> Any suggestions or comments? We live in southeastern
> PA, was wondering if there was anywhere in particular that she could go for a
> good bra fitting when discharged.

You might quiz her on why she feels she needs "support".  Was she physically
uncomfortable before?  As someone who never went bigger than a C or D, my
thoughts here are purely theoretical.  But the notion of bras has bothered
me for a long time.  (Since 1991, in fact, following an eye-opening talk by
Chele Marmet.)

Bras for large-breasted women are designed to cantilever the breast out, the
goal apparently being to bring the nipples into the same front-and-center
alignment that smaller breasts naturally have.  But big breasts aren't built
that way.  They're pendulous not pert, they hug the body, and the nipples
point down.  Cantilevering them up and out puts a lot of weight on the
shoulders and forces the woman to walk leaning back slightly, as if
pregnant.  It also constricts the breasts, if only because of their
protesting weight.

Breast reduction surgery is a result of asking surgeons how to deal with
too-large breasts.  I once asked a civil engineer.  "Consider it an
earthquake problem," she said.  "The lower to the ground - or the closer to
the body - the less the quaking."  A large-breasted friend tells me that,
indeed, without her bra she does less jiggling.

And then there's that very interesting little book, "Dressed to Kill," by
Singer and Grismaijer, with its preliminary study hinting at increased
breast cancer with increased restriction of these highly lymphatic organs.
Their recommendations:  No sleep bra; no bra that leaves red marks on your
skin; wear it for under 12 hours a day; avoid underwires, push-ups, and
constrictive sports bras... and wear looser clothing to help camouflage just
what underpinnings you've decided on.

The mother in question might want simply to return to the bras that weren't
giving her mastitis.  If they also weren't giving her "good support"... that
might be all to the good.
--
Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC, LLLL  Ithaca, NY
www.wiessinger.baka.com

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