Do nipple piercings impact breastfeeding after all?

Whenever anyone asks me about nipple piercings affecting breastfeeding, I tell them that it doesn't - and that they should take the ring or post out before nursing!

But a recent study has me re-thinking this a little bit.

A study from Australia reported on:

three cases...in which women were unable to express milk from a breast they had pierced five to seven years earlier.

The women, ranging in age from 25 to 37, produced minimal amounts of milk from their pierced breasts despite frequent breast pumping and help from a lactation consultant. The medical team at the University of Western Australia used ultrasound to study mammary blood flow, breast anatomy and milk ejection in the women.

Researchers concluded that the most likely explanation was that the piercings caused milk duct obstructions, although only one blockage stood out in ultrasound images. That patient had obvious scarring from accidental tear-out of a nipple ring. Another patient had had an allergic reaction to her piercing. The third had no previous complications.

They conclude:  “These cases indicate that nipple piercing may cause complications leading to duct obstruction so that only minimal amounts of milk can be removed from the breast during lactation.”  They also note that "Women with piercings typically have no trouble breastfeeding, so the risk of lactation complications is probably small."

My advice has reflected La Leche League's conclusion:  "There is no evidence to suggest that a woman's pierced nipples will have any effect on her ability to breastfeed."  But this study makes me think that these situations may require a little more attention, especially when infection or scarring has occurred. 

It does make sense to me that some scarring or severing of milk ducts could occur when the place of piercing is also the terminus of all of the milk ducts, and that that could inhibit milk flow.  I also wonder if nerve damage could have occurred, since nerves in the breast are responsible for sending the message to the brain to release the milk-making hormones.  That said, I've worked with many moms who had had piercings, and it didn't seem to affect breastfeeding at all.

Have you nursed after piercings?  Any experience to share?

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