I have seen many moms with breast hypoplasia or deformity which produce little milk, and the nipples become very bruised and painful. I assume the baby is sucking very hard and the milk is not flowing, and/or that the shape of the often bulbous areola and rather flaccid nipple/areolar complex is just too difficult for baby to grasp effectively. It seems to help using a lactation aid. When the flow gets going, it sort of siphons and keeps going, and the baby's suck is not so painful. Of course it is totally up to the mother to decide how and how much she wants to do and proceeding forward. I would give the reasons she might want to use the lactation aid (encourage to try and expect less pain), and the reality of using it, and the reasons she might want to pump instead, and the reality of doing that. I would also let her know that (at least in my experience) babies often wean very early when the flow/supply at the breast is very low. This means that bf some and bottle feeding more will often lead to total breast refusal. She can take galactagogues of course, however realistically she may see an increase but probably not a huge increase in supply (again my experience with moms).
Laurie Wheeler RN MN IBCLC
BMH-UC Breastfeeding Resource Center
 "Opinions expressed above are not necessarily those of BMH-Union County or Baptist Memorial Healthcare Corporation."


Baptist 100. Well beyond a century.

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