stopping bfeeding at 5 weeks, have mastitis (etc), should I just stop...

[Hazeyjane]

...or will this make the mastitis worse.

I am pumping atm, to try and relieve pain, but realise this will keep up my supply.

I am feeling pretty down about it all, and just want an end to it.

Thankyou.

i think that if you have mastitis, and you stop, then that is possibly the worst thing you can do for yourself.

better, more informed people than me will be along in a minute.

Hazeyjane :( :( sorry you are having a crap time.

Suddenly stopping bf is never a good idea - it really does mean a risk of breast abscess or worsening mastitis.

But if you are sure you want to stop, then a plan of action, which means you gradually wind down production, should be safe.

Speaking to someone will help you work out a 'schedule' - are you in touch with any good sources of help?

Well, when I was exclusively pumping and trying to reduce, I didn't decrease while I had mastitis (and I really sympathise as it's horrendous to clear with just a pump). Use lots of hot showers and hot flannels, massage the side with the blockage while pumping, stroking down towards the pump firmly but gently, possibly with the hot flannel. I found the hot shower beating down on my breast, while massaging and maybe a little hand expressing if I could stand it, then doing the pumping session very soon after the shower was a good combination.

Then once the mastitis was clear I slowly decreased the time I pumped for - so I went from doing say 5 mins on each side every 4 hours, down to 4.5 mins for a couple of sessions till that was comfortable, then down to every 4.5 hours for a few sessions, alternating which I changed. It takes longer, but for me it staved off the repeated bouts of mastitis I was dicing with. Don't decrease when you've planned to do so if you feel a blockage coming though, just work on the blockage till you're more confident that you're ready to decrease again.

I had mastitis at 6 weeks and bf'd like crazy to get the milk flowing while the antibiotics (bf-safe ones!) did their work on the infection.

At this stage (but I am no expert) your body is still working out how much is needed and when. If you stop, it won't respond immediately so you will suffer engorgement and possibly blocked ducts. To do that when there is a mastitis infection would be a bad idea.

I have huge huge sympathy with you. I remember very well feeding my baby while howling at the searing pain that sprang up when milk was flowing (as opposed to the dull ache when not feeding). And the same in the small hours of the morning with tears streaming down my face because I couldn't howl because DH needed to get a decent night's sleep for work.

Take your baby to bed, demand to be looked after by whoever's around, and feed through it. You need to kick the illness first and foremost, and use the action of feeding to get rid of the obstruction. Then make a decision about bf-ing, not now when it's so painful of course you want it all to stop.

I had this and feel your pain - it was like flu and I couldn't even walk to the loo I ached so much and the thought of my DD going near my boobs! But I'm afraid the best thing is to express/feed to help it pass. If you want to give up, I would not just stop but just reduce the amount you express and keep reducing gradually. I stopped after mastitis for many reasons but fed mixed formula with expressed. This didn't work for me for too long so after about 4 weeks I just phased out how often I expressed. At least this way if you want to give it another go then you will have a clearer view after the infection has passed.

Good luck and hope you feel better soon. Bad cases of mastitis are just horrible.

thankyou for the advice.

I am on penicillin for the mastitis and also because I have an infection in my csection scar.

I am definite about stopping, things have been so hard since ds was born, recovery from c-section has been slow, I've had inflammation in my leg veins, anaemia and now this infection. Ds has been ill, starting off with a week in SCBU with respiratory distress syndrome and jaundice. He lost tons of weight, and just as it started to creep up, I started getting blocked ducts, and thrush, so his feeding became very erratic and he started losing weight again, slipping down to the 9th centile. Dh came home on Friday to find me in tears, sweating and shivery, and took me to the dr, who said I had mastitis, thrush in the milk ducts and the infection. We had also spent the morning in the hospital with ds because of his breathing, fortunately his chest was ok, but they diagnosed reflux.

I just can't handle it anymore, I felt so proud that we had managed to b'feed. I had lots of problems with dd1 and 2, mainly that I have nipple vasospasm, so I was really pleased that b'feeding was relatively painfree at the beginning, but thinking about it I now realise that was probably because I was on morphine and paracetemol and codeine(quite a cocktail!) Ds had been tube fed for 3 days, so had no interest in latching on and my milk took 6 days to come in, but we learnt how to do it, and it felt amazing to actually be able to feed him.

Dh took all his holiday (he had saved it up), and my mum has been up to help, but dh has gone back to work now, and my mum has ill health and finds our dds (3 and 4) pretty exhausting,

The last week things have just got worse and worse, my breasts feel painful all the time, and whenever ds fed it was like someone sawing through my breast. When the bfc came sent by the HV,to watch me feed, I was sweating it was so painful. Ds has not been settling, so we have hardly got any sleep, and to find out that he was slipping down the centiles just felt like a slap in the face.

My dds have been amazing, entertaining themselves, and I felt very proud watching dd2 'breastfeeding' her doll the other day. But I miss them, they'll both be off to school in a few weeks time, and all they'll have seen of me for the last few weeks is me stuck in hospital, or sat on the sofa in tears.

sorry for the long long post, it feels good to write it all down, because I am very sad about stopping.This is our last child, and breastfeeding is something I desperately wanted to do, but I don't want to beat myself up about it. I just really want to enjoy my family.

In the meantime, I will pump to relieve the pain, but gradually do a bit less each time, and I'll call the HV on Monday and see what she says.

No advice I'm afraid but I just wanted to say that I think you've done incredibly well in the face of some horrible stuff, and you've given your wee one a fabulous start. I really hope you start feeling well soon and are able to enjoy your lovely kids. Best wishes.