Thank you, Lisa, for passing on your experience (message of May
31). I am sure that I have seen psychosomatic inhibition of
breastmilk many times and for many underlying reasons. What
immediately comes to mind is a friend of mine, a New York girl
who married an Israeli, and who had a terrible relationship with
her mother-in-law. When the first baby was born, mom-in-law
insisted on "helping", and my friend frantically called me when
the baby was about 2 weeks old. When I saw the baby, I was
shocked. He was thin, apathetic, and appeared dehydrated. My
friend whispered that her mother-in-law was driving her crazy,
and refused to leave her alone. About all I could do was try to
get her to relax and concentrate on getting the baby's weight up
so she could get rid of her "helper". A mom trying to finish a
degree and nurse a preemie also had trouble. I hear that moms
with husbands in combat also do. Interestingly, I once had a talk
with a Ministry of Health nurse who was very hostile to what I
do, but who stated that she believed that 80% of breastfeeding
was "psychological". Based on this, I am sometimes tempted, when
I'm in a lousy, frustrated mood, to say that a prerequisite for
an LC certification should be a degree in psychology! OK, OK, NOT
FOR REAL! Judy Knopf, who does have a degree in psych.