What is Milk Fever?

[pjbuk007]

Yes, Dancing master, you are right, all this stuff about calcium, magnesium, cows and binding breasts is a snare and a delusion as I put less succinctly than you in my previous post!

[pjbuk007]

The term milk fever would have been used for puerperal fever in the 19th century.

It meant an infection occurring immediately after giving birth.

The term milk fever as used today refers in the main to cows and has a different aetiology entirely!

[celia]

It meant an infection occurring immediately after giving birth.

Well whatever you call it,the mother was probably  a carrier of an infection passed onto the  unfortunate babby

Celia

[Arranroots]

I disagree!

I had "milk fever" - a complication of mastitis which involves septicaemia - which would have done for me if it weren't for antibiotics.

The sepsis affects the mother but does no harm to the baby - in fact for mastitis one of the best remedies is to feed the young (calf or human!!  ) from the affected breast/ quarter.

I have never been so poorly and can vouch for its being associated with a very high fever.  As for pain - I was feeling nothing by that stage!

I was so lucky that my midwife knew what was going on and appropriate drugs could cure it in a jiffy!

A 

[LoneyBones]

Agree with Arranroots. Have had several bouts of what my widwife called Milk Fever and my GP called Mastitis. A hot shower eased the pain a little, not feeding wasn't an option so I had lots of hot showers.
Leonie.

[celia]

The term milk fever as used today refers in the main to cows and has a different aetiology entirely!

That was the bit that confused me Cows and Humans with milk fever So thank you Arran and Leonie for the explanation.I didn't know milk fever was still around,it must have been an awful for you having that.Thanks for sharing it

Celia

[Nick29]

It was known as milk fever but the correct name was Purpueral Fever ie  Puerperal fever - Elevated temperature after giving birth to an infant

That's correct - my maternal grandmother died from it at 34 years of age, just 7 days after giving birth to twins.  And sadly, 100 years later, despite the huge advances in medicine, women still die from it.

It's also known as "Child Bed Fever" - see this link 

[pjbuk007]

You are right, Nick, and a good link.

The term Milk Fever was used for ovrewhelming sepsis soon after giving birth (as the milk was coming in), and would usually mean puerperal fever, NOT mastitis and its' sequelae.

Mastitis can certainly be very painful and RARELY lead to serious consequences as in Arranroots' awful experience.  But the biggest killer was the sepsis IN THE WOMB and Milk Fever was the term used for this.

[Arranroots]

I still disagree that puerperal fever or childbed fever are the same thing - as the name suggests, milk fever is associated with lactation and inflammation which may lead (in severe cases) to sepsis.

Puerperal fever is more commonly associated with the birth process and the infection is associated with that area - trying not to be too graphic here!!

Midwifery and the Diseases of Women by Joel Shew A contemporary account, 1853

In the course of two or three days usually after the birth of the child, the woman experiences more or less febrild excitement of the system.  This is what is termed Milk Fever, it being connected with the coming on of the lacteal secretion....

Puerperal or childbed fever is a very different thing from the foregoing, and is reckoned by physicians as being one of the most fearful of maladies.