Dear Lactnetters, I have spent most my career working with women that have had a history of infertility or some kind of problem with the pregnancy or delivery. So I have seen my share of women with breast hypoplasia. I would like to tell you about case that I was involved with. A barely term infant who was less than one week was admitted to the NICU. The baby had seizures, elevated sodium and hypoglycemia. The parents requested to see lactation. I was helping the mother (who was a primip) to learn how to pump and was gathering a history. Mom had no breast changes during pregnancy and since delivery. She had one prominent vein in each breast and tiny breasts even though she was overweight. She had a small amount of glandular tissue in both breasts in the upper outer quadrant. Mom pumped about 10 ml after 4+ hours since breastfeeding. This baby did latch and nurse vigorously from birth. I remember mom telling me that she knew that her breasts didn't look like other women's breasts but her doctor didn't say anything about her breasts when when she said she wanted to breastfeed her baby. She said "I thought they must be OK then." These parents were intelligent and had done some additional reading on breastfeeding during the pregnancy and would have done well in a normal situation. They did hear occasional swallowing and didn't understand that decreased stooling was a warning sign. Their baby will have seizures and a life long neurological deficit. The mom continued to pump and did produce about 8 oz/day. Mom did not want to breastfeed. I do feel that doctors and nurses do need additional education and need to understand that additional early follow-up is required. I was the first LC that the parents has met. Bad things can happen when breastfeeding doesn't work and professionals don't provide adequate information and support. Sincerely, Rachel Wahl RN IBCLC Yeah and the most common reason for weaning is low milk supply...having given birth to a baby is a risk factor for this. So lets tell every woman who we see that 20+% of women are unable to make sufficient milk for their babies and having just given birth to a baby places them at risk of being unable to nourish their baby. Honestly, I am really sick of this because for such a long time lactation consultants and lay breastfeeding counsellors were trained to effectively tell all adoptive mums that they could not make enough milk for their babies. What was the basis of this. Was it in the research? No. But was it believed by LCs and BF counsellors? Yes. And did mothers believe them and did it become a self fulfilling prophecy. Yes. Karleen Gribble Australia *********************************************** 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