Care of the Breasts
Categories:
Obstetrics or Midwifery
Careful attention should be given them from the
first. The nipples should be bathed after labor, with an antiseptic lotion
(bichloride, 1-2000), dried and then covered with castor oil, a small
square of clean sterile gauze being laid over each to protect the
clothing. Bathe the nipples before and after each nursing with a warm
saturated solution of boric acid and dry them carefully. The breasts may
be supported
y a binder, made of a strip of muslin sufficiently wide to
extend from above to well below the breasts. If they are heavy and sagging
place a layer of cotton at the outer border of each breast and they should
be raised toward the middle line, the binder being pinned only tight
enough to hold without pressing upon them. The breasts should not be
pressed upon by anything. Shoulder straps can be pinned or sewed on the
binder if it has a tendency to slip down. Should the breasts be much
swollen relief can be obtained by massage with warm olive oil and by the
use of a breast pump. The tips of the fingers only should be used in
giving massage and the stroke should be light, from the circumference to
the center. Roughness and pressure must be avoided.