The Truth About Breastfeeding

Mastitis – inflammation of the breast tissue – is a common problem for breastfeeding women. Although it can be associated with bacterial infection, this is rarely its primary cause (see milk stasis – not infection – is the main cause of mastitis). Many doctors nevertheless choose to treat it with antibiotics, ‘just in case’ infection is present. Given the uncertain relationship between bacteria and mastitis, what are the benefits – and drawbacks – of taking antibiotic medication?

There are disappointingly few properly controlled studies looking at the antibiotic treatment of mastitis. A recent Cochrane Review analyzing all the research in this area found only two studies that were sufficiently well designed or reported to provide unbiased evidence¹. One study looked at the effects of two different types of antibiotic (Amoxicillin and Cephradine), and found that they were equally good at relieving symptoms. Unfortunately, as the study didn’t have a control group of women who did not take any medication, it is not clear whether the antibiotics actually helped them recover, or whether the mothers would simply have recovered over time anyway.

In the second study, mothers who had ‘infectious mastitis’ (diagnosed when both bacteria and white blood cell counts were higher than normal) were assigned to three groups. In the first group, the women were advised to treat the mastitis by emptying the affected breast every six hours (feeding their baby as normal and then expressing any remaining milk); in the second, mothers were asked to follow the same breast emptying routine, and were also prescribed a course of antibiotics (Penicillin, Ampicillin or Erythromycin); in a third control group no treatment was recommended. The results showed that antibiotics did indeed have a beneficial effect: whilst women in the breast-emptying group recovered more quickly than those who weren’t treated, those taking the medication recovered fastest of all.

This single study does appear to show that antibiotics can help treat mastitis associated with bacterial infection. Does this provide adequate evidence for treating all cases of mastitis in this way? Well, not really, for a number of reasons.

Firstly, the antibiotics were shown to be effective when infection was present. In many cases of mastitis, infection is not present, so antibiotics wouldn’t be any use. A risk of prescribing antibiotics without diagnosing infection is that it may not treat the root of the problem. As mastitis is more commonly caused by milk stasis than infection, it is vital to tackle this issue to ensure proper recovery and avoid reoccurrence.

Inappropriate antibiotic treatment is also problematic as it increases the chance that the bacteria may become resistant to the drug. Staphylococcus aureus is the bacteria most commonly associated with mastitis, and a well-known strain of this – MRSA – is already resistant to antibiotics, so this is potentially a serious problem².

There is also the possibility that antibiotics taken by breastfeeding mothers may have adverse effects on their babies. Exposure to antibiotics through breast milk has been linked with problems such as minor infant breathing difficulties³ and diarrhoea⁴. Although such complications are not regarded as serious enough stop women from taking medication when they need it (particularly if it enables them to continue breastfeeding), it seems sensible to avoid putting babies at any unnecessary risk, particularly given that this area is currently under-researched¹.

So, what does all this mean for mothers who have mastitis, and health professionals who are trying to treat it? There is some evidence that antibiotics help treat mastitis when infection, diagnosed using both bacteria and white blood cell counts, is known to exist. Ideally, antibiotics would be prescribed only in this situation, as using them unnecessarily increases the chance bacteria will develop resistance to them – leading to strains such as MRSA – and may expose babies to unnecessary health problems. Diagnosing infection is notoriously difficult, however, as the bacteria which potentially cause infection can be present even when infection itself isn’t⁵, and measuring both white blood cell and bacteria counts is rarely going to be practical in a normal health care setting, such as a GP surgery. In a paper published last year discussing this difficult issue, Linda Kvist and colleagues recommend a daily follow-up of mothers with mastitis, and the prescription of antibiotics when symptoms are persistent. In the meantime (and indeed, in the first instance) treating milk stasis, the primary cause of mastitis, remains the top priority.

1. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009 Jan 21;(1):CD005458
2. Int Breastfeed J. 2008 Apr 7;3:6.
3. Pediatrics. 2007 Jan;119(1):e225-31
4. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1993 May;168(5):1393-9.
5. Mastitis: causes and management. World Health Organization; 2000.