Hello,

I am working with a mom who is 8 days postpartum with her third child. She is desparately trying to get through some trying issues right now.

This mom has a history with her last child of initial engorgement followed by bilateral mastitis which went undiagnosed for 5 weeks - incredible breast pain that felt like needles shooting through the breast, and unable to have anything touch her chest. The physician at that time opted to NOT treat her with antibiotics because she was afebrile. Finally treated after I insisted, and developed a 103 fever the same day that she received the antibiotics!! 

Now with this third baby, here we go again = incredible bilateral pain, very engorged and pumping to remove excess milk at most feedings. Also of note is that this mom also has bilateral accessory breast tissue which is swollen. She had a fever of 99.8 on day 3 postpartum, which has gone. She also had chills and severe body aches, which are also gone. Both nipples are excoriated, however the left is worse and pretty unbearable. She is pumping this side and feeding from the other. I have instructed her to cleanse the nipples and apply neosporin after each feeding or pumping session.

I am looking for feedback from the group. This mom is not a fan of antibiotics for unnecessary reasons, but I do believe that this could be the start of the same issue, and feel that she should contact her physician for antibiotics rather than suffer for weeks before getting an even worse infection.  What would you recommend? 

I am specifically wondering the thoughts of Anne Englesh ( I know I am spelling this incorrectly), and if anyone knows how I could contact her I would surely appreciate it. 

Thank you so much,
Brenda Phipps, BS, IBCLC

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