Aimee Vivian, a star of Capital FM, developed the illness mastitis, which later led to fatal sepsis while nursing.
One of the most natural substances a woman’s body can produce is it. It keeps life going and strengthens a mother-child relationship. However, Aimee Vivian’s breast milk nearly caused her death.
“I remember looking at a hospital midwife and saying ‘please don’t let me die tonight’,” she tells The Mirror. “I really thought I wasn’t going to make it. I still can’t believe something so simple, which is supposed to provide life, almost ended mine.”
Now 34-year-old Aimee, back home in Buckinghamshire with daughter Charli, is keen to raise awareness of the causes of the breast condition mastitis and the subsequent deadly sepsis infection which took hold earlier this year.
Speaking at the start of September’s Sepsis Awareness Month, she says: “Motherhood is an amazing journey but it can be hard. We need to talk about mastitis, learn the symptoms and what it can lead to. It’s time to support each other.“
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Aimee, who has been married to Steve for two years, had her daughter June via a planned caesarean section in June. She will return to the air in October.
She says: “My pregnancy was pretty straightforward – I developed a whole new appreciation of what a woman’s body could do! The Caesarian was a really positive experience too with wonderful midwives – I was only in hospital overnight.”
However, Aimee’s body produced a lot of breast milk right away. She claims that “everyone was telling me it was brilliant, and I was feeling a lot better.” However, things started to get challenging once we arrived home.
Because of a tongue tie, which causes a baby’s tongue to be shorter than normal, Charli struggled to latch on to breastfeed.
Aimee used a breast pump to help her feed and reduce the amount of milk her body was producing, and doctors scheduled an appointment to fix the problem.
Soon, though, her breasts became painfully engorged. Medics offered advice on how to tackle it, but very little worked. After three weeks, Aimee began to feel unwell – suffering with headaches and chills.
She recalls, “I was tired, too, but I was a new mother and just persevered.” However, after a few days, I still felt unwell. I was aware of some of the symptoms after reading about mastitis online.
Breastfeeding women frequently experience the inflammatory condition, which can be brought on by an infection or milk buildup. Swollen breasts that are hot to the touch as well as “flu like symptoms” can be symptoms.
Aimee scheduled a consultation with a general practitioner who wasn’t certain whether the condition was mastitis. She recalls: “She firmly believed Charli’s application to the breast would help, and that there was an oversupply of milk.” But I was unable to. I felt bad and guilty. I made an unsuccessful attempt to advocate for myself. I doubted myself after the operation.
She did get antibiotics, but the doctor advised her to only start them if she wasn’t feeling better. I “thought it might get better,” and I just kept going with things, “says Aimee.”
However, Aimee’s health deteriorated over the coming days. When I woke up early on Sunday morning to feed Charli, my entire body was shaking. I was unable to lift my head because it was so painful. Then I attempted to pump some milk. The milk had a painful sensation and there was clearly pus in it.
At her wits’ end she posted for help on her Instagram account and got a response from a local midwife. “She messaged me and said: ‘you need to get down to the hospital. Don’t leave it any longer,” she says.
Aimee was admitted and given intravenous antibiotics shortly after being diagnosed with what doctors described as a “serious infection,” which was later identified as sepsis.
It was awful, says Aimee. I couldn’t be with my baby because I felt so unwell and upset. The fear of passing away when sepsis strikes is a real phenomenon. When Steve and Charli were to return, I recall thinking, “What if I never see them again?”
She acknowledged that her recovery took a while, both mentally and physically, despite spending four days in the hospital. She also sought advice from a lactation specialist to prevent her body from producing milk, so she wouldn’t have to deal with mastitis once more.
She says, “I keep wondering how my breast milk, the product that is pushed so hard, could have almost killed me.” Although breastfeeding is wonderful, I shouldn’t say that because I wish I had known about mastitis sooner, I could have trusted my instincts, taken those antibiotics sooner, etc.
She is now determined to inform other women about her ordeal and make it public. She states, “I don’t want anyone to go through what I have; you know your body better than anyone else, and don’t be afraid to speak up.”
Aimee is anticipating spending time with her brand-new family in the future. She remarks, “They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” “I am certain that everything will work out.” The upcoming chapter has me excited.
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Source: Mirror
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