Breastfeeding after mastitis

[Smew]

This is my first message although I have been an enthuiastic reader since I was pregnant. I would like to know if anyone else has experienecd loss of milk after mastitis. I developed mastitis when my son was 10 weeks old. It came from nowhere, I woke for a 5am feed and noticed that I felt terrible. I started antibiotics quickly and soon recovered. However, the milk on that side just disappeared and I was left with one large and one small, sad breast. I have contiued to feed off the other side but have had to resort to formula in addition as I was struggling to keep up with a hungry boy. The affected breast never recoved. I felt awful about this, especially as the HV told me it was my fault for not noticing that there was a problem early enough. I am now in the process of reducung breast feeds with a view to returning to work but I am haunted by the idea that I may not be able to feed off that breast after a future pregnancy. A GP friend says that it will return to normal but the HV says she's not sure. Has this hapened to anyone else? I haven't been able to find any information about this elsewhere so I'm hoping someone can help.

Smew, an NCT breastfeeding counsellor could probably answer your questions. You can call them on the NCT Breastfeeding Line 0870 444 8708.

Try this document - whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2000/WHO_FCH_CAH_00.13.pdf

Smew, did you stop feeding from the infected breast while you had the mastitis? Stopping feeding (or expressing) from the breast can slow or stop milk production. I had mastitis twice but continued to feed and had no problem with milk production after the mastitis had cleared up. Your HV sounds pretty mean to blame you for not noticing soon enough! Having experienced mastitis, I'm sure you noticed (and acted) very quickly!!!

Smew, this is my first message too. I agree with Chelle, your HV sounds really mean. I had 3 bouts of mastitis in as many weeks and there's no way you can ignore/not notice it! Sky high temperature and a lot of pain in the affected breast. I was told to keep feeding from that side cos my hungry boy would help to suck the badness out. Plus massaging the lump down towards the nipple. Both activities flippin' painful for the first day of doing it but it did help thereafter. Can't help on the 'next time' side of things but i'd be inclined to believe your GP rather than your decidedly unhelpful HV.

It really is horrible, I was wincing when I read the messages. I had it after both of my children were born. The first time I went to the doctor he said it was most likely flu but to watch out for redness swelling etc. I had it on both sides and can remember all too well the pain of feeding my little boy, it was like sharp blades - it was so painful that I cried at each feed. Eventually it passed and i continued to feed him for 4 months or so. The best cure was a breat pump (avent) that helped to express it out.

I did not imagine I would get it the second time. It made me very weak, I had a raging temperature and had a bight red colour that passed from my head downwards at one stage. I only had it on one side which made me want to use feed on one only. Cabbage leaves are very good for some reason. If you put them in the fridge or freezer and lay them on you there is a chemical in them it seems which helps to draw the heat etc out. After the antiboitics and cabbage I returned to feed my daughter on both sides, however she had reflux after that and my production could not outperform the demand! So, you can feed ok in future, I was I was told unlucky to get it twice. Cabbage leaves/anitbiotics/lots of water and as for the pain endurance - well I would give birth any time as opposed to have mastitis!

Reading these brings back lots of painful memories of mastitis. My frined called me the mastitis queen! I had it a couple of times after my first daughter was born, and once very badly. I did try to feed on the painful side, and that helped to clear it. With my second, I was told I was unlucky... Feeding was ok during the first few months , but around six months I had repeated bouts of mastitis .. I decided to bottle feed and to begin with every time I tried the odd bottle I would get mastitis. Eventually I did manage to wean her off me, with a lot of help from my health visitor, NCT breastfeeding counsellors and also a homeopath.. We all came to the conclusion that the reason I was so prone to it, was because I produced so much milk and my second was a frequent snacky feeder and never fully drained all my milk.. I definitely think the homeopathic remedies helped.

I was just very unlucky. I am sure you will be able to feed ok with a second baby and you will probably be much more aware of mastitis. I also found a good book on breastfeeding helped- I think the NCT does one. I also think mastitis is more painful then giving birth and yet hardly anyone tells you about it and many health professionals seem not to know about it !!

Good luck.

Thanks for the encouraging messages. I continued to express from the affected side. The GP that I saw that day said not to feed from it so I continued using the Avent pump but, even at that stage, I was only getting small quantities of blood-stained milk from that side. I restarted feeding after about 24 hrs of antibiotics but it never returned to normal; the hungry boy would empty it in a minute. This is when I started to supplement with formula which I hadn't really wanted to do so early on. I carried on producing milk on that side but in tiny quantities - about 1 floz when I expressed later on. I had thought that I was quite clued up but it seems that these things just happen so quickly. I'll try the NCT and let you know if they have any other ideas.

I'm surprise your GP told you not to feed off the affected breast - the normal advice nowadays is to FAVOUR the affected breast - it helps stop further blockages and reduces the chance of the infection becoming an absess. It does hurt though to feed from that side, so you need to grit your teeth!

Stopping feeding from that side (even though you were expressing) may have had more to do with the loss of milk than the mastitis as your baby is more efficient than the pump. However, it should have picked up again gradually once you put the baby back on that side.

However, it may be that you or the baby are naturally one sided - my right boob always produced less than my left, and over time this has become more pronounced (ds is now 11 months). I'm not sure however if this is self perpetuating as I know the ds will always get a "good" feed on the left side. I also know of someone else who b/f 3 kids, but one of them would only ever feed off one side, so while she ended up distinctly one sided while she was feeding that one!

I had mastitis once (in my left boob) in the early months with ds. Fortunately I recognised the symptons very early (I had had mastitis once before I was pregnant - highly unusual in a non-smoker) I woke up with a sore boob that was not just a blockage and demanded to see the GP urgently. Unfortunately the receptionist was a bit dim, despite me telling her what it was and gave me an appointment 2 days later. After insisting, I saw the GP at the end of the day, by which time I had a full "flare" - a bright red triangle from under my arm pit to the nipple - so your HV was indeed a bit mean as it can flare up very quickly. And also my experience has been that HVs don't necessarily know much about breast feeding - as others have said, the "proper" b/f counsellors are the best people to talk to.