Types of mastitis
- signs of mastitis in breastfeeding mothers
- symptoms of mastitis in nursing mothers
- what causes mastitis in breastfeeding mothers
- can a mother breastfeed with mastitis
Hormonal mastitis...
Signs of mastitis – and what it looks like
What is mastitis?
Mastitis is a painful inflammation of breast tissue.
Mastitis when to go to hospital
It happens to 2 to 10 percent of breastfeeding women, most often during the first three months of nursing. But you can develop mastitis anytime – including after you wean your child.
The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM) defines mastitis as a spectrum disorder, meaning that there's a progression of symptoms that you may experience, from inflammation with no infection to a bacterial infection.
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It begins with the inflammation and narrowing of milk ducts and swelling of breast tissue.
The situation may be worsened by an overproduction of milk, which further narrows the milk ducts. At this point, the condition is called inflammatory mastitis.
If the inflammation isn't successfully addressed, an infection can develop.
You may also develop an abscess (a collection of infected fluid, or pus) and/or a galactocele (a milk-filled cyst). These usually need to be drained through needle aspiration or surgery.
What causes
- how to treat mastitis during breastfeeding