breast leaking white fluid
Alright so me and my girlfriend have been in a steady relationship and have intercourse on a regular basis. We both had ourselves checked out for stds a long time ago and know we are clear of them.
Anyways that being said we practiced a "natural" birth control method of timing her cycle.
Anyways for some reason her left breast has been leaking milk...she has never given birth before though either. We are worried and just wondering if this would be a definate sign of pregnancy or could it be something else?
Also are there many reliable pregnancy tests? And if so how early in a pregnancy can it be detected?
Thanks in advance for the response
mrman
Replies:
Yes, this is definitely a sign of pregnancy. There are many reliable pregnancy tests on the market. Just go to your local drug store and whatever you find there will be reliable. You could also go to a Planned Parenthood or other local health clinic to take a test. I think the earliest home pregnancy tests on the market will work about 5 days before your girlfriend's missed period, but a blood test at a clinic might work sooner.
If your girlfriend ends up not being pregnant or she decides to have an abortion, I highly advise that you start practicing a safer, more effective form of birth control. Timing cycles is NOT a good way to prevent pregnancy. A girl's cycle can be thrown off very easily by stress, diet, and a number of other factors. Even if you can predict her cycle exactly (which is unlikely), a girl can get pregnant at ANY time during the month, and sperm can live for days.
The most effective forms of birth control are hormonal. The Pill, Patch, vaginal Ring, and Depo-Provera are some different options of hormonal birth control methods. Condoms are also very effective when used correctly. Your local health clinic should provide free birth control if cost is an issue.
browneyedgirl
Yes i understand it is a sign of pregnancy...But i would also like to know if it could be caused by anything else? Like maybe some sort of imbalance of hormones??
Or would pregnancy pretty much be the only cause of this?
mrman
I cannot think of anything else it would be a sign of, but I'm not a doctor. The best solution is to get her to a doctor ASAP.
browneyedgirl
How do you know that it's milk?
Women's breasts can emit discharge when they have not been pregnant before during different times of the cycle. What is discharged is not breast milk, it is another type of fluid. Breasts are made up of glands, and all glands are responsible for secretions.
Hopefully you are OK with the fact that she might be pregnant, because I've heard that timing method is very unreliable. She should go to the doctor just to be sure she is not pregnant.
katiebug
Katie gives you the proper story. Some women do secrete a but during each menstrual cycle and it may not be milk. Let me emphasize that the advice you are getting about contraception is all right on.
There are, roughly, three variants of "natural birth control." The most accurate requires training of the woman and, ideally, her partner. It is not nearly as effective as the marketing literature claims. The temperature approach is moderately effective when doing the statistics for large populations. Simple timing is little better than nothing. The calendar does not know what else is going on in life and few of us have perfectly regular cycles.
If 100 women have regular, unprotected sex for a year, 85 will become pregnant. "Timers," about 40 will become pregnant.
Vatican roulette, anyone?
Brandye