As I understand it, it is more difficult to read a mammogram of a lactating breast. However, if there is a suspicious area or lump that's the reason for a mammogram, it should be possible to focus more on that area. Also, what about an ultrasound? When I found my lump, they followed the mammo with an untrasound anyway to distinguish solid tissue from fluid-filled and at that point the surgeon was pretty sure it would turn out to be malignant (although he didn't tell me until after the biopsy). A later untrasound of another area of my body (when I was in the "every little symptom must mean new cancer" state) showed right away that it was a fluid-filled cyst and of no concern. If a mammo is essential now because of some suspicion of a problem, than waiting 6 months or more until mom meets their criteria might bo too long. Certainly a mammo in less than perfect circumstances is better than waiting. If mom nurses the breast to nearly "empty" (or pumps if baby is not cooperative with the timing needed) it should be a lot easier to read. I would encourage the mom to dialog with the docs. She would acknowledge that a more perfect picture would probably result if the breast was post-lactating, but what can we do now to get the next best results? Winnie Mading, RNC, IBCLC *********************************************** 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