Q&A: What is "milk fever?"

Wow, that’s an “old-school” term I’ve seen used interchangably withengorgement as well as mastitis. Generally speaking, many moms may havethe chills and have a low-grade fever when their milk first comes in. Usuallythese fevers do not exceed 100.6 to 101 and often last 24 hours. Mastitisfevers run higher than this and can often exceed 101.3 to 103 and are usuallyaccompanied by other symptoms such as extreme fatigue, headache, and flu-likesymptoms. High fevers accompanied by breast symptoms such as localized painor tenderness in one area of the breast, tender or hot areas, and red streakingspreading out across the breast are obvious signs of mastitis and need to beaddressed by a healthcare professional.

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