Dear Geraldine,
I am a mum of a 7 day old baby and am not sure if I am a little paranoid or whether I need help. I have looked at your mastitis guide but before I purchase a copy, just wanted to know the difference between mastitis and engorgement?
Thank you,
Kelley Trot
Hi there Kelley,
Congratulations on your very new arrival!
I am surprised that you have energy to surf the net so early, but I am here to help in any way that I can.
Okay, in the early days, whilst your body is recovering from the birth of your baby, you produce very little but incredibly valuable colostrum. Your body knows that your baby is fine for a few days until your milk comes in, as he or she will be able to turn brown fat into energy, if not able to get enough colostrum. Usually by day 5 – 6 though, your body goes into overdrive and produces a whole lot more milk than your baby needs. This leads to the breasts feeling full, hot, heavy, tender and totally alien but if your baby is able to latch well and is strong enough to feed well, your breasts will return to normal withing a couple of days. This is engorgement.
If your baby is not able to drain the breast and the milk produced, you could develop an infection which then causes intense flu like symptoms – this is mastitis. (relevant to a 7 day mum and baby scenario).
Mastitis can also occur on its own later down the line of the baby is not positioned well and so on.
You will definitely find a whole heap of practical tips to get baby onto a seriously full breast without damaging the nipple and useful information for quickly reducing swelling and tenderness in the mastitis guide, so go ahead and grab one.
Kind regards,
Geraldine
