In a message dated 99-09-13 19:54:37 EDT, you write:
<< I have been working with a Mom who has 2 month old twins.She was doing
great with them until she broke her elbow rollerblading, and also developed a
nipple blister. States the pain is terrible!! Do you know if these "nipple
blisters" are more common with twins. >>
For 22 years I have been associated with a special "mothers of multiples
(MOM)-only" LLL group. In that time I have also worked with 100s of MOM from
all over via the phone. I see/hear about plugged nipple pores, or nipple
blisters, about as often as I receive such calls/see mothers of singletons
with them. So no, I don't think they are more common, although in any given
area of the country or the world they might be. (For refs for a nipple
blister/plugged nipple pore, see the most recent editions of Riordan &
Auerbach, p. 493 and Breastfeeding Answer Book, p. 406-407.)
However, I think the clue is that you mention the nipple blister seemed to
develop soon after the elbow break. Many of us have found the development of
a "regular" plugged duct, plugged pore/duct at the nipple, and/or mastitis
seems to pop up in conjunction with an event that may have disrupted
breastfeeding, was associated with stress (good or bad kind), affected mom's
resistance, etc. Being treated for the broken elbow definitely was stressful
and probably created a delay (even minor) in feeding the babies. Did anyone
offer her a pump during treatment or did she ask to pump? Then she gets home
and is in pain, plus now has to figure out how to reposition and nurse two
newborns with one arm now immobilized--a problem that may be persisting since
the break that might easily be affecting breast/duct "emptying." And in
someone less than two months postpartum after a twin pregnancy/birth and now
caring for two newborns, lowered resistance related to fatigue, etc. is
pretty common. Then add an elbow break on top of already lowered
resistance...
Not surprising she developed a plugged duct with the blocked pore symptom and
mastitis following... Hope it's not being compounded now by continued
ineffective or less frequent breast emptying.
BTW, I've known several women who have broken arms after getting on skates or
rollerblades--most wanting to spend some quality time with an older child or
lose that weight after childbirth! (Heck, breaks from skating or blading are
among the most frequent injuries children are treated for in USA ERs.) So if
she puts those blades back on after her elbow heals, I hope she wears her
helmet and elbow/knee pads, although pushing a double stroller up and down
hills may be a lot safer for the time being!
Karen (Kerkhoff Gromada)
author, Mothering Multiples: Breastfeeding and Caring for Twins or More!
co-author, Keys to Parenting Twins
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