6 Tips for Navigating Running and Training While Dealing With Mastitis

There are many challenges that come with breastfeeding, one of them being issues that can arise such as clogged ducts or mastitis. If you have breastfed a baby and don’t know what this is, consider yourself lucky! As with most things, this can make running and training extra tricky for postpartum moms. This may be a post that you will either need to skip or save for later depending on your life situation, but if you are a breastfeeding mom who is also trying to train then this is important information to have. Running with mastitis is not only challenging, but it can make the situation worse. I will share some strategies to navigate this with the least amount of possible impact on your running.

First, a little background. I am currently 13 moths postpartum with my second breastfed baby. With my first, I often had clogged ducts and got mastitis when he was 4 months old. At the time, I wasn’t running much yet so there wasn’t much impact to my training. This time around, I was in half-marathon training when it happened. I wasn’t expecting it because I rarely had feeding issues with my daughter. But one afternoon I suddenly started to get chills, feel achy, and noticed that I seemed to have a pretty bad clogged duct on one side. Once I realized what was going on I reached out to a lactation consultant to confirm. (My hospital has a warm line that anyone can use for advice). Then I called my doctor for a prescription for antibiotics.

Most of the time mastitis happens early in a nursing journey, when babies are young and still learned to latch correctly. But in my case, I think she was taking much less milk some days because she is eating so many solids and gets so distracted throughout the day now that she is walking. Ideally, weaning is a gradual process, but sometimes babies can have an abrupt shift from one day to the next which can potentially cause some issues for mom.

Tips for Navigating Running and Training While Dealing With Mastitis

1. Get plenty of rest at the earliest signs of mastitis

Mastitis is an infection and will affect your entire body. You need to rest in order to recover and fight it off. Antibiotics are usually prescribed to help, but try to rest to allow your body to recover. This means don’t run those first few days! I think I ended up taking about 4 days off from exercise before very slowly easing back in.

It is even more ideal to get true rest throughout the day, but for me this just wasn’t possible with two young kids. But I focused on getting as much sleep as I could and trying to rest whenever they didn’t need me.

2. Stay hydrated when you have mastitis

As a runner, hopefully you are already good at staying hydrated! Even as you are not running it’s important to focus on hydration to help keep your milk supply regulated and also just to help you recovery in general. You will need to focus on frequent milk removal through nursing or pumping, so staying hydrated is key.

3. Follow all the best practices for running and training while breastfeeding

As you ease back into running, make sure to feed your baby or pump regularly to avoid a recurrence. Time your runs around feeds or pump right before you run. Even though I run early before my daughter wakes up I give myself time to pump before my run. (Bonus- this adds to my freezer stash!) I wrote a whole post with tips about running and breastfeeding.

4. Be careful about which sports bras you wear

Make sure your sports bra is supportive but not too tight. It’s also a good idea to change out of your sweaty clothes as soon as you return from a run. Sometimes mastitis is caused by cuts or blisters that get infected so you want to stay as clean as possible.

5. Check in with a doctor or lactation consultant about running with mastitis

It’s always a good idea to consult with a professional to confirm a diagnosis of mastitis and get help with the best treatment plan for you. A doctor can prescribe antibiotics if needed. See if there is a free warm line you can call to speak to an LC. They may even be able to guide you through returning to exercise and give you an idea of how to know when you are recovered enough to run. I was also able to speak to the LC about weaning off the pump and she gave me some resources for helping to do so.

6. Ease back into running and training slowly after dealing with mastitis

You will want to think of returning to running with mastitis like returning after being sick or injured. Don’t just jump right back into your training. You will want to be sure you are prioritizing your overall health and preventing a recurrence. Once you feel like you are fully healthy and your milk supply/feeding routine is regulated then you can work back towards your regular training. It may take a week or two to get back to where you were before, but that’s ok! It’s better than having another setback to deal with.

Another thing that I noticed personally while dealing with this was shifts in my hormones. I think this was because my milk supply was changing (as my daughter was nursing less and also my supply dropped when I had mastitis). This just made me feel “off” and I know I couldn’t have put full effort into my training at that time. Listen to your body and make adjustments as necessary.

Keep in mind that exercise increases the benefits of breastmilk for babies, so running is great as long as you can get back to it carefully!

Have you ever had mastitis? How did you navigate running with mastitis?
What issues have you had that caused you to adjust your training?

You may also like:
The Benefits of Pelvic Floor PT for Pregnant and Postpartum Runners
10 Important Steps to Starting Stroller Running for Postpartum Moms
15 Tips for Successfully Running Your First Postpartum Half-Marathon

Now it’s time for the Runners’ Roundup! Link up your running and fitness posts below! Join myself, Coach Debbie Runs, Confessions of a Mother Runner and Runs with Pugs to post your favorite running tips, experiences, race and training recaps, workouts, gear, and coaching ideas.