If you’ve ever had mastitis you’ll know about it. Seriously not a pleasant experience. Despite having an easy breastfeeding experience with Molly this was the one thing that struck me down and knocked me for six.
I first got mastitis when Molly was around 4 months old. I had no idea what was wrong with me. I felt horrendous and presumed I had the flu. My body kept alternating between freezing cold and boiling hot. I was shaking and weak and felt absolutely awful. Trying to look after a little baby when you feel like that is not easy.
It was only whilst on the phone to my mum that she asked me if I had mastitis. I’d heard of it obviously but the thought never crossed my mind that that’s what it could be. Yes my boobs were actually quite sore and when I looked I had one bright red patch and underneath it was rock solid. Not entirely sure how I hadn’t noticed before.
I somehow managed to drag myself to the doctors who promptly prescribed a course of antibiotics.
The second time I got it I knew straight away. I was actually looking round Molly’s prospective nursery when she was 5 months old and it hit me like a tonne of bricks. I broke out in a sweat, was about to throw up and basically couldn’t even stand up. The lady must have thought I had bought some horrendous bug in but I had to assure her I knew I had mastitis again. I promptly called my mum to come and look after Molly and when she arrived I was sat shivering under my duvet by the radiator barely able to move.
You can get milder cases of mastitis but mine seemed to go all out. For any of you breastfeeding mummas I thought I’d share some of the symptoms and how to relieve the pain.
What is Mastitis?
Mastitis is a painful inflammation of the breast tissue most common in breastfeeding women within the first three months after giving birth. I obviously went against those timings! Although most common with breastfeeding you can still get it if you aren’t.
Symptoms
Causes
The biggest cause of mastitis is build up of milk. This can be due to a number of reasons such as your baby not attaching properly or a baby who has problems feeding. It can also occur when you begin to go longer between feeds or if you are choosing to introduce some formula bottles as well as was the case with me. It some cases it can be caused by tight clothing or a bacterial infection if you have cracked or sore nipples. Oh the joys!
Treatment
So there you have it. All the joys of mastitis in one post! Joking aside it’s a pretty nasty experience and I will admit to the second bout putting me off breastfeeding for much longer. I just didn’t want to go through that again. On the plus side the antibiotics does clear it up pretty quickly so if you get the symptoms make sure you hot foot it down to the doctors.
Has anyone else experienced mastitis and any tips for dealing with the discomfort?
If you own something that vibrates… (ahem…) that can prove very useful for unblocking and soothing sore spots. Albeit not exactly a treatment you want to break out around the in-laws.
I also found massaging the affected breast in a hot bath or shower particularly relieving. But yes… Yuck to mastitis. Like a new mother doesn’t have enough to deal with?
Oh Naomi….. Loving your alternative remedy!!! x
This method worked really well for me! Only had mastitis once but have had a few blocked ducts and red patches since and I quickly get some heat and vibration on them whilst drinking a lot of water. Luckily I’ve avoided a repeat of the full on version as once you know how miserable it is you definitely aren’t keen to go through it again!
I’ve had it twice once with my first at 3 months and a couple of weeks ago in BOTH boobs with my second when he was only a week old. You’re so right it is the absolute worst!! Totally agree with you to get to the doctors ASAP and get some antibiotics it’s the only thing that will really clear it up quickly. A friend recommended savoy cabbage leaves for cooling the boobs which worked well (ALL the glamour of sitting on the sofa feverish with your boobs out and cabbage leaves on them!) You have to keep up putting the leaves in the fridge to cool down again as they heat up quickly! I also took the supplement lecithin which helps to break down the trapped fatty deposits of milk.
The cabbage leaves! I never actually tried it but one friend got given them in hospital so obviously a good one to try. They walked around with them in their bra. Us mums are the epitome of glamour! xxx
I got this delightful little extra new mum gift in the first fortnight and was in absolute agony, it feel like broken glass is coming out of your nipples. But I wrote it off as normal nipple pain and the feeling rubbish and sweats as hormonal. Like you it was good old Mum who saved the day, clocked it and dispatched me to the out of hours GP. ThAnk heaven for the antibiotics which work so quickly. And pumping. And lecithin tablets to thin the milk (old wives tale? Dunno but it seemed to work). And a vigorously vibrating electric toothbrush to break up the blockages… ?
Poor Mum was the heroine for all of two hours, until a maggot fell out of the Savoy cabbage she was trying to persuade me to put in my bra….
Mums always know best don’t they. Do you think we will be the same? Hmmm, not too sure I’d be touching that cabbage after the maggot incident! x
I had it too, albeit not as bad as you poor lovelies, think I caught it early because of advice and knowledge from you actually Lottie 🙂
If you feel any lumpy areas, or your boobs start to become really, really hard (as in more so than normal when you haven’t fed for a few hours) massaging while your feeding also helps to try to stop it before it gets bad. And I second massage in a warm bath or shower too, just to release some of the blockages.
