Thank you all for your input after I wrote that the physical therapist had
told my daughter (unmarried, not a mother) that she regularly sees mothers
who have thumb tendinits (DeQuervain's) from breastfeeding.  From what
you've written, it sounds as if the mothers in that area (1200 miles from
me) are not getting help with positioning and they're pressing on their
breasts unnecessarily with their thumbs.  Those of you who wrote that you
had experienced DeQuervain's indicated that it came from general caring for
the baby (even husbands had it) and not from holding the thumb against the
breast during breastfeeding.  I feel sad for breastfeeding to be getting
blamed for yet another thing!

Some of you mentioned an arthritic-like condition that begins during
pregnancy.  I assume this happens/continues whether the mother breast or
bottle feeds????

Someone else mentioned that surgery seemed harsh for DeQuervains.  I agree.
But my daughter had had this since last April and it just got worse and
worse.  She had had ultrasound, splints, ibiuprofen, and a cortisone shot;
and (more recently and probably too late to help) acupuncture, hot and cold
soaks, homeopathy, and herbal anti-inflammatories.  The pity of it is that
while they had told her not to use her hand much, no one told her *how* not
to use it!!!  She's a graduate student and lives alone.  So she just
struggled along the best she could.  When she was home for Christmas we made
a concerted effort to find out how to spare her hands (the other hand is
partially affected now), and belatedly learned a whole bunch of stuff that
would have helped if she'd known it earlier.  We've compiled our information
into a list that I'd be happy to email to any of you who'd like a copy.
Just let me know.  We'd be so glad if our digging and delving could help
others avoid what she's faced, and if pregnant women and new mothers are
coping with this it might be information many of us could use as we help them.

Johanna Horton <[log in to unmask]>