Kristen Bell reveals she once breastfed her husband Dax Shepard to ease her painful struggle with mastitis

Kristen Bell has opened up about how mastitis affected her when she was breastfeeding.

During the fourth episode of her weekly vlog Momsplaining, the actress revealed the intimate way her husband Dax Shepard came to the rescue when the condition caused a blockage of milk in her breast.

'It was right after the baby stopped nursing,' she told actress Katie Lowes, a guest on her weekly video broadcast.

'So I said to my husband, 'I'm going to need you to suck this out. We can talk about it, we can be weird about it, or you can just go ahead and do it.' He had a cup next to him. He was pulling out and spitting it into this cup. And I've never been more in love.'

Kristen, 37, went on to explain that antibiotics had helped solve the problem the first two times she'd struggled with it. But she had to ask Dax to step in when they didn't have the same effect the third time around.

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Mastitis is a painful condition that causes the inflammation of breast tissue. Sometimes referred to as lactation mastitis or puerperal mastitis, it's most common in breastfeeding women.

It's caused by a build up of milk within the breast. This can arise as the result of a number of reasons such as a baby having sucking problems, a little one not attaching to the breast properly and infrequent feeds.

Typically contracted with the first three months after giving birth, symptoms can develop quickly. Ones to look out for include a lump with the breast, nipple discharge and a burning pain within the tissue.

Aches, a high fever and tiredness are also associated with mastitis.

Kristen and Dax welcomed their first child, a daughter named Lincoln, in December 2013. Another little girl named Delta followed in 2014.

The couple tied the knot in Beverly Hills on 17 October 2013.