Mastitis €“ How could I have Mastitis?
I never paid much attention to the talks on mastitis at the breastfeeding meetings. It sounded awful and I had a lot of sympathy for the women who shared their tales of suffering, but it was not relevant to me. ;My daughter, Amber and I had enjoyed a trouble-free breastfeeding relationship for three years. ;Mastitis was somebody else’s problem. ;They were obviously doing something wrong while I was doing everything right.
My son, Ahren, was born when Amber was almost five. ;He was a good feeder, but only at home and only on the bed. ;When we went out he spent all his time looking around and not attending to his feed. ;Nor was he a comfort suckler as Amber had been. ;She would spend an hour on the breast whereas Ahren would be finished in ten minutes, eager to get busy again. ;When he was five months old we had a lovely day out at the beach. ;As usual, Ahren had a few sips at the breast and that was it. ;We came home, had pizza, put the kids to bed and I spent some time at the computer. ;As I was getting undressed for bed I started to shiver uncontrollably. ;“I must have sat too long at the computer and got cold,” I thought, “I’ll be fine in bed.” ;But I wasn’t; the shivering continued and my teeth chattered until my face ached. ;My pizza didn’t stay down too long, I had to run to the toilet to throw up.
I couldn’t think what was wrong with me. ;Had I caught too much sun at the beach? ;Was I dehydrated? ;Trust me to get sick the night before Good Friday when no doctors would be available. ;I was freezing and could not get warm. Extra blankets didn’t help nor did my husband’s body warmth didn’t help. ;A hot water bottle finally warmed me up when I put it behind my thighs and pulled the blanket over my head. ;Soon I started to steam and spent the night drenched with sweat. ;“That’s got to do me good,” ;I thought.
The next day I noticed two lumps in my right breast. ;The breast was red and hot and feeding was painful. ;“Damn,” I thought, “blocked milk ducts. ;Better do something before it leads to mastitis.” ;I knew I couldn’t have mastitis because I didn’t have a fever. ;I didn’t relate it to the shivering at all.
I tried to remember all I’d heard about blocked milk ducts. ;I knew I had to keep feeding, to clear the blockages. ;Fortunately my daughter had developed a boobie obsession since her brother’s birth so I was able to enlist her help. ;I spent all morning in bed; I drank lots of water but had no appetite and was wobbly on my legs. ;At lunchtime, I telephoned the Australian Breastfeeding Association helpline and explained my symptoms. ;The counsellor asked about my general health and I told her about the shivering. ;She gently asked if I’d heard about mastitits. ;“Yes” I said cheerfully, “I hope I’m not heading that way.” ;“I think you’re already there.” she said. ;I was stunned. ;She gave me good information about using warm compresses, massaging the breast towards the nipple, continuing feeding and resting. ;She listed some possible causes, such as tight bras, doing too much, etc; none sounded right for me. ;She suggested I see my doctor, who may prescribe antibiotics. ;“Thanks for your help.” I said brightly, put down the phone and burst into tears. ;I was devastated. I had mastitis. How could it have happened? ;
I spent a while wallowing in self-pity and then decided to take action. ;I went back to bed, applied a hot flannel and massaged the lumps. ;I had heard about a good homeopathic remedy for mastitis; who could I call that would know it? ;I phoned my midwife. ;“Phytolacca.” she replied instantly. ;I was relieved, I had some extra knowledge now, some weapons, I wasn’t just a helpless victim. ;There was no phytolacca in my homeopathic first aid kit however, so I continued with the massaging and hot towels, determined to see a naturopath first thing. ;
I slept a bit better that night and the next morning there was already some improvement. ;I went to see a naturopath, who prescribed phytolacca (poke root) tincture to take and ointment to rub onto the breast. ;I also kept up the massaging, hot towels and resting. ;Within two days the mastitis had cleared up entirely. ;I knew I was lucky; I had heard horror stories of persistent, recurring mastitis, lasting for weeks. ;I’d had no idea that it could develop so suddenly, without warning. ;Since then I have been more aware of Ahren’s feeding pattern and have taken more care to avoid engorgement, but I’ve still had a couple of scares. ;Armed with experience, awareness and phytolacca, I have been able to avoid a recurrence. ;And ‘Sorry’ to all those mums whom I so smugly misjudged in the past. ;Yep, I can get mastitis too.
Author - Fiona Lohrbaecher
Fiona was born in the UK where she lived and worked for 29 years before chucking it all in to travel. She met Juergen the German in New Zealand. Their first child, Amber 5, was born in Germany. They moved to Western Australia three years ago and now live in the northern rivers area of NSW where their son Ahren, 6 months, was born. Fiona has worked in archaeology, as a TAB clerk, a bank clerk, in charity fundraising and as a journalist, but being a full-time mum is the best, hardest and most rewarding job so far.
<< Previous Is Breastmilk Toxic? - Cause for concern or unfounded hype? | Back to Breastfeeding | Next >> MASTITIS €“ The Facts
