I posted a couple of weeks ago about a connection between sore nipples and
emotions.  Here is the next chapter.

Mother of one month old has suffered with sore nipples for the entire time,
with borderling weight gain.  I joined them for a cranial/sacral treatment
last week.(Fastinating!!) Afterwards baby fed with NO nipple discomfort.
She was feeding deeply and came off satisfied for the first time in her
month of life.  All was well for a day, then, after an afternoon of
fussiness, the nipples were terrible again.  Mother called often in anguish
and considering abm.  There was also a plugged duct incident.

Wednesday night was "awful" and the call early Thursday a.m. was desperate.
Then off to paternal g'parents for the first part of the day.  Everyone
admired the baby, held her, praised the new parents, mom got a 1-hour nap,
etc.  Then on to the maternal g'parents for more of the same.  And the
nipples?? NO SORENESS. None. Baby fed well, followed be quiet alert or
peaceful sleep. Perfect day.

I had asked them to call me upon return home and they were on my mind all
T'giving day.  The call came at 11:30 p.m. with the great report of the
day-- and the added grief that this feeding at home was a return to painful
nipples, poor suck, didn't know if she could stand it,  Baby wouldn't go to
sleep. (Did you ever notice that many mothers feed a baby to "put her to
sleep" instead of to nourish her?)

I do exclusively home visits and when I was in this home there was less pain
and the baby wasn't fussy, and after I left everything would get bad again.

Now, I know that this new family needs extended family support daily; being
alone all day--day after day--makes the responsility very heavy.  But we
seldom see that kind of support/comfort here.  Whence the sore nipples?
Whence the poor suckling?

I have a lot of theories and few suggestions for resolution. This case is
not unique in my practice. My basic question is, can persistent sore nipples
and poor suckling be caused by isolation and poor history of nurturing in
the mother, and delay in "becoming mother" and all of the other things that
this story reveals?

Patricia Gima, IBCLC
Milwaukee