In a message dated 3/3/99 8:01:50 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

<<  in the last month I have seen
 two mothers, one African, one Japanese, on about day 3 postpartum, who both
 appear to have some kind of skin condition which is confined to the areolas.
 Instead of being soft and fine and luminous, the skin is like very fine
 suede leather, (dull, not shiny) and it sheds in little black bits.  It
 *feels* rough - but smoothly rough, if you know what I mean (??) - it
 doesn't feel like *skin*. >>

The same thing happened to me with my second baby.  I am not Japanese or
African (in fact I am of northern European ancestry) and none of the nurses at
the hospital where I delivered ever saw it before.  It didn't impact nursing
at all, but I always wondered what in the world it was.  With my third, I got
it but I picked it all off during pregnancy - then ended up with sore nipples.

Kim Sherwood, LLLL in upstate NY