Cathy B asked about using support pillows & nipple soreness.....I see a LOT
of nipple soreness, but I am seeing patients in the hospital, where most of
them are not using any sort of pillows, not even bed pillows as they are
scarce!!

You may be onto something with the fact that mom is not supporting
baby/breast/her own arm correctly and this prevents a good, deep latch or
sustaining that latch. As mom's arms get tired from holding a baby in one
position, she tends to relax her muscles, which often allows the baby to slip
back into a shallow position. I demo this to moms at the bedside or in class.
With a pillow in place to support mom's arm, she can actually relax her
muscles without the baby losing his place!!

I have worked with many moms outside of the hospital as well, and the general
consensus is that they like the flat type support pillows better than the
rounded ones. Moms with twins are the only ones that I recommend buying the
flat pillow, as I like moms to think that bf doesn't require any extra
equipment. I do recommend pillow support, and am careful to show them and
demonstrate that the point of the pillow is to give mom's arm support, rather
than supporting the baby. As a matter of fact, I like them to get the baby
latched first, then tuck the pillow into place to show them that it supports
mom's arm. I like bed pillows better, as they are usually softer and more
moldable.

Kathy Rubin in NJ
IBCLC, RN, BC (Maternal/Infant), APN, C (Family Nurse Practitioner)
PhD student hopng to study lactation issues someday

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html