Blood-Stained Colostrum: A Rare Phenomenon at an Early Lactation Stage

Abstract

The phenomenon described in the literature as rusty pipe syndrome is a rare condition (the estimated incidence is 0.1% in the population of breastfeeding women) where the prenatal milk and the colostrum are rust-or blood-colored. Due to the rare occurrence of this phenomenon and the related nature of the baby’s regurgitated discharge—green, brown or blood-stained, there is a general fear of latching a newborn or continuing to breastfeed if the regurgitation persists. In this care report, a patient’s milk was tested to determine its microbiological and morphological content. No significant abnormalities were noted in these tests. The nutritional profile of the blood-stained colostrum was normal. Breast milk has an indisputably invaluable impact on the newborn’s further development and there is no connection between rusty pipe syndrome, as described in the litera-ture, and any clinical complications. This is crucial to encourage mothers to keep breastfeeding even if they observe blood-stained colostrum.