Mastitis: My experience and treatment
Pictured is my breast the first time I got mastitis, it might not look like much but those that have experienced it before know that it is not a fun experience. I got mastitis twice after I had Paige and both times were absolutely horrible. Fortunately both times I was able to identify and manage it myself without needing to go to the doctors or go on antibiotics.
The first time I got it I was 6 weeks postpartum and it was my first time driving since having the cesarean, I remember waking up that morning thinking how things would be different now that I could drive again. I met Josh in town for an appointment and by the end of it the mastitis had hit me hard and I was ruined. Josh followed me home, he was about 5 minutes behind me and by the time he walked in the door I had fallen asleep on the floor next to Paige who was in the bouncer. He woke me up, I went to bed and stayed there for the rest of the day, he would bring Paige to me when she needed a feed, I would feed her and then roll back over to sleep. 😴
I remember feeling extremely deflated, just when I thought things were changing and life would be a little bit easier now that I could drive again, my body had other plans. Mentally this really hit me hard as I thought that I was ‘supposed’ to be feeling better now that I was 6 weeks postpartum. Society says that by now I ‘should’ be feeling better and be recovered, heck even the doctors made me feel like I should be ‘back to normal’ as I was given the tick of approval to exercise as normal (this is not ok, and for most people you CANNOT return to high intensity 'normal' activity at 6 weeks postpartum 😠!!!) Both times I got mastitis it was a Monday morning and it was after a big busy weekend. I have since learnt that in some cultures they believe that mastitis is a sign that the mother needs to slow down and take a break. This was something that I wish I had known sooner, I wish that we encouraged mamas more to take their time and for them to know that it takes longer than 6 weeks for your body and mind to heal after birth. I wish that there was more focus on the long term health of the mama rather than rushing her back into life.
What does it look like?
What are the causes?
Recommendations for treatment.
The recommendations for treating mastitis have actually recently been updated due to some new research. Old recommendations used to say that we should massage the breast and apply heat, but this always seemed strange to me. As a sporty person who has done multiple courses on treating soft tissue injuries and taught it to students at school we are always told not to massage an injury and to always apply cold to reduce inflammation
Symptoms
Inflammation.
Red, hot and tender breast. May look streaky and may extend towards the armpit
Flu-like symptoms including a temperature, chills and body aches
Increased fatigue
Causes
Inflammation of the milk duct. We used to say a blocked duct caused by an infection. But studies have now found that it isn't always caused by an infection and in these cases do not need antibiotics. It may be simply caused by inflammation of the duct or the tissue surrounding the duct causing the milk to not be able to flow as efficiently. This can be caused by an oversupply of milk in the breast or that part of the breast, or an imbalance of bacteria that makes up the breast microbiome
Recommendations
We used to encourage draining that breast and at times were even told to pump to completely empty the breast, but now breast rest is encouraged. Meaning feed your baby as normal and don't try to over feed on the one side or pump excessively, this increases inflammation. Just like if you had a sprained swollen ankle you wouldn't try to ‘run it off’ so why try to ‘feed it off’?....
Rest: As I mentioned in my last post, many cultures believe that mastitis is a sign that the mother needs to slow down and rest.
Ice: Just like you would with a sprained swollen ankle, ice your breast to help reduce inflammation. Frozen peas are great. Not heat. Heat dilates the blood vessels which causes more inflammation. Which is why we no longer encourage excessive massage, massage also causes heat. Again, if you had a swollen sore ankle you wouldn't be massaging it.
Stay hydrated: Just like you would if you had a cold or flu, hydration helps to flush out fluid and toxins.
Probiotics: Studies actually show that probiotics can help reduce the likelihood of you developing mastitis as it helps to rebalance the breast microbiome.
Anti inflammatory medication may also be beneficial.
