Debi,
I don't have the answer either, but I had a mom very similar to yours. She
"had" to be induced with each baby, and had a history of not being able to
sustain breastfeeding. Seemed like the milk came in ok, but just didn't
eject; we even tried massage and manual expression. The person who worked
with her in the hospital the baby before I worked with her felt that she
might be oxytocin deficient. Well, is it lack of oxytocin or lack of
receptors? Are there tests or parameters for this? Her doctors weren't
particularly interested in pursuing the hormonal question.

I asked her about braxton-hicks, and I asked her at the end of her pregnancy
if nipple stimulation caused contractions. Seemed like she got at least a
mild response, but all our efforts did not change breastfeeding for the
better after baby came.

When it comes to galactogogues, this is where I wonder if something like
raspberry leaf, which is supposed to be a "uterine toner" (works on smooth
muscle?), might be more appropriate than the usual. Didn't get to try it
out, though.

Lisa Marasco

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