Maureen took note of a post in which I said:

<"Every drop that is leaked, mother nature thinks went into a baby, and
so
produces more."

<I usually lurk when I have time, but this interesting sentence from a
previous post from Jean, jumped out at me since I have always understood
that 'leaked milk is not reproduced' . I use 'leaking' as a major
strategy
for helping mothers with "too much, too fast"  or issues of oversupply.
Encouraging leaking from the opposite breast while nursing, leaking over
a
steamy hot sink prior to nursings, standing in the shower with the hot
water
running on her back between the shoulder blades while visualizing Niagara
Falls running breastmilk to encourage leaking, and not wearing a bra,
especially not to bed, to facilitate more leaking. Usually when they do
this
for a few days the over supply settles down and the leaking reduces
enormously; the other strategies for management are implemented
simultaneously too.

(this topic came from the email thread re: wearing Blis to prevent
leaking -
I don't know what these are?)>

Blis is a commercial product I have seen at breastfeeding convention
booths, apparently sold to wear inside the bra to absorb, not prevent
leaking, if I am remembering correctly. Somebody will correct me if I
made a wrong assumption. The goal is to prevent embarrassment and leakage
through clothing, especially when the mother returns to her previous
social life and/or work or school. I don't think they are necessarily
meant for those first weeks for the comfort leaking you are describing
when engorgement is resolving. My thought, when I heard the pitch, was
"Here's one more company looking to make a buck off of portraying
breastfeeding as icky and messy and bothersome so as to sell some
sophisticated young career mom on their product."

<I have always understood that 'leaked milk is not reproduced'.>

How  would nature know whether it were leaked or removed by a baby? I
vaguely remember I gathered this information or at least formed the
concept  from the principles of autocrine control and feedback
inhibition.

<Usually when they do this for a few days the over supply settles down
and the leaking reduces enormously; the other strategies for management
are implemented simultaneously too.>

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? My guess is that it was not the
leakage that took place, but the previous overfullness whose back
pressure against the membranes of the alveoli began to tamp down the milk
supply slowly. And because the supply had been tamped down, it followed
that the leakage then reduced.

I have had great success in helping moms balance their supply by using
the ideas I first learned through Anna Utter. When the supply gets
balanced, I have found that there is little or no leaking for most moms
provided they don't go ridiculously long between feedings/pumpings.

In the meantime, the old trick I learned at LLL 4 decades ago still
works. If you feel a let-down coming on, cross your arms as if you were
just an innocent observer standing by, and press each fist against the
opposite nipple for two minutes till the "big push" is over. Or if it
happens when latching, just press the heel of the hand over the un-nursed
nipple for a few minutes.

But even that can often be balanced better by slowly working toward using
the same breast for all feedings occurring within 4, then 6 or very
gradually, over a period of several days, all the way up 12 hours if need
be, making sure the other breast gets the small amount of relief
necessary to prevent discomfort and avoid plugged ducts,etc. (Dr. Jack's
book describes one mom who decided to take this on up to all feedings in
one 24 hour period on the same side, then the next 24 hours, all feedings
on the other side.)

Gonneke reported her neat and completely different solution from Europe
in the past. I don't know if she's on LN currently. There are many ways
to 'skin a cat' as the old saying went, but I don't see wearing Blis as
the solution of choice for most leaking moms.

Jean
******
K. Jean Cotterman RNC, IBCLC
Dayton, OH USA

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