Hello everyone,

I am part of a small study group that is preparing for the upcoming exam and we have a question... We are currently reading through the fourth edition of Breastfeeding and Human Lactation and recently read something that surprised and confused us. It only made sense to turn to Lactnet, what with all the incredible wisdom from all over the world, right here at our fingertips.

On page 262 it states  "Rubbing expressed breastmilk into broken nipple skin does not aid in healing and may actually cause harm by spreading bacteria into the wound."

My fellow students and I had always thought that because of breastmilk's antibacterial properties it would, in fact, aid in healing and certainly was not harmful. I have not been able to find any research stating that it is harmful and some, not all, of the popular breastfeeding sites do recommend rubbing breastmilk on sore and cracked nipples. Other sites may not mention anything about using breastmilk in this way, however, they do not warn against it either.

What say you, wise woman? On behalf of myself and my fellow study partners I thank you all for any light you can shed on this, and if you could point us in the direction of further reading we could do, that would be wonderful too.

warmly,
Heather Mullen CLC, PCD(DONA), LLLL

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