FIG. 26.—Supporting heavy breasts by means of three folded towels; one fastened about the waist, one over each shoulder, crossing front and back. ] Three folded towels or folded bands of muslin will provide a comfortable support if applied in the sling-like manner indicated in Fig. 26; the Indian binder shown in Fig. 27, made of cheesecloth or any soft material is cool, light and very comfortable, and in addition to these improvised binders there are several entirely satisfactory brassières, opening down the front, to be bought in the shops. Happily the discomfort from swollen breasts lasts only a day or two, for in some mysterious way Nature makes an adjustment between the amount of milk produced by the mother and that withdrawn by the baby. So as he comes to nurse regularly and satisfactorily, the excessive supply of milk disappears, and with it the discomfort. [Illustration: FIG. 27.—Indian binder for supporting heavy breasts, used at The Montreal Maternity Hospital. The tapering ends tie in a knot in front. ] The care of the nipples practically resolves itself into keeping them clean in order to avoid infection. Notice that I say _keeping_ them clean, for merely bathing them, no matter how regularly, is not enough. The nurse will probably bathe your nipples with boracic acid solution and sterile cotton pledgets before and after each time that the baby nurses, and keep them covered, during the intervals, with sterile gauze or cotton. [Illustration: FIG. 28.—Sterile gauze held in place over nipples by means of tapes and adhesive strips. ] Here again you may undo all of the nurse’s careful precautions against infection, which might cause an abscess, if you touch your nipples with your fingers or anything else that is not sterile, except the baby’s mouth. The gauze squares or sponges or the cotton pledgets that you sterilized will serve excellently to protect your nipples between nursings. These may be held in place by a binder or by tapes tied through the ends of narrow strips of adhesive plaster, four being applied to each breast as shown in Fig. 28. Strips of adhesive plaster about five inches long are folded back at one end so that two adhesive surfaces stick together for about an inch. Through a hole cut in this folded end a narrow tape or bobbin is tied, and the strips are applied to the breast, beginning at the margin of the darkened area and extending outward. The free ends of the tapes are tied over pads of gauze or cotton between nursings, and untied to expose the nipple at nursing time. Lead shields are sometimes used to protect the nipples, being held in place by means of a binder. These shields should be scoured and boiled daily. =Method of Nursing.= One important reason for all of this scrupulous care is that it favors the baby’s nursing satisfactorily and without interruption, so now you will want to know about the actual details of nursing him.