Hi Everyone,

I got a call today from a mother who is adopting a baby. The baby is due May
11 and she wants to breastfeed. I don't have much experience working with
adoptive moms as most of the mothers who have come to our Group already have
their babies and are just looking for general support.

We have a retired Leader in our area that nursed both of her adopted sons and
has always served as our resource but she is dealing with a major illness
right now and I don't feel comfortable calling her at this time.

I do have the information that is in the Breastfeeding Answer Book from LLLI
and also the info from Breastfeeding and Human Lactation. I would appreciate
any practical information any of you could share.

This mother told me that she has been doing some nipple preparation like some
gentle message, going braless and having her husband help her out :-) She
asked about hormones to help her milk supply also. The information I have
says that one-third of the mothers in a particular study (Hormann 1977) who
used hormonal preparations before adopting a baby were no more successful at
producing milk than those mothers who didn't use hormones. Does anyone know
any more about hormones helping or not?

She is also interested in pumping before the baby arrives. When should she
start and how often should she pump? Any preference as to using a full-size
pump like the Classic or the smaller Lactina?

She does know that the goal of adoptive nursing is the bonding and closeness
with the baby, not how much, if any, milk she produces.

Any information to pass on to this mom would be appreciated!

TIA,

Kim Balzer, LLLL