this is a real inconvenience (especially when you are holding the baby in public) and it looks strange too (hee hee) well one time I was out shopping and usually wore a flowery printed shirt I found that hid leaks better, WELL that day I had a black shirt on and was determined not to get it wet so I went to the public bathroom and stuffed toilet paper down my bra, later I was in baby's R Us and they have a nursing room, and the baby was hungry, some other moms were in there too, I had forgotten that I had stuffed the toilet paper down my bra and when I pulled my breast out there was soggy paper that fell to the ground some of it still stuck to me, I was horrified, I have since learned my lesson to never do that again :-)"
Loraine Thompson
Dallas, GA


    "About two weeks after having my first child, I went to visit a friend about an hour away. After the initial greetings, we decided to drive to the local grocery store and pick up some items for dinner. Soon after we left, I noticed I had leaked through both breast pads and my dark pink shirt was soaked. My friend said she would just run into the store and I could stay in the car.

    HOWEVER, no sooner had we parked and my friend gotten out of the car, than a friend of hers approached the car. I did not know this person and it looked very odd and rude for me to sit there in the car. I emerged from the car to shake her hand as we were introduced. Since my problem was glaringly obvious, my gracious friend said, "She just had a baby and is embarrassed because the baby wet on her right before we left." The other person graciously pretended to believe this but I was still mortified!

    From then on I always carried an extra t-shirt and bra in the diaper bag. Live and learn!"
Heather Jordan
Burlington, KY


    "I was at dental office for a cleaning. I had just checked the padding of my bra. This was to make sure I was not leaking. The dental assistant sent me to the waiting room. Everyone in the waiting area kept looking at me but smiling. A little boy came up to me and said 'Look Mommy she spilled juice on her just like I did.' The right side of my shirt had a huge wet spot." 
Judith Wilson
Cincinnati, OH


    "I was in line at the grocery store and I noticed people looking at me strangely but I didn't get it. I got up to the check out line and the cashier said Ma'am, are you okay and I said sure why, well cashier said you may have spilled something on your shirt because it's wet. Well, I was so embarrassed at that time I just walked out without getting any groceries and drove straight home."
Rena Patterson
Birmingham, AL

    "Simply put, my story is one in which I was completely oblivious to at the time, thankfully! I would leak from the opposite breast as I nursed nearly every time, unless I mashed that breast flat! In public, that was my only option. At home, especially at night, I would doze with my baby as we nursed. I wasn't aware of the fact that my leaking breast would spray my poor unsuspecting husband as I dozed, leaving him with a milk mist. Months after my daughter weaned herself, I found places in my room around my bed where the milk spray had left evidence of my previous movements!"
Leslie Marshall
Portsmouth, RI


    I am a breastfeeding mother who owes a sincere debt of gratitude to the Blis product. As a woman, I must rank it up there with Tampons and premenstrual medicines! On a more serious note, I also feel compelled to say that since starting back to work, if it wasn't for the Blis product, my son and I would not be continuing to reap the benefits of our breastfeeding relationship. The Blis product was a miraculous find and a true blessing! Without a doubt, every breastfeeding mother should add the Blis product to her list of "must-haves". Thank you.
Feeling Free and Confident,
Melissa Valentine
Cincinnati, OH

BML ADVISORY COUNCIL FACT SHEET  

·         85% of new mothers leak heavily enough to soak through their clothing, yet they often don’t seek help from their health care professionals. 

 Studies have demonstrated that women find BML to be both inconvenient and embarrassing.  In addition, recent studies have proven that prolonged exposure to wet nursing pads can increase incidences of sore nipples and breast infections.

−Wallace B.C., RNC, EdD, Zelen M., PhD, and Zani Pachebo C.L., BA, MSN: Milk Leakage in Breastfeeding Women: A Clinical Trial Evaluating a Polyvinyl Chloride Device Versus Disposable Breast Pads; Journal of Human Lactation, 1997

 “The dearth of consumer-oriented information about the nature of leaking places the onus upon…providers of women’s health care to prepare mothers-to-be for this potentially negative aspect of lactation.”

−Morse J.M., RN, PhD, and Bottorff J.L., RN, MN, MEd: Leaking: A Problem of Lactation; Journal of Nurse Midwifery, January/February 1989

 ·         Unfortunately, many new mothers who initiate breastfeeding at birth make the decision to wean prematurely due to the negative affects of BML.  This is especially true for the new mother who is returning to the work setting after the birth of her baby. 

 Studies show that BML is one of the primary concerns that breastfeeding mothers face in making the decision to continue nursing after returning to the workplace.  Research also indicates that common solutions such as pads that collect moisture and shells that contain leakage, more often than not, are ineffective.

−Morse J.M., RN, PhD, and Bottorff J.L., RN, MN, MEd: Leaking: A Problem of Lactation; Journal of Nurse Midwifery, January/February 1989

Despite the clear advantages of breastfeeding, only 60% of mothers breastfeed their infants at birth, and only 20% are still nursing when the baby is six months old due to the physical and societal impediments incurred with breastfeeding.

−Ryan A.S.: The Resurgence of Breastfeeding in the U.S.; Pediatrics, 1997