>
>
>A concept that has been brought up today by Carolyn Melcher at her "Birth
>and Beyond" training is the idea of "cluster pumping".  If babies tend to
>"cluster feed" why not have moms "cluster pump"?  
>
>Is it not possible - and probable - that mothers could maintain a milk
>supply, despite erratic scheduling, if WHEN they COULD pump - they pumped q
>30 to 45 minutes?
>
I think this is an interesting point, and that evidence may well be 
found to validate the idea. If you consider that many mothers who are 
pumping find they are able to pump more at different times of the day, 
and that increasing the frequency of feedings seems to have more of an 
impact than the length of feedings -- not sure of the research behind 
this but it is certainly consistent with the experiences of many mothers 
-- it would make sense that pumping the same number of times and the 
same total number of minutes, but at varying intervals, might have the 
same outcome for premies and others getting most of their nutrition from 
pumped milk. I would suggest that for mothers who are supplementing 
(providing less than half of the assessed weight gain from pumped) the 
schedule could be much more variable. In that case, it's really just the 
total number of ounces that count -- and some mothers can get enough at 
the morning pumping to not be concerned with finding other 
opportunities, while others have to stimulate the breasts more 
frequently than the baby is doing or empty more of the breast every time 
the baby has a small feeding.

There are times when it is it much easier for a mother to get to a pump 
and a container -- when her baby isn't crying or fussy, for instance. 
Karen Kerkhoff Gromada, who does such fine work with many mothers of 
multiples, has often stated that mothers need to work out a pumping 
schedule that is manageable for them. This is even more important if we 
are expecting to create desire, motivation and satisfaction with 
mothering rather than compliance. I may have missed several ounces 
during the night, when I slept with my baby and nursed frequently, but 
did not get up to pump, but if I hadn't done that I might have forgotten 
what I was working towards, might have given up pumping earlier, etc. 

Jo-Anne

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