I didn’t take lecithin tablets but friends who suffered with it much worse did and would definitely recommend them. Nor did I try the vibration method…x
Glad to have been of service Fern! Definitely worth trying to stop it before it gets worse. I had a few milk blockages and the massage definitely does help xx
Think mastitis is something you hear about but don’t really consider until you get it. I couldn’t believe how fast it could come on. It hit me one evening about 3 months in, was sitting at a family gathering and initially just felt really tired and couldn’t understand it as we’d actually had a good night’s sleep the night before. Next I felt cold & shivery, and noticed a hot, red, painful area on one of my breasts. Thankfully big sister was there to get some advice from & I got myself home armed with some cabbage leaves. Once home I got her to feed & then expressed anything that was left, took some paracetamol & ibuprofen, and went to sleep with my cabbage leaf bra on. Next morning I actually felt pretty much back to normal, and by evening was fine. Lickily for me it went as quick as it came & didn’t need any antibiotics. Think for most breastfeeding related mastitis it’s an inflammatory process & not necessarily a bacterial infection that will need antibiotics.
It is ridiculous how quickly it happens isn’t it? So fast. Glad the cabbages helped! x
Vibration method ? Brilliant! Sadly I didn’t think of that when I got it twice aswell. It’s utterly horrid, worst flu of your life. Sadly I don’t have any tips bar get on antibiotics asap and a nice hot shower!
Hot showers all the way xx
I’ve had it 3 times in the 16 months I’ve been breastfeeding my son – managed to get rid of it once without antibiotics, but the other 2 times I needed them to shift it. The most recent time the (male) doctor recoiled in horror when he saw my boob, it was so red and hot! I can’t believe how quickly it came on either – the first time I was at a baby music class and I noticed my hands were really painful when I was drumming them on the floor – it then developed into horrendous flu-like symptoms within an hour. I’ve never really managed to find a trigger – it seemed to just be one of those things. It is the only time I’ve ever been off work sick in 15 years!
Three times is not fun. I really feel for you and as you say there just doesn’t seem to be a trigger which makes it even harder to prevent. Hopefully it won’t strike again for you x
I got mastitis with my first baby when she was 8 weeks old and ended up in A&E on a Saturday after the antibiotics I was given by a GP didn’t clear up the infection. I had IV antibiotics in hospital to enure it was sorted quickly and the experience was pretty stressful. so I would say if you are given antibiotics make sure you go back to doctor asap if things haven’t improved 48 hours or so later.
2 years on and I was on day 5 after having my son and the day my milk came in I got it again. I was so disheartened as thought breastfeeding/latch was going well. I decided to express for 6 weeks and then give it all up as falling so ill when you have a toddler and newborn just wasn’t an option. 2 weeks later I got it again, just from expressing. I was back on the AB’s for another course and then got hives as an allergic reaction and had to go to an out of hours doctor to get a different antibiotic. Not good! That was this bank holiday weekend so I’m now winding up the expressing once and for all as just can’t face another bout. It hits me very hard, I have no warning and can’t get out of bed. So after a tough first month with my new baby I’m glad to stop expressing, not be an ill mummy, and focus on my two children! I know I did the very best I could this time.
Oh Rachel, you poor thing. That sounds awful. It honestly floors you so much and after my second bout with Molly I didn’t really want to carry on as couldn’t face it again. Luckily I didn’t get it with Alice but it is definitely not fun being ill with a baby and a toddler. You need to focus on you and your littles. Hope things get a bit better for you now and you can enjoy your new little boy xxx
This article was a very interesting read, I am only 5 weeks from my due date so I have a feeling I could be referring back to this post again at some point soon!
On a slightly separate note, I love the picture on the shelf in the photograph – do you know where it is from?
Thanks 🙂
I’m sat here with engorged breasts watching the clock waiting for the next feed preying it doesn’t turn into mastitis. My baby has been in intensive care from birth for the last 2 weeks and so I was told by the hospital to express every 2 hours 8-10 times a day which now he is feeding off me has left me with way too much milk. So I’m being told too massage and try not to express ? I could literally feed all the babies in the hospital!!
Oh you poor thing, my advice would be express to you are comfortable. I had loads of milk at the beginning and midwives just told me that wasn’t a problem and not to express. However, the flow was so heavy out of one side that my newborn couldn’t cope with it, would latch on & start coughing, so would only feed off the other side. I had went with the advice of not expressing and encouraging her to feed for 24hrs and was rock hard & so uncomfortable! I expressed into a jug for relief and never looked back. She fed great then and I would have expressed when I felt too full. I think it was probably once a day in those early weeks. It all evened out eventually. 5 months in I can barely get any extra out & I wish I’d saved more of that excess supply at the beginning. It’s hard to go against advice but as with many of these baby related things it’s often best to go with what feels right for you.
I hope your baby is doing OK in nicu x