Jack Newman wrote on Fri, 29 Sep 2000:
> Just wanted to update you on the adoptive BF mom ....
> I talked to her by phone last Friday...one week after she started the
> Domperidone. She was having a bad day, was upset and certain she had no
> breast milk yet. ....
> She could see no milk when she pumped ocassionally. But her breasts felt
> fuller ....    it appeared she was "drinking" ....
> I went over correct hand expression technique with her, massaging first.
> She didn't know how to do it correctly.  With the first compression we saw
> milk!

     Although there were other issues here, including the mother's lack of
an effective expression technique, this anecdote of Jack's reminds me of one
of the things I learnt about helping adoptive Mums in the early 1970s, and
which has stuck with me since.  That is that there comes a stage when the
process seems a bit black cloud to the Mum, she feels discouraged and
believes she is making no progress.  I noticed that this seemed to occur at
just the time when, objectively, I was beginning to see some positive
changes, e.g. breast changes.  This is basically what Jack has reported. I
speculated that, because this happened again and again, these feelings could
well be hormonal.  So after that I began to forewarn Mums, so that they
would expect it, even see it as a good sign.  The sad thing is that this is
where Mums may quit, out of discouragement.
     There could be a research project in this.  Anyone want to take it on?
       Cheers,
          Virginia
     in sunny Brisbane, in Queensland, the Sunshine State

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