Acute mastitis is a common condition in new mothers and can occur at any time during the breastfeeding period, with the most frequent occurrence in the 3 to 4 weeks after delivery. Mastitis can cause physical and psychological damage to the mother, and can affect the newborn. So how to avoid mastitis? What should be done when milk stagnation occurs? How to treat the different degrees of mastitis? I. Why does mastitis occur after childbirth? Postpartum mastitis is an acute purulent infection of the breast, which is a common disease among postpartum breastfeeding women, especially the majority of first-time mothers. If left untreated, it can develop rapidly to form a breast abscess. When a new mother sucks on her nipples, she often has varying degrees of cracking, erosion or tiny ulcers. This creates a convenient door for bacterial invasion. The sunken nipples, the blockage of the milk ducts, the lack of maternal lactation experience, often can not make the milk can be fully emptied, resulting in milk stagnation, creating conditions for the reproduction of bacteria. The postpartum period also creates conditions for infection due to a decrease in the body’s immunity and local immunity. Bacteria can spread to the breast parenchyma along the lymphatic ducts through this entrance and form infected lesions. The causative organism is commonly Staphylococcus aureus. What are the symptoms of mastitis? The symptoms of mastitis vary from stage to stage. The initial symptoms are nipple cracking, pain, and increased pain when breastfeeding, resulting in fear or refusal to breastfeed, and milk stagnation, breast swelling and discomfort. The main symptoms are redness, swelling, heat and pain in the affected breast, localized pressure or painful lumps. The lymph nodes in the axilla on the same side are enlarged and painful. If left untreated, breast abscesses may form. Systemic manifestations include chills and high fever, and laboratory tests show an increase in the number of white blood cells. If the abscess is not controlled in time, the superficial abscess may collapse on its own, while the deep abscess may penetrate into the loose connective tissue behind the breast, forming a post-breast abscess or even a breast fistula. The actual fact is that you can find a lot of people who have been in the business for a long time. Pregnant women with nipple invagination should use their fingers to squeeze and pull the nipple to correct it. This will not only help the baby’s sucking ability and improve the successful feeding rate, but also help the milk emptying and indirectly avoid mastitis. You can try to let the baby suck the nipple from all angles to facilitate the emptying of milk. After delivery, mothers should keep their emotions comfortable; avoid high-salt and high-oil foods, spicy and stimulating foods; pay attention to the correct posture of feeding and the way the baby holds the breast; avoid sleeping prone; do not wear bras with steel bra; scrub the nipple with water before and after feeding the baby to keep the nipple clean; develop the habit of breastfeeding regularly. Avoid letting the baby sleep with the nipple in her mouth; let the baby empty one side of the breast before eating the other side each time she breastfeeds, so that the milk is completely sucked up. If there is a stagnation of milk, you can apply local hot compresses or use a breast pump to suck out the milk and massage with the technique; if the nipple is cracked, you can apply cod liver oil bismuth, castor oil bismuth agent, wipe the medicine before feeding, suspend breastfeeding when the crack is serious, squeeze out the milk by hand or use a breast pump to suck out the milk during the period. 3, the mother should develop the habit of self-massage breast. The specific method: one hand with a hot towel to hold the breast, the other hand on the upper side of the breast, to turn clockwise direction massage. If the breasts feel swollen and painful, or lumps on the breast, the technique can be slightly heavier, to avoid excessive force, damage to surrounding tissue. General massage once a day, 15-20 minutes each time. 4, physical therapy: if the milk stagnation is serious, professional massage techniques, ultra-short wave, ultrasound, intermediate frequency electrical therapy to promote breast dredging. 4. Treatment of mastitis 1. If mastitis has been diagnosed, continue to follow the above preventive measures and anti-infection treatment under the guidance of a doctor. 2, physical therapy: early mastitis can be given non-caloric ultrashort wave therapy, 10-15 minutes each time, 1-2 times a day. In addition, it can be combined with ultrasound, medium frequency electrotherapy, massage therapy to promote the inflammation and dredge the mammary glands, at this time, it is forbidden to self-massage, so as not to aggravate the infection due to the wrong technique. 3.If there is abscess formation, you need to go to the surgery to determine whether you need to cut and drain. If the abscess fluctuates significantly, physiotherapy should be suspended until the abscess is cut and drained. Continue physiotherapy after incision and drainage to promote inflammation dissipation and wound healing. 4. If the infection is obvious, suspend feeding on the affected side, use auxiliary devices to empty the breast milk on the affected side, and stop feeding if it is serious.