I loved Chris's post, and another train of thought that it sparked in me is
that we should be supporting each other to do research on bfg-related
issues.  Chris is so right about our not even knowing precisely how many
pees/poops are normal.  We even lack common terminology for things.  I think
that it is easy to forget (in this age of high-tech research equip) that a
lot of basic research is measuring and quantification.  Any of us can pick
up a ruler, a camera, a group of charts, and take down data and organize it
in some way that makes it apprehendable.  We could dare to question some of
our own pet assumptions by systematically studying them.   We havent even
BEGUN to answer the basic questions.  How long (on average) does it take to
dry up a breast at various stages of lactation?  How big is a baby's mouth?
Does the size and shape of the maternal nipple relative to the size and
shape of a baby's mouth have a predictive value in terms of bfg problems?
Does bfg really cause breast sagging?  What is a bleb, really?  Why can't we
easily culture candida from breasts we describe as having fungal infection?
Is pain a better indication of mastitis than fever?  What is the real rate
of mastitis in nursing mothers?  Is it really 3% like the med. texts say, or
is it closer to the 30% mark which some studies indicate?  Does the rate of
mastitis vary from culture to culture?  Are we seeing cause or effect of
some other phen. when we see nursing probs we relate to pacifier use? And so
on...

Barbara Wilson-Clay, BSEd, IBCLC
Austin Lactation Associates, Austin, Texas
http://www.jump.net/~bwc/lactnews.html

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