Dear Wise Ones:

A bit slow on my reading, but trying to keep up...  I have just finished
the web article on diagnosis and management of breast conditions in
pregnancy & lactation which appeared in Medscape's Women's Health on-line
journal a week or two ago.  This article was mentioned a couple of times in
recent Lactnets, but not with regard to any of its specific contents.

The section on mastitis made a case for the importance of continued
breastfeeding, for mother's comfort and rapid resolution, but one of their
main "reasons" (cited twice in one short section) was that breastmilk has
been shown to be an excellent medium for the growth of the microorganisms
involved.  I am concerned about that statement, and am hoping that one or
more of the excellent scientific minds here on Lactnet could address these
concerns.

I was under the impression that mastitis is seldom *in* the ducts, but more
commonly in the tissues surrounding them.  That is, that there is not
commonly contact between the infecting organism and the milk itself.
Indeed, that is often cited as one reason that the baby can safely nurse --
that the milk is not infected/affected.  Am I incorrect?  Will this
statement be likely, then, to lead to *more* concern about the baby's
safety, and renewed recommendations to "pump & dump"???

Then, too, I have repeatedly seen evidence that human milk is *anti*septic.
 When did it suddenly become an "excellent culture medium"?  I'm quite
confused...  Well, actually, I suspect that the authors mis-interpreted or
mis-spoke, and I'm hoping to see a good explanation refuting the
explanation.  Please?

Willow, in still-not-very-springlike Detroit, Michigan, USA