> This mom has produced NO milk - not a drop, not even a whisper.? She has 
> been putting the baby to the breast and pumping with a hospital grade pump 
> religiously since day one - it is now day 10. She is taking herbs and 
> doing almost constant skin-to-skin.? This mom desperately wants to 
> breastfeed, and at this point has consulted us, her birth doula, her 
> primary care doc, the pediatrician, her >midwife and a Chinese herbalist.? 
> Everything that has been suggested has been tried, and at this point, 
> nothing has worked.

i would check testosterone levels - sounds like kay hoover's cases (s) of 
theca lutein ovarian cysts - they secrete testosterone and it resolves at, 
if i remember correctly, 41 days post partum when testosterone drops.  she 
wrote up her cases in JHL - i heard her speak about it at a conference - 
here is the abstract:  http://jhl.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/18/3/264

milk came in normally after testosterone dropped below a critical level - no 
supplementation needed after that.  what i don't recall is what the pumping 
plan, if any, was during that suppressed time.  but it is in the article.

hope that ends up being it!  i'd put my money on a retained placental 
fragment, if that's not it - regardless of what the midwife says.  is it 
possible there was a twin pregnancy that didn't develop, and thus a second 
undeveloped placenta in there?

the only other thing i wasn't sure of in your post is whether she has any 
*signs or symptoms* of pcos, despite no diagnosis - but still, one would 
expect *some* milk if that were the case.  nonetheless - irregular menstrual 
cycles, hirsuitism (that'd result from theca lutein cysts too, i'd imagine, 
as its from high testosterone), mid-section extra weight, 
diabetes/gestational diabetes, skin tags, etc.  but even if she does, this 
sounds more extreme....

warmly, Lyla
Lyla Wolfenstein, B.S., IBCLC, RLC
www.beyondbirthservices.com

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome