Xiamen woman suffers from mastitis due to improper way of massaging breast for new mothers

There is a booming breast-massaging business in China which counts first-time mothers as clients. However, there is a push to regulate the business, especially amid report of a Xiamen woman suffering from mastitis because of improper treatment.

What’s on Weibo reports that a number of breastfeeding Chinese women, rather than go to hospitals if they have difficulty in giving milk or suffer from inflamed mammary glands, turn to breastfeeding masseuses. Most of these masseuses are middle-aged women who lack higher education or medical training.

Some of them take a few courses and once they get a basic massage certificate, distribute business cards to expectant mothers in hospitals. Although the World Health Organisation recommends that mother breastfeed exclusively for the first six months and continue it for two more years, China has one of the lowers rate of breastfeeding.

Only 30 percent of new mothers in China breastfeed exclusively because of preference for baby formula. Breastfeeding went down in the 1970s when baby formula manufacturers promoted their products in Chinese hospitals, resulting in more than one-third of newborns in China having baby formula as their first feed.

Among the complaints aired against the breastfeeding masseuses are unskilled practitioners with medical knowledge and overcharging. The charge for a one-hour breast massage could be as high as 600 yuan, reports Xinhua News.

The lack of proper medical training placed a high safety risk to both mother and infant. Wang Chao from Hebei Province had eight masseuses experimenting with her sore breasts before she found a skilled one. Wang noticed that after not breastfeeding her baby for a short period of time, the milk quality deteriorated and her breast became painful and swollen.

A local hospital prescribed antibiotics which did not work. Wang was told that in a worst-case scenario, she might need to undergo surgery. Fortunately, on her ninth try, she found a skilled breastfeeding masseuse who helped solve her problem.

But the Xiamen woman was not as lucky because she spent thousands of yuan on breast massages to ensure a good milk flow, but because of improper treatment, she suffered from mastitis. According to the Mayo Clinic, it is an infection of the breast tissue, which results in breast pain, swelling, warmth and redness.

Shi Guilan, a masseuse, attributes breastfeeding difficulties to stress. Women of China cites other factors such as absence of societal support system, including short length of maternity leave for private sector employees and lack of breastfeeding facilities.