I wanted to clarify my previous post. I was hoping for some
discussion about this mothers situation, not how to counsel her.  She
was worried about her supply and had been told to PUMP more in order
to increase her supply. I guess she thought if a little was good and
more was better, then she would maximize it and pump non-stop.  She
took her baby to daycare and came home and hooked herself up to a
double pump.  When she called me, she had ben pumping for more than 6
hours without stopping and she was very upset because she hadn't
collected much milk. Personally, I can't imagine a more inappropriate
solution for this problem.  I hope I counselled her well.  I
suggested she stop pumping and go pick up her baby from day care. We
talked about supply and demand and let-down and stress inhibition of
let-down, I supported her desire to breastfeed and provide her milk
while she was separated from her baby and I helped her evaluate some
appropriate techniques for increasing her supply and increasing the
amount of collected milk she has.  We also spent a long time talking
about appropriate use of the pump and a reasonable plan for pumping
while she was working, while she was nursing on one side to take
advantage of her let-down and after nursing if she felt the need. I
was really concerned about how this affected her feelings of
helplessness and frustration and what sorts of crazy messages this
sent her body and whether or not she had damaged her breasts or
permanently interfered with the nursing relationship. I also have
concerns about the lack of support and information provided by the
company that rented her the pump, and the general underlying messages
that a pump is better than a baby for increasing one's milk supply.
So, I ask the same question again, has anyone else experienced this?
Do you have any thoughts or comments about the situation? Cathy Liles