Hello, my name is Tobey Schall, and I am a nursing student at the University of North Dakota. I just have a few comments on the issues of washing the nipples with soap and developing mastitis. I nursed my son until he was 2 years old. During that time, I developed mastitis once, when my son was about one year old. I was not informed from my Dr. not to wash my nipples with soap, which during the whole time I breastfed was a normal occurance for me. I showered daily, and I washed with soap. I do not really associate this with me devoloping mastitis. In a study I found about the difference of sore nipples in women who washed regularly and women who just kept their nipples clean by their daily shower or bath, showed no difference in the incidences of sore or cracked nipples (Centuori, Burmaz, Ronfani, et al., 1999). I beleive that I developed mastitis because my son liked to nurse on one of my breasts more than the other (right more than left). I beleive that milk stasis was the reason for my development of mastitis, because I only developed it in my left breast. According to Mohrbacher and Stock (1997),frequent nursing will prevent mastitis from becoming worse and aid in its treatment. Well, my son would not nurse at all from this side, and I did not pump frequently, either. I blame my lack of knowledge here to this situation. My left breast was even smaller than the right, because it was not being used. When I offered the left breast, he would not accept it. It may have had a different taste because of stasis, because when I offered it, he would latch on for about 2-3 seconds and let go ,like he was in disgust that I had evened offered the left breast. He would cry until the right breast was offered. Some characteristics of milk stasis are engorgement, blocked ducts and thick milk according to Fetherston (1998). I had all of these symptoms in the left breast. My milk had a thick, creamy texture and my breast was always engorged due to the lack of use. I believe I was not well informed about breastfeeding when I started, being a first time mother and all. The reason that he became accustomed to the right breast is because my right arm is my dominant, and it was easier for me to hold him in this arm. I now know that with my next children, I will definitely offer both breasts equally. That was the only time throughout the 2 years that I ever had mastitis, and I still continued to use soap to wash. I never had any other problems with breastfeeding during the time I nursed my son. Tobey Schall, SN Centuori, S., Burmaz, T., Ronfani, L., Fragiacomo, M., Quintero, S., Pavan, C., Davanzo, R., & Cattaneo, A. (1999). Nipple care, sore nipples, and breastfeeding: a randomized trial. Journal of Human Lactation, 15(2), 125-130. Fetherston, C. (1998). Risk factors for lactation mastitis. Journal of Human Lactation, 14(2), 101-109. Mohrbacher, N., Stock, J. (1997). The breastfeeding answer book (Rev. ed.). Schaumburg, IL: La Leche League. _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html