Surgeon has not said either
>way about continuing to bf or not.  She wants to continue if at all
>possible and I just would like to know what to tell her.

Stephanie, I worked with a mom last summer (6 week-old baby-bountiful milk
supply) who had a breast abscess that was incised and drained.  The surgeon
was going to make the incision at the areola so that it wouldn't "show."  I
reminded him that she would be breastfeeding or pumping and that the
incision would be in the way.  He made the incision under the breast.  He
put in a drain and milk did come from the drain for a few days.  When the
drain was removed milk continued to leak with  milk ejection. The doc told
her that it would never heal unless she weaned.  I read some good info in
the Lactnet Archives and assured her that it would, in fact, heal. And it
did.  The leaking slowed gradually and then stopped and the healing was
beautiful.

She did choose to favor the other breast and the affected breast had a
decrease in fullness and milk supply.  When it healed fully, she returned to
feeding both sides equally.

Patricia Gima, IBCLC
Milwaukee
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