Whether you are planning for a baby or avoiding pregnancy, if your breasts are leaking or suddenly oozing a small amount of milk, the signs of pregnancy cannot be ruled out completely. However, this is not a sure-shot way of inferring whether or not you are actually pregnant. In any case, do not ignore it. Because leaking of breasts may also be because of reasons other than pregnancy. A case of milky or clear discharge from breasts may be due to a condition called galactorrhoea. This condition is mainly caused due to the hormonal imbalance in the body.
Possible Reasons for Leaking Nipples
While it can’t be ignored that leaking breasts could very well be a sign of pregnancy, let us understand what the other reasons that cause breasts oozing liquid are.
Oral Contraceptives & Medications
In many cases, oral contraception may also be the reason for such discharge. Certain medications are also to be blamed for breast leaking. Patients undergoing some treatments such as psychiatric problems and concurrent thyroid disorders also face this issue at times. Normally doctors treating such patients do inform regarding such occurrences and generally, there is nothing to worry about in these cases.
Stimulation
In cases where leaking of breasts is a sign of early pregnancy, the reason is the stimulation of the breast tissue. This stimulation is most likely the cause of breast leaking. While talking about breast stimulation, it is indeed worth mentioning that breast stimulation during long foreplay can also be one of the reasons that cause nipples to leak.
Pregnancy
When a woman is expecting, her breasts undergo some significant early-stage changes. They receive more amount of blood due to pregnancy hormone level increase. This change makes them swell and a bit sore too. Any women experience tingling and extra sensitivity too. But even after undergoing various changes during pregnancy, the breasts are unlikely to produce milk until the birth of the baby. The breast may discharge clear fluid but milk is most likely not a possibility.
Uncommon Medical Conditions
In case the pregnancy is ruled out, there can be some other serious conditions that may have caused the leaking of breasts like duct papilloma, duct ectasia, and breast or nipple abscess. Out of these three conditions, breast or nipple abscess is a painful one that is caused by the collection of that form in the breast tissue or in the area around the nipples.
Therefore, it is always recommended that every woman whether expecting or not should not ignore and take the leaking of nipples seriously. Instead of drawing conclusions all by themselves, it is advisable to go to a doctor and get it thoroughly checked.
