MY BABY saved my life

For Nessa Whitehurst, breastfeeding was a beautiful bonding experience, then it\ revealed something sinister

- MISHAAL KHAN

Stroking her head, I tried to soothe my 10-month-old daughter, Una, as she squirmed at my right breast. ‘Oh, what’s the wrong little one?’ I cooed, cradling her in my arms as we snuggled on the sofa. Usually, Una was an easy baby when it came to feeding, but she’d started refusing to take my right breast. I’d never had any problems when my older kids, Siofra, then nine, and Finn, six, were babies. My breast was swollen and sore, too, and I was becoming increasingly anxious, wondering why my baby wasn’t happy anymore.

Six weeks earlier, in October 2019, a rash had appeared, and when I’d checked myself thoroughly, I’d found a small lump the size of a blueberry. I’d assumed it was a blocked milk duct, so tried massaging it in a warm shower. When that didn’t do the trick, I went to the GP assuming it was mastitis, an infection caused by inflammation of the breast tissue and common for feeding mothers. The doctor agreed, and scans showed two abscesses, full of fluid, wrapped around my ducts, which was a common complication caused by mastitis. But after six lots of antibiotics and regular drainage of the fluid from my breast, it still hadn’t improved. In fact, the rash had spread and clear liquid leaked from my breast, and now Una was refusing to feed on it completely, so I went back to the doctor, hoping for more answers.

At home, I tried not to fret, but I was down, and something didn’t feel right. I’d had friends with mastitis before and they’d never said it got this bad. ‘I hope it’s nothing serious,’ I said to my husband, Matt, 39, but deep down, it was slowly dawning it was more sinister than an infection. I could physically see whatever it was growing, as the red rash spread across my breast to my armpit.