If you’ve ever experienced sudden breast pain, fever, or flu-like chills while breastfeeding, you’ll know just how quickly mastitis can take hold. For many mums, it’s the first real crisis in their breastfeeding journey, painful, overwhelming, and sometimes serious enough to land them in hospital.

But what if there was a way to predict mastitis before it happened?

In this Check In Tuesday episode, Dr Renee White explores new research out of China that’s using artificial intelligence to identify which mothers are most at risk of developing mastitis. The study found that a combination of biological markers and personal factors could predict mastitis with 84% accuracy.

While it’s still early days, this research offers hope for a future where we can move from reacting to mastitis to preventing it altogether.

You’ll hear about:

• What mastitis actually is, how it develops, and why symptoms can be confusing
• How AI and machine learning are being used to predict mastitis risk
• The five key indicators researchers identified, from nipple cracks to inflammation markers
• The limitations of this study and what still needs to be explored
• Practical reminders for mums about seeking help early and knowing mastitis is treatable

Science is always evolving. While we’re not yet at the point of having a true early warning system for mastitis, studies like this one are building the foundations of more personalised and predictive maternal healthcare.

This episode is here to remind you that you’re not alone in your breastfeeding journey. Your instincts matter, your body’s signals are important, and support is out there.

Resources and Links

📲 Connect with Renee on Instagram: @fillyourcup_

🌐 Learn more about Dr Renee White and explore Fill Your Cup Doula services

🍪 Treat yourself with our Chocolate + Goji lactation cookies

🎧 If this episode gave you clarity or comfort, share it with a fellow mum who might need it too. And don’t forget to hit subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Disclaimer: The information on this podcast presented by Fill Your Cup is not a substitute for independent professional advice.

Nothing contained in this podcast is intended to be used as medical advice and it is not intended to be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, nor should it be used for therapeutic purposes or as a substitute for your own health professional's advice.

[00:00:27] Dr Renee White: I'm Dr. Renee White, and this is the [00:00:30] science of motherhood. Hello and welcome to episode 193 of The Science of Motherhood. I'm your host, Dr. Renee White, and today's episode is proudly brought to you by Fill Your Cup, Australia's first [00:00:45] doula village. We combine over 16 years of health expertise with nurturing care.

[00:01:26] Dr Renee White: If you are feeling a bit anxious and you are [00:01:30] wanting someone to ask all of those questions of, is this normal? Then maybe a doula is for you. We have doulas all across Australia, including Melbourne, Hobart, [00:01:45] Sydney, Newcastle, central Coast, Brisbane, gold Coast, and Perth. If you are in one of those states and cities, please let us know.

[00:02:15] Dr Renee White: Uh, you get lots of phone and tech support in between sessions. We are with you every step of the way. If that sounds right up your alley and you love a bit of [00:02:30] evidence-based care, you're in the right space. I fill your cup.com. Have a look. Okay in today's check in Tuesday episode. We are diving into some really cool stuff.

[00:03:17] Dr Renee White: And we're gonna be talking about something that affects up to one in 10 breastfeeding mothers, and that is acute mastitis. I am someone who has experienced mastitis before. It is [00:03:30] not a pleasant experience. If you have ever experienced that sudden onset of breast pain, the flu-like symptoms, the burning sensation during feeding, you know how quickly mastitis can derail your breastfeeding journey.[00:03:45]

[00:04:15] Dr Renee White: So straight off the bat, what is mastitis now? Let's start with the basics okay. Acute lactational mastitis is essentially a breast infection that strikes breastfeeding [00:04:30] mothers. Now picture this, we've got bacteria usually, um, staph or or streptococcus, they find their way into breast tissue through tiny cracks in the nipple or blocked milk ducts.

[00:05:12] Dr Renee White: Now, here's what makes this particularly [00:05:15] challenging. The early symptoms aren't specific to mastitis, you might think you're just getting sick. That's what I thought initially, or that, you know, breastfeeding is supposed to be uncomfortable, PS it is not. By the time many women seek [00:05:30] help. Infection has progressed like sometimes requiring hospitalisation or even surgical drainage of abscesses and like that's very extreme, but it's a possibility.

[00:06:04] Dr Renee White: Now here's the research. It was featured, it's it, it's a study from China. It was published in [00:06:15] Scientific reports, and the researchers took a completely different approach to mastitis, so they kind of went, instead of treating it after it happened, they asked, [00:06:30] can we predict who's going to get it? It's very interesting, this is why this caught my eye.

[00:07:12] Dr Renee White: Now, here are the five game changers. [00:07:15] First one, age, younger mothers, particularly those around 29 years old, showed higher risk. This makes sense when you think about it, younger mothers are more likely to be first time breast feeders. Still learning proper technique, [00:07:30] you know. Number two, nipple cracks, no surprise here, but the research quantified just how much this matters for prediction.

[00:08:10] Dr Renee White: The fourth factor, neutrophils, now these [00:08:15] are cells, these they're, you know, infection, fighting white blood cells, and they were mobilising, which means heading towards the site before women even knew they were getting sick. And number [00:08:30] five, white blood cell count overall. So the immune system was already responding.

[00:09:13] Dr Renee White: There's always limitations to [00:09:15] these. These blood markers were only measured during routine postpartum checkups and at diagnosis. So while, while the model is incredibly accurate, it's not quite the early warning system [00:09:30] we'd hoped for yet. Okay, so we need to look at the limitations. Again, everything seems peaches and cream, but you know, there's always limitations to these studies.

[00:10:12] Dr Renee White: We are missing some known risk factors like [00:10:15] breastfeeding techniques, stress levels, sleep deprivation, all of those things. That was something that definitely cropped up for me. I didn't get my status till I was 11 months postpartum, and I guarantee you it was based around stress. It was [00:10:30] exactly the same time that I return to work, you know, kind of dropping feeds and, and things like that.

[00:10:58] Dr Renee White: They wanna track [00:11:00] biomarkers over time, maybe starting in pregnancy to like really build that true early warning system. And so I guess the future of maternal healthcare is becoming [00:11:15] increasingly personalized and predictive. We are moving from a wait and see to predict and prevent, and while we're not quite there yet, studies like these are building the foundation, I [00:11:30] guess, for a revolution in where and how we care for mothers and babies.

[00:12:00] Dr Renee White: Do not wait. Trust your instincts. Seek help early. And remember, mastitis is treatable and it doesn't have to end your breastfeeding journey. All right everyone, until next week, I'll see ya [00:12:15] bye.

[00:12:32] Dr Renee White: You've just listened to another episode of The Science of Motherhood proudly presented by Fill Your Cup, Australia's first doula village. Head to our website I fill your cup.com to [00:12:45] learn more about our birth and postpartum doula offerings where every mother we pledge to be the steady hand that guides you back to yourself.