>
>      A mom emailed me who has been pumping with a P...In S.... for her now 6
>1/2 mo old for 3 1/2 months.  She had been getting 5 oz min at each pumping
>during work and has recently started to only get about 3oz and is concerned
>it will drop even more. The way I understand it, this often happens when a
>mom is pumping long term.


Yes, this does happen a lot, and it often worries mothers as they
think their milk is 'drying up.'

>She has asked me for suggestions on increasing
>this amount


Best I have found is simply to pump more often....surprise surprise :
)  She may (or may not) increase the individual result, but in total,
the amount overall increases.

>and also why it may be occurring in the first place.

The way I explain it to mothers may not be very sophisticated, and I
would love some more physiologically-savvy people than me to share
the language they use.

I say that as time goes on, breastfeeding becomes more and more
attuned to the precise needs and stimulation of the baby, and more
responsive to the way the baby feeds. The way the baby sucks is
rather different from the way the pump removes milk, and you'd expect
the body to be more responsive to the baby, and 'give up' its milk
more readily. There is also the fact that  many mothers overproduce
in the early weeks of breastfeeding,  and they can often get an
abundant yield per pumping session. But as this overproduction
settles down over time, they may see their pump sessions produce less.

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc Newcastle upon Tyne UK

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