Learned Lactnetters:
 
I have asked permission to post this for your opinions.  The patient is a
26y/o LAF, G3P3.  Exclusively breastmilk feeding her 3 week old boy - he is
gaining appropriately. She breastfed her other two children each for one
year, directly at the breast. On Friday she had a mild fever (T 100ºF),
breast soreness (bilateral), semi-full, proportionate, large breasts, no
areas of inflammation - nipple condition good.  She is not taking any
medications other than her prenatal vitamins. She claims that she cannot
directly feed because it is too painful, and mentioned that let-down is
occasionally extremely painful too.  She has been pumping and giving the
baby BM via bottle, and pumping more than he can possibly take. She is using
a manual Ameda pump. She mentioned that at the last pumping before she was
seen that she was able to take 5 oz. from each breast (total 10oz) after the
baby had finished the first EBM.
 
This is what I suspected: 1. that she may be actually pumping too much.  If
her baby can fill up on the bottle that she pumps before the extra pumping,
then she is making two or three times more than he would have taken, had he
been on the breast directly.  2. the pump itself may have stronger suction
than a three week old baby might have and she is causing pain and or damage
to the breast that way.
 
But I feel like I am missing something.  Why is this bfdg experience so
different than the first two?  What does the fever have to do with this? Why
is she making so much milk?  Could it be something other than pumping? What
accounts for the pain?  
 
Any insight would be extremely appreciated.
Please send a copy of your post to me privately.
 
Lizabeth J. Berkeley, MPH, CHES, IBCLC
Department of OB-Gyn
Texas Tech Health Sciences Center
4800 Alberta Ave.
El Paso, TX  79905
 

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html