Final answer:
A mother should seek medical attention for mastitis if she experiences symptoms like breast pain, swelling, and fever. Mastitis often occurs when the milk-producing glands become blocked or when breastfeeding is suddenly stopped, leading to engorgement and leakage.
Step-by-step explanation:
A mother should seek medical attention for mastitis when she experiences symptoms such as breast pain, swelling, warmth, redness of the breast, fever, or chills. Mastitis is an inflammation of the breast tissue that often includes infection and can occur during the postpartum period, as a result of the milk-producing glands becoming blocked or being overfilled if breastfeeding is suddenly stopped. When a mother stop breastfeeding suddenly, the continued production of breast milk can lead to engorgement and leakage, similar to the initial postpartum phase, as the body hasn't had the chance to gradually adjust to a decreased need for milk production.