Yes, I have tried to boost her confidence. She denies any kind of injury.
There is not, and never has been any engorgement to either of her breasts
and nothing evident on palpation. Her breasts changed appropriately during
puberty and pregnancy The baby is on a ventilator and ( big debate topic
here) the neonatologists will not allow skin to skin at this point.
I think that since she feels so helpless seeing her small son like this that
psychologically, she wants to do everything that she can for this child ( of
course) If making milk is* all* that she can do right now then that is what
she *will *do!
I have asked her MD to check her breast and she is seeing him today.
I think that the simple fact that I cannot fix this is causing her concern
despite all my efforts to reassure her - it is causing ME concern - I am
puzzled! Anything that I can think of will affect both breasts.
Julie Taylor
RN IBCLC

On Tue, Aug 23, 2011 at 11:08 PM, Jessica L. Callahan <[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> I would first boost mothers confidence that she is doing a great job. She
> is getting enough (more) then needed. I usually tell my NICU mothers to aim
> for 25 ounces. So since the mother is over this amount she may be able to
> skip 1-2 pumping sessions on the 'good' side and get in an extra hour or two
> of sleep.
> On the affected side I would ask more questions - did they develop normally
> or equally during puberty and during pregnancy? Did she ever have any kind
> of injury to that breast - she may have to think really hard about this -
> for instance back in the days when she was learning to ride a bike she had a
> bad fall and the handle bar jammed into her breast. That might be stretching
> it far. Since the baby is to young to be nursing at this time is the baby
> able to be held at the breast. Maybe she will have a let down when his mouth
> is on that nipple and it has more to do with a MER. Has she ever had any
> kind of back injury (neck/cervical) that could have caused some damage to
> the nerves? Has she has a good recent breast exam - maybe a cyst or lump of
> some sort blocking output.
>
> Jessica Callahan IBCLC
> USA, NC
>
>
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