Mary Kay posits,

> ". And remember the photo of the stretchy
> nipple in your slide set, Jan? Wonder how old the nursing baby was?  I
> surmise that the hormones of nursing help make the skin stretchier, very
> much
> like the way the hormones of pregnancy make the joints stretchier? Make any
> sense? I hope so!
>
I think you are onto something as well, Mary Kay.  It's interesting that in
the dim recesses of our past we used to try and make the nipples stretchier
and longer by doing the Hoffman technique and pulling the nipples out.  But
it happens often times quite naturally as the baby continues to nurse.  I
betcha the hormones DO have something to do with it.  However, perhaps that
original trying to stretch during the first few days has something to do with
the initial latch pain so many mothers experience.

Jan Barger, RN, MA, IBCLC -- Wheaton IL
Lactation Education Consultants
www.lactationeducationconsultants.com

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