I have leaking breasts. Should I worry or see a health care provider?

They're really sore todayYes. Although it’s not an emergency, you should make an appointment to see your health care provider any time you have any kind of breast discharge. A discharge from your breast(s) could mean that your breast(s) are infected, that a breast duct is dilated (widened), or that you have a hormone imbalance. The discharge can be on just one side or from both breasts.

Milky discharge is normal after a pregnancy to allow for breastfeeding. Discharge can also occur after a miscarriage. Occasionally teen girls have a milky breast discharge called galactorrhea (gah-lack-toe-ree-ah). This condition can result from taking certain medications for mood problems and rarely birth control pills, from being pregnant or recently being pregnant, from low thyroid hormone levels, or rarely from a small benign (not cancerous) pituitary tumor.

Your body could be making extra amounts of a hormone called prolactin, which can cause this white discharge from your nipples. A brown or bloody discharge may come from dilated breast ducts or small polyps in the breast ducts. A small amount of yellow discharge very rarely occurs around the time when a girl starts her period.