Hi mommas! My name is Jess, and I’ve experienced mastitis seven times.
After a smooth and successful breastfeeding journey with my first child, I never imagined I would face such a challenge with my second. It was a surprise that caught me completely off guard.
My daughter, Olivia, was born in August 2018. Life felt full but manageable with a 1.5-year-old in tow—until we received the joyful news that we were expecting again! This time, we were having a boy. Naturally, we thought the second time around would be easier, a bit smoother. But oh, how wrong I was. Within just one month of Liam’s birth, I began feeling unwell. That was my first encounter with mastitis.
It’s okay if you’re unsure what mastitis is—I didn’t know either. No doctor, pediatrician, or lactation consultant had ever warned me about it. Mastitis is a breast infection that usually occurs when a milk duct becomes clogged, often due to incomplete emptying of the breast. Surprisingly, it affects only about 10% of breastfeeding women, which might explain why it’s rarely discussed.
It was December 2020, four weeks postpartum. Liam had just fallen asleep, signaling my green light to finally rest. But as soon as I lay down, an overwhelming chill took over my body. My muscles ached, my breasts were swollen and painfully hard, and even lifting my arms to shower or brush my teeth felt impossible. I crawled into bed, wrapped in three thick winter blankets, yet the chill persisted. My temperature had climbed to 101 degrees. I couldn’t understand how I could be running a fever while shivering so uncontrollably—it reminded me of the full-body chills I experienced during labor.
Like most new parents, I had been running on autopilot. I wanted to be the best mom to both of my children, but the exhaustion was real. Even though my body was still recovering from childbirth, my days revolved entirely around my kids. At first, I assumed the fever and chills were just exhaustion—or maybe a cold. I even gave myself a pep talk: “It’s okay. Sleep it off, and you’ll feel better tomorrow.” But my body had other plans. The chills intensified, my energy drained, and my mental resilience was wearing thin. In my feverish haze, calling the doctor never even crossed my mind. Overnight, my husband stepped in to feed Liam the milk I had painstakingly pumped—milk that now felt like it was slipping away from me forever.
By morning, my breasts felt like bricks. I had skipped pumping and hadn’t nursed Liam for eight hours. My left breast was inflamed, bright red, and excruciatingly sore. That’s when I realized I could no longer ignore the warning signs. I needed medical help.
I hesitated to call the doctor, worried about how medications might affect Liam. But by then, antibiotics were unavoidable. Along with the medication, I was instructed to nurse every two hours, massage my breasts, and use hot compresses in between. Sounds simple, right? In reality, the pain was overwhelming. My husband had to help massage the lumps while I cried, and without his support, I likely would have lost my entire milk supply.
Within 48 hours of starting antibiotics and following the doctor’s orders, I felt renewed. But my milk supply had taken a hard hit. It took two weeks of diligent nursing, pumping, and care to rebuild it—and it was far from easy.
I wish I could tell you this was the end of my mastitis journey, but it wasn’t. Over the next six months, I experienced mastitis six more times. Thankfully, four of those episodes I was able to manage at home with massage, hot compresses, and regular pumping. My biggest piece of advice: listen to your body. Don’t wait. Call your doctor at the first sign of trouble, follow their guidance, and know that your milk supply can be restored with care and patience.
Now, Liam is almost eight months old, and I’m still nursing. I haven’t had mastitis in three months. Motherhood is a journey filled with unexpected twists—mastitis being one of them—but it has reminded me that we are resilient, strong, and capable of overcoming challenges we never anticipated. No matter what comes our way, we will rise and thrive.
