Hello all, love this newsgroup!  I heartily enjoy the wealth of knowledge,
dedication and compassion that abounds here.  Patricia, I am so interested
in your comments and observations about the issue of painful nipples with
the woman you mention.  I am fascinated by the gamut of emotional issues and
physical manifestations of problems.   I have observed with interest the
baby who pulls back from the breast, the so called 'reluctant baby' and the
nipples that get damaged no matter how much positioning and attachment
education etc that happens and no matter how good it 'looks'.  My impression
is that a  deep, subconscious,  even totally 'unconscious' rejection of the
experience of motherhood, for whatever combination of background
reasons/experiences can manifest in such phenomena.  Please note that this
is NOT blaming the 'victim' stuff, it is seeking to discover what moves us
that we are not aware of.  I have been priviledged to work in a private
capacity with birthing and breastfeeding women over a number of years and
they have taught me everything...(even helped me unlearn a lot of hospital
based 'facts' ;-) I have found a combination of kinesiology, hypnosis and
counselling, coupled with the sort of osteopathic treatment you mention,
Patricia, to be helpful in suchlike situations. I also recognise with awe
and deep respect,  the reality that even though the physical umbilical cord
is (generally) severed at birth, the emotional umbilical cord is never
severed, but gradually becomes elastic.  Until then, however, the child is
the mother's mirror.  Goodness, this probably all sounds a bit over the top,
but it is the stuff of life :-) .  warm regards all, Carolyn