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Susan Burger's post on hands and touch was well worth reading.  I'm
conscious of hands and individual dexterity, the result of my developing
rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the 1990s, with flare-ups in hot, humid
weather. Although I'd much prefer not to have it, in some ways RA has been
an unexpected asset to me as an IBCLC, as it encouraged me back in the 1990s
to model a technique and have the mother do it for herself, when I might
have been tempted to do for her.  I soon found mothers liked that.

For the last few years, I have been offering mothers who need wrist or
forearm support a firmly rolled towel, after phyiotherapists had used rolled
towels under my knees for leg exercises.  The rolled towel is much firmer
than a pillow or cushion as it doesn't lose its shape. It was an idea I
could adapt for a different use, with mothers.  The mother's individual
needs can be met with a larger or smaller towel.  When I roll it up, I keep
it in shape with either sticky tape or two rubber bands (elastic bands).

Virginia

Dr Virginia Thorley, OAM, PhD, IBCLC, FILCA
Private Practice IBCLC
Brisbane, QLD, Australia

On Fri, 26 Mar 2010, Susan Burger wrote, part:

....I do believe that a warm hand, strategically and confidently placed on
appropriate body parts can assist in promoting relaxation. ... Focusing on
the back or shoulders alone is not sufficient without evaluating the hands.
Tension in one can create tension in another.
... I have found that a rolled receiving blanket properly placed under a
mother's wrist provide far more support to enable her to relax her hand
(which then leads to relaxing her shoulder -- permeating to the rest of her
body) than any specialty pillow.
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