Dear Lacnetters,

I am a retired LaLecheLeague Leader working with the Canadian Prenatal
Nutrition Program in Chilliwack B.C.  I have a couple of questions that you
may be able to help me with.

The first is about a mother on methadone who is partially breastfeeding.
Mom stopped using heroin when she realized she was pregnant and has been on
methadone since.  Baby was born fine & is now fed a combination of
artificial baby milk and breastmilk at 4 weeks of age.  Dr. has recommended
she give baby bottles of water to help flush her baby's system out.  I am
wondering if the recommendation is to nurse less when on methadone?  What if
she should go back to injecting...what is the recommended wait time for
heroin to exit the body and breastfeeding be OK again?

Another mother in our program is apx. 23 weeks gestation and has just been
diagnosed with mastitis.  She has hard lumps under her breasts & is leaking
a bit.  She was told to express a bit off if she becomes very
uncomfortable...however she has a history of premature births (one at
22weeks and one at 26 weeks) and is nervous to do anything that would cause
uterine stimulation.  This concerned me as well because she's not past the
26 week mark yet I wouldn't want to risk anything causing uterine
contractions at this time.

Can anyone share their experience regarding the aforementioned situations?


Thank you,
Lana Hergott, Prenatal Nutrition Worker, CPNP

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