This is the 3605th article of Da Medical Care
During the nursing period, new mothers may feel pain in one breast, and the local skin is red and swollen, the body is warm, the body temperature is somewhat high, and as the inflammation develops, chills and high fever may also occur. At this time, the mother may have acute mastitis, which is a disease of acute purulent breast infection, mostly postpartum breastfeeding women, especially the first trimester, often occurring in the 3rd and 4th weeks after childbirth. The skin of the newborn nipple is delicate, and the baby is prone to nipple damage or cracking when sucking, so that bacteria invade the breast from the broken place, and the milk is not discharged smoothly, and it accumulates in the milk, which provides a suitable growth and reproduction environment for the invading bacteria, and finally leads to breast infection.
New mothers who are sick should not be anxious, and can go to the hospital to eliminate the infection as soon as possible. At the same time, doctors do not advocate stopping breastfeeding, which will not only affect the baby's feeding, but also make the milk accumulation more serious. The mother can continue to feed the baby with a healthy breast, and the affected breast stops breastfeeding, but use a breast pump to exhaust the milk. If the infection is severe or if the abscess is drained and there is a breast fistula, breastfeeding should be stopped.
So in life, how should we prevent the occurrence of acute mastitis? The key is to avoid milk fouling, prevent nipple damage, and keep it clean. For example, after each feeding, if there is any accumulation, you can massage or use a breast pump to drain the milk. The nipple should be washed after breastfeeding, and the nipple should be treated in time if it is damaged or cracked.
There is also a good habit of breastfeeding regularly and babies falling asleep without nipples.
Author: Shanghai Fifth People's Hospital affiliated to Fudan University
General Surgery Nail Breast Specialist Group
Dr. Li Yujin