Can I breastfeed if I have a fever of 39 degrees due to mastitis?

New mothers are most likely to get mastitis during breastfeeding. After the onset of mastitis, the mother's breasts will become painful and swollen, and the baby will also have a fever. So, can mothers breastfeed if they have mastitis and fever?

Can I breastfeed if I have a fever due to mastitis?

Many new mothers with mastitis have been worried that they can no longer breastfeed their babies. Experts point out that if mastitis develops rapidly, they may experience chills and fever, and the affected breasts may feel swollen, hot and painful.

At this time, if the patient's mother develops mastitis fever, generally if the fever exceeds 38.5 degrees, exclusive breastfeeding should be stopped. If the temperature does not exceed 38.5 degrees, it is best not to stop breastfeeding, as this will cause the milk to accumulate more. Therefore, when the breasts are painful, swollen or even part of the skin turns red, not only can you not stop breastfeeding, but you should also breastfeed more frequently to allow the milk in the breasts to be sucked out by the baby as soon as possible.

At this time, if the patient's mother has a fever, she should take treatment measures in time, and massage and warm the affected breast. If the baby sucks in a relaxed manner, the remaining milk can be sucked out with a breast pump to relieve the blockage of the mammary duct. Because milk is a natural culture medium for the growth of bacteria, all the milk must be sucked out.

Commonly used treatment measures include the following:

Blood pressure, systemic use of antibiotics. To prevent more serious infections and sepsis, antibiotics are used based on bacterial culture and drug sensitivity tests, and intravenous antibiotics are given when necessary.

For blood, 800,000 to 1,000,000 U of penicillin plus 10 mL of 1% to 2% procaine can be dissolved in 10 to 20 mL of isotonic saline and injected in a closed manner around the lump.

Supplement, partially use 25% magnesium sulfate cold and damp compress, acupuncture and physical therapy.

The above are all Western medicine treatments, but it should be noted that new mothers and babies are special groups. Drug treatments may have certain side effects, or the drugs may be transmitted to the baby through breast milk and cause certain effects, so use them with caution.

If the patient's mother's breast cyst is about to rupture at this time, breastfeeding on the affected breast should be stopped immediately, and surgery should be performed immediately to cut and drain the cyst. Small superficial cysts can be operated on under local anesthesia, while large and deep cysts should be operated on under intravenous anesthesia. After all cysts are opened, drainage materials should be placed and the dressings should be changed every day. The concentrate should be subjected to basic shaping and drug sensitivity tests.

In short, in the early stage of mastitis when the fever reaches 38.5℃ and the cyst has not yet formed, breastfeeding should be resumed. Stopping breastfeeding will not only affect infant feeding, but also increase the chance of milk stasis. When part of the mammary gland becomes purulent, breastfeeding from the affected breast should be stopped, and the milk should be emptied using common breast milking techniques or a manual breast pump to promote smooth discharge of milk.

At the same time, the baby can still drink milk from the other healthy breast. Only when the infection is serious or the cyst is incised and drained, or when breast atrophy occurs, breastfeeding should be completely stopped, and active treatment measures should be taken according to the doctor's instructions.

What should I do if I have a misunderstanding about the breastfeeding posture during exclusive breastfeeding?

(1) Incorrect breastfeeding posture can easily cause otitis media in babies

Because the baby's ears are not fully developed, the Eustachian tube is short, low and vertical, and its physiological muscle wall has not yet formed, so the lumen is relatively spacious. In addition, the Eustachian tube stretch reflex is poor and the throat opening is low, so the fluid in the throat can easily flow into the ear.

Dong Yuli, professor at the Otolaryngology Center of the Guangdong Corps Hospital of the Armed Police Force, emphasized that most babies get otitis media because their mothers or nannies, for the sake of convenience, use improper breastfeeding postures, letting their babies lie flat to breastfeed, or opening the mouth of the milk bottle too large when feeding with formula, or feeding breast milk too much and too quickly, making it difficult for the baby to swallow it in time and choking. These may cause milk to flow back into the throat and enter the ear through the Eustachian tube, causing acute otitis media.

In addition, if the interval between breastfeeding is too long, the child's sense of hunger increases, the sucking is strong, and the air inhaled is too much, which is easy to cause milk regurgitation and the milk is easy to choke into the ear and cause otitis media.

(2) The mother’s arms ache from feeding the baby in the same position

Many mothers have to wear them right after they finish their confinement period because they have “caught a cold during the confinement period” and suffer from neck, shoulder and back pains. At first, they thought it was rheumatism, but it was actually caused by a poor breastfeeding posture.

Li Zhiyun said that first of all, during the breastfeeding period, the elasticity and strength of the mother's muscles and tendons often decrease to varying degrees due to changes in endocrine hormones in the body, and the supporting force of the articular cartilage and tendons around the joints will also decrease, thus causing the joints to become loose. In this case, the breastfeeding posture is incorrect. The mother always uses the same posture to breastfeed for a long time. The fixed posture becomes muscle stiff, which will put a heavy burden on the joints, tendons and tendons that were already weak and cause pain.

(3) Wrong breastfeeding posture, the child will become "buckle-toothed"

Normal breastfeeding provides a certain multifunctional stimulation to the teeth and promotes the normal growth and development of the teeth. If the mother's feeding posture is correct, the baby's sucking exercise will have a very positive guiding effect on the growth and development of the tooth bones. For example, when feeding, if the baby's lower jaw is extended too far forward, it is likely to cause the baby's lower jaw to grow too far forward and develop into "overbite". Lan Zedong, director of the orthodontics department of the Dental Hospital Affiliated to Guangzhou Medical College, believes that it is best to use the cradle-style holding method when exclusively breastfeeding, which is conducive to the baby's natural sucking. In addition, avoid letting the baby fall asleep with the glass bottle in his mouth for a long time to prevent the glass bottle from compressing the growth of the frontal bone.