Baby Talk

Milk fever is a condition in which the breastfeeding mother has fever and general discomfort accompanied with engorgement of breasts or sudden weaning from the breast. “Milk fever” is an outdated term for plugged ducts but plugged ducts are usually not associated with fever and if there is fever then the condition is likely to be mastitis which is a breast infection. Is it not sure why some women can get mastitis and some cannot but there is confusion between the two conditions, blocked ducts and mastitis. In the time after delivery, there are usually two possible reasons for fever in the mother; uterine infection and mastitis. Both conditions require medical attention but normally, mothers don’t need to stop breastfeeding the baby. Mastitis is an inflammation of the breasts which can cause sore breasts, body aches, and fever and fatigue in the mother. The breast area can become pink and both or one breast can become afflicted. Usually a poor latch on part of the baby and consequently, poor draining of the breasts is a cause of mastitis.

The difference between mastitis and blocked ducts is that the plugged or blocked ducts don’t require treatment with antibiotics, whereas mastitis often requires treatment with antibiotics. A blocked duct is usually a painful and swollen mass in the breast, the skin over the duct is red but less intensely so than caused by mastitis. Blocked ducts will almost always resolve with 24 to 48 hours without any treatment. Certain measures can be taken to quicken the process basically by continuing to breastfeed on the affected side, draining the affected area properly, using breast compression while the baby is nursing, applying heat to the affected area using a heating pad or hot water bottle and resting as much as possible.

Blocked ducts can lead to mastitis and if the symptoms similar to mastitis appear then it is better to start antibiotics. If the mother’s symptoms are worsening over the next 12 hours, she must start antibiotics and if the symptoms of the mother haven’t improved or decreased, then again she should start antibiotics. But if the symptoms are decreasing then there is no need to use antibiotics and the symptoms will eventually fade out during the next 4 to 5 days. Throughout the affliction, the affected mother should continue to breastfeed the baby without fear of transferring the virus but the breast milk is meant to protect the baby from such infections and diseases so breast milk should be continued to be given for exactly this purpose. If mother’s experience extreme pain then they can discontinue breastfeeding for awhile and using a good quality breastpumps like Pump style advanced to express milk and feed that to the baby.

To cure mastitis, mothers should nurse the baby frequently; this ensures that the breasts are emptied frequently. Plus, the baby should have a good latch on the breasts and a good position while breastfeeding. Interrupting a regular schedule of breastfeeding is likely to prolong your symptoms and increase risk for complications. In addition to this, you must visit the physician as well so that they can recommend an antibiotic that is compatible with breastfeeding; they can also prescribe a pain reliever to help with the inflammation and fever. In addition to this, you can apply warm, wet compressors to soothe the breasts, drink lots of fluids and rest abundantly. There may be a couple of reasons why mastitis is contracted in breastfeeding women, it could be because of backup of milk in the breasts, restrictive breastfeeding schedules, poor position and latch of the baby that fails to drain the breasts, overabundant breast milk supply, very tight bras or clothing and a sudden reduction in breastfeeding. While treating mastitis, breastfeeding shouldn’t be stopped just because the breasts are inflamed and hurting; breastfeeding allows the milk to flow which is important to heal and soothe the breast. It is also a good idea to purchase a good quality manual or electric breast pump and use it regularly to empty the breasts if the baby is unable to. Breastfeeding mothers should keep themselves away from stress, anxiety or any kind of emotional fatigue since these factors can also cause breast problems and interfere with breastfeeding.