Ann,  your case reminds me of one of mine a few years
back.  I saw a pregnant woman with a barbell piercing
through the base of the nipple that had worked its way
through the nipple over a period of two months,
splicing it into two "half moons" if you will.  There
was no infection and the mother was relieved to have
the barbell out as she felt from the beginning the bar
was too thick.  She was concerned about the effect on
breastfeeding.  Unfortunately this mother did not
contact me after the baby's birth, and my efforts to
follow-up went unanswered, so I do not know the
outcome.  

While I'm sure I see more train wrecks than happily
nursing pierced mommas, I am concerned about the
effects of piercings on breastfeeding.  Scar tissue
may be more of an issue than leaking.  Several women
have reported to me they are receiving lactation
advice from their tattoo/piercing artists regarding
size of nipples/barbells and expectations of
lactation.  For example, "He said my nipples are
bigger than my boyfriend's so I need a bigger
barbell." or "He said not to remove the ring and that
I'll have no problems breastfeeding."  (Insert your
own comments here.)  Is anyone else seeing problems
related to scarring?  

Every summer, as rings become more evident, I muse
that if I could access a thoughtful, research-based
pamphlet or tear-off sheet on the subject I'd be happy
to spend a day visiting local piercing studios for a
snappy yet cheerful in-service.  (If you have one, do
post!)

Susan Johnson MFA, IBCLC
Salt Lake City, Utah USA

<<Date:    Tue, 21 Mar 2006 22:34:26 -0500
From:    Ann Calandro <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Leakage from piercing

A few years ago I worked with a teenage mom who had
barbell type pierced nipples. The barbells were placed
through the base of the nipples, and were very thick.
She removed the barbells after her baby was born in
order to breastfeed. However, there was a great deal
of scar tissue blocking the base of her nipples, and
milk could not flow. She became severely engorged. We
did everything, cold packs, cabbage, massage, but no
milk could escape past the scarring.  I have not seen
this since then, but it is one case where nipple
piercing precluded successful breastfeeding.
Ann Calandro, RNC, IBCLC>>

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