Breast abcess

[Lynzjam]

Grr im scrapping the Lynzjam thread. Stupid phone.

So I'm looking for you guys to tell me if you have had a breast abcess before.

I did some research about it and according to some you can have great difficulty breastfeeding at all if you've had an abcess. Is that the case?

I was diagnosed with one today and prescribed amoxicillin.

yes it can, but usually it doesn't..........good positioning of the baby to drain the segment of the breast that previously had abscess is a good idea and some people suggest always feeding from the affected breast first, but it depends on the appetite of the tiny mite, where the abscess was and fate! If it cleared with amoxycillin and no surgeons got involved then the chances are that the breast architecture has not been altered. Don't lose any sleep and hope tht the child)ren_ has/have a powerful suck!

I have not had an abscess but I understand that it can affect breastfeeding depending on where the abscess was.

You will need to get some real life advice. Try the NCT helpline 0300 330 0771 or La Leche 0845 120 2918.

There is a thread about abscesses here that might be helpful.
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/breast_and_bottle_feeding/875515-Abscess-Sufferers?pg=1

Good luck

I had two operations on a mahoosive abscess, and asked for the 'pretty' scar as opposed to the 'keep feeding' one. Although I had stopped feeding I still got milk from that side for a while (and if I try hard I can still get a few drops ) So all is not lost.

by the way so much c* is talked about things that supposedly stop breastfeeding I would take much of what is said with a bucketful of salt and give it a go...after all people with only one breast have successfully breastfed and I recently met 70 year old triplets who were breastfed by their mother to 18 months. I am not a natural earth mother and had abscesses, positioning problems and a prem, ill baby but even I managed to breastfeed all 4 of my children for 14 months! Good luck.

just bumping this for more replies for you :(

I had an abscess and kept feeding with no problems. I think I was lucky (!!) in that my abscess never erupted - it was just a big hard tender lump deep in my breast. I took the antibiotics, had it prodded, scanned, biopsied and drained. My fantastic breast doctor encouraged me to keep feeding and that my clever boobs have problem bypassed the blockage (I think it is just scar tissue now) and so my milk supply should be unaltered. She did say that I may have issues with supply with my next baby but it definitely not certain.

My advice would be to get the best specialist advice you can. I went to a breast clinic and they were incredible.

I know that abscesses can be horrific but this is not the case for everyone. You could be one of the lucky unlucky ones like me!!