<< i don't think assessing for "flat" nipples means or accomplishes anything
 except for perhaps making the mother doubt her ability to breastfeed. how
flat
 they look/are before birth has little impact on the mom's ability to nurse.
  >>

Oh Carol, how I wish I had been assessed for flat nipples!  I did ask my OB
about the flat one, and he told me that "baby sucking would pull it out".  She
did.  My little Hoover Vacuum Mouthed baby pulled it out the first time she
nursed.  And the skin separated at the base of the nipple.  I had the open
sore for 6 weeks!  It hurt like hell, and I cried every time I nursed her.
(once it healed, I figured I'd nurse her forever, since it actually became
pleasant to nurse.  She is 14 now and weaned.  :-)  )

While I don't MAKE every flat-nippled mother-to-be that I encounter use a
widget, I strongly encourage their use.


Margie Forrest in warm WPB (with temperatures in the 80's in January, what on
Earth will summer be like?????)