can i prevent mastisus 2nd time round

[mad4mybaby]

with ds i didnt want to BF at all. Decided in the end to give first few feeds as id read even just one feed is hughley beneficial to them. I only bf twice as he stopped feeding (he got ill) and then few days later i got mastitus and had anti biotics and was v ill with it. Is there anything you can do to stop it happening? I plan on doing the same this time..

Do you mean you intend to breastfeed for a few days and then stopping immediately?

Well cutting down gradually will help. Also keeping an eye out for the signs of mastitis (blocked ducts, swelling, redness, fever etc) and heading them off with cabbage leaves in the bra etc. can help. But there is nothing to say you will get it again, nor that it had anything to do with your feeding regime.

I am still breastfeeding a 19 month old and I've had mastitis, sometimes there is no real reason other than you are run down and it's an opportunistic infection.

You have my sympathy, I've had mastitis too. It helped me to express milk if I felt full - keeping the milk flowing reduced the chance of getting a blocked duct and if your baby can't feed, expressing and reducing gradually can help. Hopefully this time you will have a baby who doesn't get ill and you will be more successful breastfeeding

thanks guys no i mean literally giving like 2 feeds. So before the actual milk comes through. I know that seems silly but thats what i have decided because i dont want to NOT do it for this one when i did for ds