Page 50 - playtimes_2011_10

T

he frst few months of motherhood are challenging. You’re a sleep-deprived, mumbling, stumbling zombie with huge, leaking breasts. Huge, leaking breasts that, all of a sudden, neither look nor feel the same as each other. Your left breast is unbearably red, hot and swollen, and nursing feels like torture. You’re exhausted and you feel like you’re coming down with the fu. Get yourself checked out and chances are you’ll fnd you’ve got mastitis – a painful breast infection that affects about ten per cent of breastfeeding women.

Do I have it?

Mastitis typically affects only one breast so it’s usually quite easy to realise that there’s a problem. Part of your breast may become infamed, hot and swollen, and there

may be a hard, sore lump. It may be incredibly painful to breastfeed, made worse by the fact that mastitis can temporarily distort the shape of your breast. Milk may look lumpy or stringy, and there may be signs of blood and pus. Your milk will also taste saltier, which may result in your baby grunting, “Thanks, but no thanks, Mama,” when you offer him your infected breast.

Why me?

Bacteria from a baby’s mouth, nose and throat can wriggle their way into cracks in the nipple. Mothers are most likely to fall prey to mastitis during the frst three months post-delivery. This is especially true for frst-time mothers who are mastering the art of breastfeeding and may either have cracked nipples caused by a poor latch-on, or engorgement because breasts are not being emptied properly.  

48 Playtimes