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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