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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staff
Mastitis is an infection of the breast tissue that results in breast pain, swelling, warmth and redness of the breast. If you have mastitis, you might also experience fever and chills. Mastitis most commonly affects women who are breast-feeding (lactation mastitis), although in rare circumstances this condition can occur outside of lactation.
In most cases, lactation mastitis occurs within the first three months after giving birth (postpartum), but it can happen later during breast-feeding. The condition can leave you feeling exhausted and rundown, making it difficult to care for your baby.
Sometimes mastitis leads a mother mistakenly to wean her baby before she intends to. But you can continue breast-feeding while you have mastitis.
- Non-cancerous breast conditions. American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_6X_Non_Cancerous_Breast_Conditions_59.asp. Accessed Feb. 19, 2010.
- Dixon MJ. Lactational mastitis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 19, 2010.
- Spencer JP. Management of mastitis in breastfeeding women. American Family Physician. 2008;78:727.
- Walker M. Conquering common breast-feeding problems. Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing. 2008;22:267.
- Breastfeeding: Common concerns. National Women's Health Information Center. http://www.womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding/concerns/. Accessed Feb. 19, 2010.
- FAQ on mastitis. La Leche League International. http://www.llli.org/FAQ/mastitis.html. Accessed Feb. 19, 2010.
- Dixon MJ. Inflammatory disorders of the breast. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 19, 2010.
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