Hi Laurie: I think binding is a hostile thing to do to women. It has
gone on forever, and I am sure that it has never been researched...pro
or con. My mother tells of being bound after four months of
breastfeeding me because "she had an abcess". (This was 50 years ago).
Her neighbor came over and bound her... it was very unpleasant but it
"had to be done". She doesn't recall any medication? or any other part
of the treatment. It

Recently, a mother with whom I was working, was ordered to bind herself
after a second bout of mastitis at 6 weeks. (I posted about this at the
time as I needed help).  She had an enormous milk supply (in part
developed by poor information to pump before each feeding to manage the
letdown) and it was the longest 3 week. After the first day she was so
terribly engorged ...it is difficult to describe.. rock hard up uo the
collar bone. MD said bind tighter and don't remove the binding. She
followed the advice, even though it was getting hard to breathe. I
pleaded with her to change this approach, but no amount of cabbage, sage
tea, ice etc. really made a dent. At one week, she was still
engorged...the imprintof her bra was so clear on her mottled skin...but
getting better. Very gradually, the milk supply decreased...no abcess as
she stayed on anti-biotics for the enitre three weeks. Her pain, her
sadness, her total spirit was trampled...it was as bad as anything I
have witnessed.
Additionally, no support was offered by either the MD office or the
hospital where she delivered (and they knew of the problem). Just keep
going...it will stop at some point.

The process of lactation is so poorly understood that I don't think that
how it is started or ended is considered at all.... Turn it on turn it
off. I would like researchers to consiser what kind of toxic levels of
enzymes are released at this time? what about all the necrosis of
mammary cells, WBCs in circulation?  reabsorbtion of milk. Talk about a
physiological process in reverse. I would suspect the consequences are
significant...but no one really knows...or really cares. I hacve some
thoughts about the long term consequence...

In my opinion it is a continuation of the hostile manner in which women
are regarded by so many (including women) all over the world...but that
is too, too much to go into here.


Anne Andrianos, MS,RN,IBCLC
[log in to unmask]
http://web.syr.edu/~afandria/

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