Mastitis From Breast-Feeding

Topic Overview

Mastitis, or breast infection, affects 1 in 5 breast-feeding women sometime during their babies' first six months of life.1 If you are breast-feeding, you can potentially develop mastitis at any time. However, your highest risk period for breast-feeding mastitis is during the first two months after delivery.

Breast-feeding mastitis usually affects only one breast, which typically becomes inflamed, red, and painful. Symptoms of the infection can develop quickly, with sudden fever, chills, fatigue, and body aches (flulike symptoms).

Risk factors for developing breast-feeding mastitis include:2

• Breast engorgement.
• Blocked milk ducts.
• Nipple damage.
• Illness or anemia. Anemia makes a woman tire more easily and lowers her resistance to illness (such as mastitis).
• The use of certain devices blocks milk flow and increases germs on the nipple

surface, thus increasing the risk of mastitis.2 Such devices include:

• Plastic shells used to increase air circulation to the nipples (nipple airer).
• Plastic shells used to protect the nipples (nipple shield).
• Plastic-covered breast pads used to absorb leaking milk.
• Mastitis requires antibiotic treatment and continued emptying of milk from the breast by frequent breast-feeding, pumping, or both. Delaying treatment can lead to a breast abscess.

Breast-feeding is related to most cases of mastitis. Other less common causes of mastitis include dilated or abnormal breast ducts (mammary duct ectasia), breast cancer, and tuberculosis. This topic focuses exclusively on breast-feeding mastitis.