Valerie wrote:
"Considering the problem of antibiotic resistance and
 the liklihood of creating candida thru antibiotic introduction, might we  consider that antibiotics might not be the first choice during bouts of  mastitis?"

This is something about Lactnet which has fascinated me. There is so much discussion about mastitis and yeast which assumes that allopathic treatment is all we need to know about as LC's or LLLL's. While we (non doc's, NP's) do not diagnose or prescribe, we certainly guide mothers in their decision-making. So, I wonder why we expect ourselves to know about drug treatments and nothing else. I have often seen posts about other treatments, but they get little broad attention.
    Perhaps we could say that we know more about drugs b/c our clients see primarily allopathic practitioners. This is certainly true, but this was also true when we were gently educating mothers away from the standard treatment for breasfeeding difficulties--cow milk formula supplementation. We have not hesitated to present options which were in conflict w/ standard medical procedure in other aspects of bf'ing, yet on this issue there is so little dialogue.
    Because all of my children were born at home and I have been very active in the birthing community as an educator, I have had the opportunity to work with many mothers who use holistic practitioners. I have seen and/or personally experienced a great deal of success with non-drug treatments for mastitis, yeast, allergies, etc.
    In my experience, homeopathy is one of the very best treatments for mastitis. Even when a mom has a fever and is feeling quite poorly, the correct remedy will usually resolve the problem w/in 24 hours. So, when I have a client who may have mastitis, I present all of the options I know of, including homeopathy and herbs--which may also mean suggesting the option of seeing a naturopath or homeopath in addition to her allopathic physician. Interestingly, if the mom has had a homebirth, she almost always uses homeopathy with great success. Most other moms choose drugs, but at least they have the information.
    BTW, my children go to a family practice MD (actually, they almost don't go to him, since we use holistic practitioners when needed.) Anyway, he has recently become certified in homeopathy and hired another doc last year who is an herbalist. They are the faculty who train the family practice residents at a local hospital!
Jennifer Tow, IBCLC, CT, USA

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