(Slight digression:  Does anyone know why my posts always show up full of odd punctuation marks and inserts at the ends of the lines?  Hardly anyone else's do that?  They aren't there when I send them out.)
Greetings from Norway again, where the natives do not distinguish themselves by their willingness to tolerate discomfort for the sake of establishing breastfeeding.  The most hard-core women I know here in that regard are actually Americans (US and Canadian citizens).
A dear friend of mine experienced what probably was a viral infection which she and her one-year-old shared-- herpes-like lesions in child's mouth accompanied by fever lasting over a week, and lesions all around mother's nipples, which gradually opened up to crater-like sores, making it difficult to wear any clothing at all, and breastfeeding excruciatingly painful.  She sought medical attention, was told "This just goes to show you what a mess things get to be when you insist on breastfeeding for over 6 months"  (luckily not at all a typical response from a doctor here, but this guy was the physician on call from H - - -).  She was sent home after no attempt at diagnosis, with no treatment or plan for follow-up, and he declined to look in her daughter's mouth as he said it couldn't possibly be relevant.  She cried herself to sleep the next three nights because of the pain.  Her usual doctor hadn't had time to fit her in when things were really acute, but she went to see him afterwards and told him "I think it was wrong of you not to see me when I called.  If I had been a man with sores like that on my penis,  you would have given me morphine."  I saw her sores and this is no exaggeration.
The sores finally resolved and she is still breastfeeding, baby going on 18 months.  Who said wimpy?

Rachel

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