I got a call from a mother with a 5 month old. Nursing is going well, baby is
gaining and thriving, but mother's nails are flaking and peeling. Mom eats
meat, says she eats a well-balanced diet, is taking prenatal vitamins (had
been taking a double dosage because she thought it would help with the nails
but quit after her doctor told her to), is not taking any other medications.
Doctor says the flaking nails are a sign of mineral deficiency caused by
nursing. Mom was most concerned that her milk might be inadequate but also
just wants to know why this would happen. I reassured her about milk quality,
suggested she see a nutritionist, but thought I would check with you all. I
vaguely remember something about flaky fingernails but found nothing in the
archives (though I could have just used the wrong keywords - I came up with
some pretty unusual combinations!).

So, any ideas?  Please e-mail me as I don't always get to read Lactnet
digests as promptly as I would like.

Cindy Howard
LLL Leader, Menlo Park / Palo Alto, California
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