Michelle writes:
>> He said that she
>> better quit nursing soon because the baby will "strip her breasts".  Can
>> anyone on the list please explain just how the breasts get "stripped"?

>I have *no* clue.  This is about the 3rd time I have heard this this
>past year.  I would love a medical explanation of how one strips a
>breast (other than undressing."

Breast stripping is mentioned in the _Breastfeeding Answer Book_ (revised
edition) page 422, but in the context of a technique to avoid abscess and
speed recovery when a mother has prolonged or recurring mastitis.  It is a
technique used by some health care professionals to manually remove pus from
the breast and has long been used in animal husbandry.  It can be very
painful and is initially done by a health care professional and continued at
home by the mother after feedings.  It may be used in conjunction with
antibiotics to help speed recovery and avoid abscess (Bertrand & Rosenblood.
Stripping out pus in lactational mastitis: a means of preventing breast
abscess. Can Med Assoc J 1991; 145(4): 299-36.)

For a detailed description of the technique see: Cantlie, H. Treatment of
acute puerperal mastitis and breast abscess. Can Fam Phys 1988; 34:2221-6.

Mary Wales
Mason OH

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