Mastitis.

First of all I would just like to say that even though he has no teeth, my little Noahbear has learned how to bite. Ouch! Also he is rolling around now... everywhere! It is absolutely adorable to watch, but it's also a little scary that he is now (kind of) on the move.

Noah at a dog walking fundraiser (SA dog rescue)

Today's topic is Mastitis! A nasty topic indeed. For those of you who have had it before, the title probably made you shudder, and for those of you who haven't well lets just say it sucks! (if that's not an understatement). Mastitis is when a milk duct becomes blocked, which then builds up milk which makes your breasts sore, it can make it harder to feed, and it makes your whole body feel terrible. It may cause baby to become a bit fussy when feeding off of the affected breast which can also make the whole healing process a lot harder. To avoid mastitis make sure baby feeds off of BOTH breasts regularly, not just one.

Some of the warning signs that you have mastitis are

• Lump/s in your breast (mostly near the surface)
• Sore breasts (not just the nipple)
•  Having a temperature
• Having flu like symptoms
• A red rash on the breast

So in other words, you feel terrible!

If you feel a blockage in your breast, the best way to get rid of it is take a nice hot shower and massage! Massage the lump until it goes away, then make sure to feed baby off of that breast next. If you believe you have mastitis then go to the doctors and get medication. Did you know that women used to actually die from mastitis, and that cows still do?! I'm not trying to scare you, I am just letting you know that mastitis can be very serious, but we have the right treatment for it now so go to the doctors and get that medication into your body! 

I've had mastitis two times (which is two times too many). The first time I got it was when Noah was about 4-5 weeks old, I was already struggling with breastfeeding at the time so having mastitis made it even harder. It started off with my breast feeling a bit saw, and I had a headache which I just thought was the 'getting used to breastfeeding' process. I then started to feel really cold and had blankets piled on top of me, and a red rash had formed on my breast. By this stage I had realised it was more than a head cold so I tried to massage out the lump, but the mastitis had progressed too far for a simple massage to get rid of it. My temperature had raised to forty degrees Celsius, feeding became harder, and I felt miserable! The next day I went to my doctor who gave me a shot of penicillin, and prescribed me antibiotics. It didn't take too long to heal and once it had I felt so much better! I then decided it was probably a good idea to regularly feed Noah off of both breasts instead of favouritising the one that hurt less.

The second time I got mastitis I began to feel a bit off, but with my previous experience I was able to recognise what was happening before it got too bad. So I hopped into the shower and massaged the lump, and I also had some medication left over from last time. It healed up within two days, and definitely didn't get as bad as the first time. Although I made the second time sound pretty simple, it still hurt... a lot. This also caused Noah to become a bit funny with his feeding which then caused my nipples to become really sore again, causing another struggle.

So remember if you think/know you have mastitis, get it checked out!

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