>Heather,
>When I responded to the post regarding a reduction in the amount of milk a
>mother was able to pump, I answered the question backward. First she should
>determine if the baby is happy and thriving despite her being able to pump
>less milk when away from the baby.  I assume she is nursing when she and
>baby are together.  My post was clumsy. I apologize for the confusion.   If
>mom does, indeed, find that her overall supply has decreased, then I feel it
>is imperative that she not delay in rebuilding it - assuming, of course, as
>others have stated, that nothing else is interfering - like a pregnancy, or
>perhaps hormonal birth control measures.


Thanks for clarifying, Anne....I agree, that if the baby is feeding
ad lib outside of the pumping sessions, and the pumping sessions
begin to yield less than before, it is quite a different situation
from the one where a mother is pumping to meet most if not all of her
baby's needs, and notices less production.

In the former, it is much less a big deal...though mothers tend to
panic and think 'my milk is disappearing', because (and this is a
real drawback of expressing milk) they have learnt to judge the
quality of their bf by the amount they can get out with the pump. In
other words, they're looking at the pump and not at the baby, who may
be hale and hearty and perfectly satisfied. The pump, I still
suspect, is just not as good as the baby in getting out what's there
at that stage.

In the latter situation, with the pump more or less replacing the
baby, a smaller yield may well indicate an urgent need for paying
attention to  increasing supply.


Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc Newcastle upon Tyne UK

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