In today's episode, we speak with Jordan, a first-time mum of a beautiful baby girl named Remi.

Jordan and her family live in rural NSW and as a result, didn't receive any in-home midwife visits after the birth of Remi.

As a first-time mum, Jordan's first week consisted of the general challenges we face however, by day five she was experiencing flu-like symptoms that turned out to be mastitis - an inflammation of breast tissue due to bacteria, resulting in a blocked milk duct.

Jordan was unaware of what mastitis was or how to resolve it, so she began to google and watch videos online, unaware that the advice she was taking in, no longer was accredited, resulting in her exacerbating the mastitis.

She then ended up leaning on a family friend who was a midwife to help her and educate her on better ways to get through this.

Eventually, after dealing with reoccurring mastitis, seeing a GP multiple times, and then an OB, Jordan was sent to a hospital in town to receive ultrasounds due to a large and painful lump that had formed in her breast.

The beginning of Jordan's stay at the hospital was not pleasant as she was put in a used and uncleaned room, fearful of herself or her baby getting sick. She was shuffled around to different rooms until there was one vacant for her to stay in and as this was all happening her lump was getting bigger.

When an ultrasound identified that the lump was two abscesses that had formed as one, they also confirmed it was 11cm in size.

Jordan had it drained and thought she was through the worst of it when a few days later while feeding Remi, her abscess burst all over Remi, leaving a hole the size of a 50c coin.

It was here that Jordan felt the medical staff at the hospital she was at had let her down. Unfortunately, none of the nurses had offered to look at the wound, and it was left to Jordan and her mum to clean it up until the next nurse came on shift.

Jordan spent 5 days in the hospital before she was allowed to go home. When she left, she wasn't provided with any advice, referrals, check-up dates, or information on what to do next, and once home had to figure it out on her own.

The story that Jordan tells today really shines a light on some gaps in the medical system, especially for rural mums, and after everything she went through, she maintains such a positive outlook and is passionate about teaching other mums to advocate for themselves and to know the signs of mastitis before its too late.

To coincide with this episode, we have a special offering from the beautiful Harriet (Qualified Midwife) at The Breast Help

Head over to her IG: @the.breast.help and use the code AFTERBIRTHPOD to receive a discount on her Mastitis Management E-Guide.

Direct link: https://www.thebreasthelp.com.au/store/p/e-guide-mastitis-management

As always, If you are a postpartum mama or a professional in this space that would like to come onto our podcast, you can reach us at:

IG: @theafterbirth_pod

Email: [email protected]