I would send this mom to a dermatologist as soon as possible.

Mary Foley RN IBCLC
Melrose, MA


"Subject: Cracked Nipples Before Birth

Permission to post. I was speaking to a mom today who is 40 weeks
pregnant and has been suffering from cracked nipples for about 3 months
now. She states that 3 months ago her breasts became very sore, her
nipples turned very dark and became very dry and they started to peel
and crack. At the moment, she states that each nipple has about 5-7
cracks in it, and when she touches them "pieces fall off leaving a
crater". When asked about pain, she states that she sometimes has
throbbing pain. She has been applying lanolin cream on the advice of her
doctor with no improvement. Her doctor stated that he has never seen
cracked nipples prior to birth and referred her to LLL. I have suggested
that she ask her doctor to swab her nipples and send the swabs for
culture and sensitivity, but I am posting in hopes that someone has
other suggestions or has seen this before. Mom wants to breastfeed but
her nipples are currently in very bad shape.

Fleur Bickford BSc., RN, BN(c), IBCLC, LLLL Ontario, Canada"

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

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