Hi All,
as most of you know, I am supporting a mother with a severely impaired
baby (congenital CMV). She was breastfeeding up until a month ago, but
the baby's poor suck, excessive drowsiness (they've got her on really
old fashioned epilepsy medication); combined with hospitalisation of the
mother (slipped disk) and the resultant seperation of mother and baby,
has lead to her being 90% formula fed. Like this mother's first baby,
the baby is not doing well on formula (miserable weightgain, severe GER,
despite medication), although I believe the 4 months breastfeeding has
done an awful lot of good.
We have had absolutely *no* help at all from the doctors - they don't
seem to want to listen about breastfeeding concerns, so this mother is
pretty much stuck. She's been told by numerous doctors she is better to
stick to bottle feeding, although the baby is receiving 50% of her feeds
via NG tube and she says her bottlefeeding suck is so poor, it takes 40
minutes for feed 4oz. Sadly, many of the medical suggestions I've had
from Lactnet (Reglan, better drugs for the baby etc) fall on deaf ears
when we pass them on to the doctors, and we cannot get banked breastmilk
for this baby. If I sound bitter about it, it's because I am so angry I
am spitting. This baby has been written off.
But I digress. The mother is still pumping, with a good quality,
hospital-grade pump (the best we could obtain), but yields are minute.
She pumps every two hours day and night and usually gets 3-5oz of EBM to
feed to her baby. Nothing seems to be working to increase her supply,
and we've tried everything lay people can try without extraordinary
help. If anyone has any unusual ideas for increasing pumping yields that
we haven't heard of, I'd be pleased to hear it (she's tried everything
in the BAB and from searches on the Lactnet archive). In the meantime,
has anyone ideas for the best way to give these "supplements" of EBM?
She is not mixing it with formula, because we've heard that can denature
the EBM proteins and she's giving fresh, not frozen milk (because that
is supposed to be better). The formula is Prejomin, btw, plus she is
giving DHA supplements (her own idea).
PS. Maybe Dr Jack, or one of our other wonderful Lactdocs would fancy
emigrating? :-^
--
Anna H.
mailto: [log in to unmask]
http://www.ratbag.demon.co.uk/anna/
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