I think perhaps I should clarify my original statements about the use
of lanolin. I am not in any way saying the product is not useful when a
mother has sore nipples. I am saying I am opposed to ANY product being
dispensed routinely as hospital protocol to ALL mothers when they initiate
breastfeeding.  Philosophically, I believe that healthy mothers are able to
care for and feed their healthy infants without routine application of any
foreign substance.  Handing mothers lanolin when they first attempt to feed
and saying that regular application will avoid nipple damage is doing them a
disservice. If you reread the reference I posted originally it states in part:

"...........modified lanolin.....should not be considered routine
prophylaxis.... However,... [it]...should be considered a treatment option
for damaged nipples..."

Reference:  The effect of modified lanolin on Nipple Pain/damage during the
first ten days of breastfeeding.  Amy Spangler and Evelyn Hildebrandt IJCE
Vol8 No 3 p15-19.

When I spoke of the routine use of an 'artificial' substance I did not mean
to imply the lanolin is not a naturally occuring substance simply that it is
foreign to the mother. What I hear the advocates of routine use of lanolin
implying is that ALL breastfeeding mothers require/need this substance
during the initiation  of breastfeeding.  I am asking that we think
seriously about ANY routine recommendations of this sort.  I am NOT
comfortable saying that ALL mothers giving birth who initiate breastfeeding
should be applying lanolin from day one irregardless of the condition of
their nipples.  Yet that is what is taking place in many institutions.

        And YES Sue I have used Lanolin (the purified kind of which you are
associated), I DO know a lot about the product, have read the research etc.
I do not find it is a wonder drug, it heals as well as several other
products when applied to my scratches and cuts (yes I have tried it, I have
even tasted it!)  I have had several boxes of samples in my office over the
years, and have had many mothers try it.  I consider it one of the products
of choice but I let an informed mother make her own choice and I work very
hard to eliminate or prevent the cause of the soreness in the first place.
        I respect the research on allergic reactions to the product but when
I see unusual problems with nipples and areola, I immediately go looking for
anything being applied, irregardless of what the product manufactor says. I
don't always resolve exactly what the cause was, as I am concentrating on
the symptoms and keeping the mother and infant feeding happily.
        As an aside L-----h works wonderfully when applied to the chamois in
bicycling shorts, it softens them, and it lasts forever :)

"Without interest and passion, nothing great has ever happened in history."
                                                                    G.W. Hegel
Rhoda Taylor, B.A., IBCLC         ph 604-748-4945
3346 Glacier St                   fax 604-748-2743
Duncan, B.C.                      e-mail [log in to unmask]
Canada,  V9L 3Z8