On 10/10/07, Morgan Gallagher <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> I did ask this last week or so, but buried it at the end of another post.
>
> Can someome please explain to me why some mothers have intense nipple
> pain whilst nursing during the ovulationary segment of the menstural
> cycle?
>
> Is it the same reason for why breastfeeding can become painful during
> pregnancy, or not linked?


I think the short answer is "hormones" in both cases.

Is there anything to be done to alleviate the pain?  Intense nipple pain
> during feeding for several days of any 28 day cycle can be a bit
> debilitating.


I remember all too well (though with longer cycles in my case). Once my
nursling was over two, it was happening both at ovulation (and leading up to
it) and during menstruation (and leading up). So a couple of comfortable
weeks/month by the time we were weaning at about age 3.

(I know of mothers who state it only hurts on the day of ovulation.
> Others, who have pain in the run up to, and on, ovulation.  Some, who
> have pain during run up, on ovulation day, and then for a few days
> afterwards.  I'm not sure if it's important, but every mother I've had
> contact with, is nursing a toddler.  But then... that's why they are
> noticing, for their periods have usually not returned _until_ the baby
> is a toddler.)



I've accurately predicted the return of many menstrual cycles because of
this, but sometimes it's well before toddlerhood. It's a good time to
educate women on fertility signals too.

My personal theory is that this is Mother Nature's way of getting mom to
nurse less so that she'll be more fertile and conceive again. I noticed,
especially before my first PP period and in those first few PP cycles (which
were 2-3 months long, I think partly because of what I'm about to describe)
that my nurslings seemed to nurse a lot more and that this would result in a
decrease in other fertility signals (EWCM would decrease, cervix would
become lower and close again). Either my milk supply dropped or something
else alerted the child to a potential threat of a sibling, I think, and
somehow they knew to nurse more. Eventually, they got distracted enough by
what the dinner table had to offer that the nursing decreased just enough
for me to ovulate (which happened as little sooner than average for me after
both full term births, at about 13 months PP).

My totally anecdotal theories and experiences only (though others seem to
have shared them when I decribe).

Freyja, LLLL, CO, USA

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
Mail all commands to [log in to unmask]
To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or [log in to unmask])
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet or ([log in to unmask])
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]