Mastitis - How To Recognise It and How To Treat It

A bit of history about my experience with breastfeeding and mastitis: I breastfed both my children - my daughter (now 4) for 10 months, and my son (now 2) for 14 months. 

With my daughter I had many problems with breastfeeding, as is quite common for first time mothers.  Although breastfeeding may be the most natural way to feed your baby, we are rarely around another breastfeeding mother until we become mothers ourselves, and then quite often around other first-time mothers who are having just as many problems as we are. 

With my daughter, I had four episodes of mastitis in the first three months of her life.  The first one (when she was three weeks old) was so bad that my milk supply completely dried up.  I had to put her onto formula, (which I hated doing), and then work on expressing my milk while she fed from the bottle.  I then put her on the breast once her hunger had been satiated by the bottle so she was more relaxed about being on the breast. 

I took fenugreek tablets (available at any pharmacy) to promote milk production, and just kept at it.  It took nearly two weeks to get her completely back on the breast, but after that I breast fed her until she was 10 months old.  I still would give her the occasional bottle of formula at around 5pm, when she was hungry and I was low on milk reserves.

With my first bout of mastitis, it got so bad before I realised what it was by the time I went to see a doctor I had to take antibiotics.  This was particularly hard for me because I had been diligent about not taking any medications that might have affected her when I was pregnant, and now, at three weeks old, she was getting the antibiotics I was taking :(

With subsequent episodes, I learnt to quickly identify the symptoms and act on them before it started to affect my milk supply and my health.

One of the first symptoms was a painful "hot spot" on the side of my breast (wherever the blocked milk duct was) and a slight fever.  This was hard to recognise in the early weeks after birth, as my breasts were always painful from my milk coming in and both of my babies were born in summer, so I felt like I was always hot.

Once I recognised the sore spot, I would use a hot wheat bag that had been heated in the microwave to place over the spot, and then while I was breastfeeding (always off the infected side first) I would massage the sore spot with my thumb in a foreward movement, stroking from the back of the breast to the nipple. 

Hot showers were also helpful, as massaging the hot spots in the shower helped to clear the blocked milk ducts. 

I also found the use of essential oils useful, including geranium, peppermint and poke root oils, (which are used to treat mastitis) diluted in a carrier oil, (like apricot kernel oil) to make them easier to apply.

With my son, breastfeeding was much easier all around, probably because I was a lot more relaxed and experienced than I was with my daughter, and this, combined with me being able to recognise the early signs of mastitis, meant that I suffered less and had an easier time breastfeeding.

I also recommend getting in contact with your local breastfeeding association, as they're fantastic for giving advice and support to mothers.  They don't just help with breastfeeding, they offer advice and support for all facets of motherhood and parenting.  You can find out information about support in your area from the maternity hospital you delivered at, or by searching for "breastfeeding association" on your favourite search engine.