Mastitis 101

As you must know by now breast are complicated and man can they cause pain that you wouldn’t wish upon your worst enemy!

Mastitis is something new moms want to avoid at all cost. you are already exhausted, your baby is hungry and now you are in dire pain. If you catch it early (within the first. 24-48 hrs) antibiotics may be able to be avoided. Mastitis is defined as inflammation of the breast not an infection however if ignored it can turn into one quickly.

If you google mastitis, there is a lot of contradicting information which makes the situation even worse. This is one reason why I started Breasthab in order to provide the necessary services, techniques, and give you the correct information to put in your toolbox to stop mastitis from happening again. One thing that separates therapy services from others that deal with mastitis is we have mastered manual techniques and there are two types of manual work needed: one to deal with the congested duct and another to get rid of the breast inflammation. Two different systems need to be considered which are the lymphatic system surrounding the breast and the mammary glands to empty the breast of the milk.

Remember, the main goal in order to get rid of mastitis should be to empty the breast of milk and to reduce swelling.

Another thing to consider is the correct application of heat/ice. Legitimate resources state the use of heat helps mastitis. Yes, it does help to stimulate production and open ducts but it can increase inflammation at the same time. If you feel mastitis coming on try ice as the first defense (especially if you tend to over produce or have engorgement). When you are about to feed switch to heat for 10 minutes, feed, then ice for 10 after…….Give this a try and it may make a big difference. However, everyone is a little different so it is important to listen to your body and stay in tuned to how it responds to heat or ice.