I have observed that many women who have had breast surgery (augmentation, 
reduction, etc.) experience a seemingly higher than normal incidence of 
vasospasm.   I experienced it myself.  Rather than attributing this to the 
surgery, though, I tend to think that it is indicative of nipple trauma 
resulting from shallow latching.  In women who have had breast surgery, the 
nipple/areolar complex is sometimes lacking in tissue directly beneath it, 
which causes it to be a bit collapsed, making it more difficult for the 
baby to achieve a deep latch.  One technique that I have found to be very 
helpful is to have the mom use the index finger of the hand she is not 
using to hold the baby to point up into the breast from underneath.  This 
causes the nipple/areolar complex to evert and makes latching deeply 
easier.  In most of the women I have worked with, the vasospasm is resolved 
after a week or so of deeper latching.

To ease the pain of vasospasm while it is occurring, many mothers find that 
squeezing blood into the nipple by pinching the base of the nipple and 
sliding the thumb and forefingers out toward the nipple tip immediately 
stops the pain.

I'm still open to the possibility that the vasospasm observed in BFAR and 
post-surgical mothers is caused by the surgeries.  However, the latching 
technique I mentioned above does seem to resolve the problem, leading me to 
think it is more an artifact of nipple trauma.

Diana 

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