There's also the idea of functional pain, in which the nervous system overinterprets sensations as pain (way oversimplified explanation) so that while we don't see any trauma to the nipple, the mother still feels pain. I don't think it's depression per se, though antidepressants can sometimes be used. University of North Carolina has a patient info sheet (first link) and if you scroll down in the second link, you'll find a page on functional pain for providers of care: http://mombaby.org/PDF/functional_pain_ho.pdf http://mombaby.org/PDF/PainProtocols.v3.pdf Susan Lawrence in Berkeley > > *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome