> This mom has produced NO milk - not a drop, not even a whisper.? She has
> been putting the baby to the breast and pumping with a hospital grade pump
> religiously since day one - it is now day 10. She is taking herbs and
> doing almost constant skin-to-skin.? This mom desperately wants to
> breastfeed, and at this point has consulted us, her birth doula, her
> primary care doc, the pediatrician, her >midwife and a Chinese herbalist.?
> Everything that has been suggested has been tried, and at this point,
> nothing has worked.
i would check testosterone levels - sounds like kay hoover's cases (s) of
theca lutein ovarian cysts - they secrete testosterone and it resolves at,
if i remember correctly, 41 days post partum when testosterone drops. she
wrote up her cases in JHL - i heard her speak about it at a conference -
here is the abstract: http://jhl.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/18/3/264
milk came in normally after testosterone dropped below a critical level - no
supplementation needed after that. what i don't recall is what the pumping
plan, if any, was during that suppressed time. but it is in the article.
hope that ends up being it! i'd put my money on a retained placental
fragment, if that's not it - regardless of what the midwife says. is it
possible there was a twin pregnancy that didn't develop, and thus a second
undeveloped placenta in there?
the only other thing i wasn't sure of in your post is whether she has any
*signs or symptoms* of pcos, despite no diagnosis - but still, one would
expect *some* milk if that were the case. nonetheless - irregular menstrual
cycles, hirsuitism (that'd result from theca lutein cysts too, i'd imagine,
as its from high testosterone), mid-section extra weight,
diabetes/gestational diabetes, skin tags, etc. but even if she does, this
sounds more extreme....
warmly, Lyla
Lyla Wolfenstein, B.S., IBCLC, RLC
www.beyondbirthservices.com
***********************************************
Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome
|