If you have a chest infection, you really need to act quickly and correctly. Sometimes a milk stagnation develops into mastitis. But not every slightly engorged breast becomes inflamed immediately.

But if you notice chills, fever and a general feeling of illness very early on, you should immediately think about your breast in the postpartum period. Even if it is not yet particularly symptomatic. It almost always comes from the chest. It is almost never an inflammation of the uterus.

I have listed the measures from the PDF of my app here.

However, you should contact me as your midwife immediately!

 

Symptoms of milk stasis:

• • Little or no painful hardening/”lumps” in the breast
  • Rare or rather slight reddening/overheating of the tissue
  • Possibly slight fever, below 39 fever
  • No or only a slight feeling of illness

Symptoms Mastitis= inflammation of the breast

• • Often very painful hardening/nodules in the breast
  • Often severe redness, often very overheated areas of the breast
  • Signs of bacteria in the body: often very strong feeling of illness/flu, aching limbs, chills, headaches, severe lack of energy, often rapidly rising fever

Milk stagnation can lead to mastitis!

Act quickly and correctly so that the inflammation does not develop into an abscess!

Cause

• • Insufficient emptying due to infrequent and/or ineffective vacuuming
  • Lack of emptying due to mechanical causes such as tight bra, sling, etc
  • Lack of emptying due to impaired MSR (milk donor reflex) caused by stress, exhaustion, pain
  • Insufficient discharge due to a blocked milk duct caused by a milk blister or a mucous membrane overlay
  • Too much milk production, too much milk

Cause of bacterial mastitis

• • all the reasons mentioned for milk stasis, which then leads to mastitis
• Migration of bacteria from the skin due to e.g. sore nipples
• Bacterial imbalance of the breast microbiome

Therapy

• • If necessary: stimulate the milk donor reflex with moist/warm compresses, warm shower before emptying.
  • Possibly breast massage before emptying
  • Breastfeeding position: baby’s lower jaw points towards the jam
  • Breastfeeding/pumping! Empty your chest more often!!!
  • Cool the breast after breastfeeding for 20 minutes or longer, with cabbage/kale, curd cheese, but do not overcool http://gemeinsamgebaeren.ch/ratgeber/quarkwickel-fuer-die-brueste-meiner-frau/
  • Soy lecithin for repeated congestion

• • Plenty of rest! More frequent rather than less frequent emptying every 2-3 hours!

In case of fever and severe signs of illness, start with medication

• • Immediate and regular start with ibuprofen or other anti-inflammatory 3 x 400-600 mg/day
  • Paracetamol up to 3 g/day if required for pain
  • Soy lecithin as an emulsifier of water and fat in breast milk
  • Probiotics are recommended to promote the microbiome of the breast. An appropriate preparation should contain the recommended bacterial strains Lactobacillus fermentum and Lactobacillus salivarius.