Thankyou all so much for your wonderful advice, she continues to hand express with little milk resulting. I've just organised an electric pump to take off the stress of pumping by hand, and have had good advice and reassurance from our lovely local ABA group leader.
One question, this woman feels strongly that something hormonal is happening. She has had a slight headache for the last few days, which was a feature of pregnancy, and attributed to hormonal fluctuations. I'll do her bp when I see her in about an hour just to be sure. I'm wondering if she might be ovulating, and if this could possibly have such a drastic effect on her breastmilk supply. We've ruled out engorgement, no hot spots, no lumps, no hardness etc. What do you think? Thanks so much for your wonderful support Tania x ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sue Cookson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <ozmidwifery@acegraphics.com.au> Sent: Sunday, January 02, 2005 9:12 AM Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] Breastfeeding advice (long) > Hi Tania, > Just a few quick thoughts: > *3 weeks is very definitely a time for all women when milk supply > drops/baby becomes unsettled/grows/whatever. It's always a time to > watch. (as is 10 days, 6 weeks and often 3 months..) I'd make sure the > mother is taking a galactagogue tea like fennel - any mucking around > like her supply is getting will affect supply... > * How is her uterus and discharge and scar? Sometimes if there is a mild > infection , breast milk doesn't taste that good to bub, so I'd explore > that one and give Vit C. echinacea and if necessary homoeopathic > Lachesis 30 if necessary. > * Sounds also as if there could be mild mastitis in that breast - get > hold of homoeopathic Phytolacca 30 if the flow doesn't/hasn't changed - > it's effect is pretty instantaneous - one dose is usually enough . > > Hope this helps and good luck, > Sue > > > Hello wise women! > > > > Wanting a bit of advice if there's anyone who can help... > > > > I'm supporting a friend with breast feeding at the moment, and > > starting to feel a bit out of my depth, even though I've been > > breastfeeing my own boys for nearly 6 years now, never really had any > > problems that weren't solved with a bit of time and patience... > > > > Background - 'Jen' had baby by c-section nearly 3 weeks ago, came home > > from hospital with baby sl. jauniced , and not attaching or > > feeding at the breast much at all, but was given advice to express and > > comp bottle feed with ebm and formula. Baby quickly lost interest in > > the breast, and began to show definite signs of preferring bottle, > > which is when I got a call to help support them. > > > > Lots of talking about what they want, and it's clear that Jen does > > want to breast feed. So last Thursday we started the plan for her to > > offer the breast exclusively, and only topping up if she felt it was > > really necessary with ebm via a cup, which worked really well. With > > some practical support ( I live up the road) she managed to latch her > > baby on quite well, and he appeared to be feeding efficiently, and all > > was well with the world until this morning. I got a call to say that > > he had fed a few times overnight, and that the feeds had been a bit > > uncomfortable, but nothing she couldn't handle (remembering this baby > > really hasn't spent much time at the breast for the first 2 weeks of > > life, but she's been expressing madly). By mid morning, she was > > distressed, with a very sore nipple, unable to attach him at all, so > > we've started the resting and recouperating on that side, feeding on > > the good side, and expressing to keep supply up. > > > > The problem now is that whilst she's expressing with a hand pump on > > the side with the sore nipple (there seems to be a few small surface > > blisters), she really isn't getting much out of that breast, and it's > > really concerning her that it seems to have stopped producing. I'm a > > bit confused too, up until Thursday she was expressing up to 150 mls > > after a feed, and topping him up, then from Thursday he seemed to > > be feeding pretty well, and he's been settled, fontanelle's ok, good > > wet nappies etc, but now there doesn't seem to be much milk there on > > that side, and she's worried that wer'e going to be back in the same > > boat tomorrow with not enough milk, and needing to resort to formula. > > > > Does anyone have any ideas about why that breast doesn't seem to be > > producing? At first I thought it was just that she wasn't letting > > down because of the pain and stress, but it's been 6 hours now, with > > only a few mls able to be expressed. She's well hydrated, > > very stressed out, but trying hard to relax. She'll continue to > > express overnight, and I've tried to reassure her that it will start > > again, but now I'm getting worried too! > > > > I'm calling the local ABA counsellor tomorrow, and have access to a > > few lactation consultants too, but just wondering if there's anything > > simple I"m missing here! > > > > If you've gotten this far, well done, sorry for the long post. I'd > > really appreciate any advice or words of encouragement, I'm sure we're > > on the right track, I've spoken to a LC and ABA counsellor today, and > > they both agreed with the plan of action, but I'm just feeling a bit > > like I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing... > > > > Thanks > > > > Tania > > > -- > This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. > Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe. -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe.
