Lauren Paul and her husband, Jesse Pinkman — I mean Aaron Paul — are loving everything about being new parents. Well, except for one really, really unpleasant thing: mastitis. Lauren Paul, who gave birth to the couple’s first child in February, shared her experience with the breast infection in a candid Instagram post.
“This post labor chapter has been rough at times,” she wrote after gushing about how “precious and pure” her newborn daughter is. “Recovering from labor is no joke. I’m definitely on the mend in that department but…breastfeeding. Oh man.”
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Paul stated that even though breastfeeding has been “one of the most beautiful experiences” of her life, it’s also been one of the most painful because of recurring mastitis, an inflammatory infection of the breast tissue.
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“For those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s an infection from breastfeeding that creates severe flu-like symptoms,” she explained. “Yesterday I was fighting a fever that almost hit 104. It was the sickest I have ever felt. The pain and aches were unbelievable.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, mastitis can cause redness, swelling, fevers and burning sensations. In rare instances, mastitis can cause sepsis or death. While it primarily affects women who are breastfeeding or recently gave birth, you don’t have to be a new mother to get the infection.
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Various things can cause lactational mastitis, including blocked milk ducts and the introduction of bacteria into a woman’s breast. By sharing her experience, Paul hopes to spark a conversation about “very common issues” that can affect mothers.
“I’m feeling a responsibility to share this so that any new mamma-to-be reading this is aware of these potential issues,” she wrote. “If I could give an upcoming mother any advice for this chapter it would be to become well educated about breastfeeding. Take a class, do your research or have conversations with other mothers. There are so many things that can happen…an oversupply of milk leading to an infection, your baby having trouble latching, having an undersupply… being aware of this will be so helpful so that you will know how to avoid or handle these things.”
She summed up her message simply by stating, “You are not alone.”
More:7 Adorable Things Aaron Paul Has Done For His Wife, Lauren
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Conversations about breastfeeding complications are important for spreading information and ensuring maternal health — but they’re not intended to make women fear childbirth or motherhood. There are good parts of the early newborn days — plenty of them. Just look at this pic!
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