Nikki, I certainly didn't mean to say that EVERY woman who pumps her breasts
while pregnant will definitely go into preterm labor. And, IMO, this particular
case has virtually NO bearing on toddler nursing, as the original question was
not toddlers nursing, (and I made that clear in the original post) but a women
who was pumping as early as 28 wks to relieve what she perceived
as "engorgement."
Seeing as most women who DO go into preterm labor have *no warning*, that
many do not even feel their contractions, or if they do, assume it is just
the "baby moving" (as I did, with my first preterm labor, in which contractions
started as early as 14 wks) and in many cases, once preterm labor begins,
unless it is caught very early (before 4 cm, before rupture of membrane, and
IF the contractions can be stopped) the consequences of a preterm birth are
surely MUCH more severe than a full breast during pregnancy. Preterm birth is
one of the top of infant perinatal death and morbidity in the USA. I, for one,
don't like to take chances with it.
I guess my concern was the that possibility of what could happen to this
particular woman if she pumped during pregnancy was WORSE than leaving the
breast alone for the time being. Or using ice packs, cabbage ect.
Many of us have milk during pregnancy. Many of us have "full" breasts. I don't
see that as an anomaly. I had to wear nursing pads from the middle of my
second trimester on, with all my pregnancies, as do many other women. I also
had to battle preterm labor (and I have no idea if the two were related, the
early appearance of milk and the preterm contractions. I have never seen this
linked in the literature.) the fear of the horrors my babies would go through, if
they were born too early, and even if they survived, the horror of living in the
NICU for months on end, lonely, sad, cold, not being held or touched, not
nursing, being plugged into machines, IVs, NG tubes, heart monitors, tons of
medications being loaded into their tiny bodies, risks of infections their little
bodies were not equipped to tackle, resulting in MORE medication and
interventions etc.
The basis for my post was this: We may not know WHY this particular women
had some milk, and some fullness during pregnancy. We also do not know if
she was a candidate for preterm labor (as in Nipple Confusion, it is often one
of those things that you don't know you are at risk for until it happens and
often by then the damage is done) BUT, IMO, and I think in many other
people's, the *intervention* (pumping) wasn't necessary, and there WAS a
risk for preterm labor, which I think most would agree, is certainly worse than
full breasts.
IMO, no *interventions* should take place during pregnancy and labor, and
lactation, unless the benefit outweighs the risk. And, in this case, we don't
KNOW the woman's risk factors. So, I stand by my conviction that IS
supported by at least some research, that pumping the breasts of a pregnant
women is not usually necessary, and could well cause problems.
Mary Jozwiak IBCLC, RLC, LLLL
Private Practice
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