‘Little People, Big World’: Audrey Roloff Reveals She’s Suffering From Mastitis

It’s been a bit of a rough go for Audrey Roloff during her first couple of weeks of motherhood. The 26-year-old Little People, Big World star–who gave birth to daughter Ember Jean on Sept. 10– recently revealed that she’s been getting next to no sleep. And today (Sept. 18), she took to Instagram to let her followers know she’s suffering from mastitis.

In an IG Stories post, an ill-looking Audrey said that she could “now sympathize with all you moms out there who’ve had mastitis… it’s no joke.”

According to Baby Center, mastitis is a painful breast inflammation that is most often caused by an infection. It can develop at any time–even after a baby has been weaned–but it most frequently occurs during the first month of breastfeeding. The condition can come on suddenly and normally only affects one breast at a time. Symptoms may include breast tenderness, swelling, skin that is red and warm to the touch, pain or burning sensations, fatigue, feeling generally unwell, chills and a fever of 101 F or higher.

Many women with mastitis feel like they are coming down with the flu, which can make it difficult to care for a baby. The condition can be caused by plugged milk ducts, engorgement, or milk stasis, which is milk left in the breast after the baby is fed. It is treated with antibiotics and rest. And, although it is painful, experts also recommend that mothers breastfeed their babies as frequently as possible to clear out all the milk from the breast. If treatment goes well, mastitis should clear up in a few days.

Luckily, Audrey isn’t going through her first painful and tiring days of motherhood alone. Her husband, Jeremy Roloff, has been constantly by her side, and Jeremy told his Instagram followers that Auj’s mom has also been helping out.

“So Audrey’s mom came over for a little bit to help, which has been just amazing,” he said in an IG Stories video. “So I’m gonna run to the store and do our little list of errands, stock up on some stuff.”

So while Audrey has been feeling under the weather, she is apparently being well looked after and will hopefully soon be on the mend and posting pictures of Baby Ember for Little People, Big World fans to enjoy.

Little People, Big World returns to TLC this fall.

[Featured Image by Audrey Roloff/Facebook]