I have been contacted by the sister of a mother, 7 days pp, who has
suddenly contracted this very serious kidney condition and who is in
hospital having dialysis. Baby (who is healthy and term)  is in the
same hospital, on another floor, and is not permitted to be with the
mum, though the mother has been wheeled down to see the baby. Baby is
now ff.

Mother had been bf, though latch wasn't v. good according to sis.
Mother is desperately ill,  and has made some attempts to express but
without much more than a few drops. Very stressed and sad she is
unable to feed.

I have suggested

i) getting a 2nd opinion about whether the baby and she can actually
be together - there may be justifiable fears about infection, but I
think it's worth questioning. She is too ill to really hold the baby,
says the sis, but she could do so with help, and she could see the
baby and stroke her.

ii) that when she is better she can, with support and motivation,
return to full bf even if she has to build up to it, and by no means
is it certain that the baby will reject the breast

iii) Sis is bf her own 5-month-old baby - we talked about donating
and wet-nursing when it might be appropriate, which she is very open
to, but she is 150 mls away, so practicalities might interfere

I know nothing about how this illness would affect milk production,
and there is nothing in the archives (I checked with US and non-US
spellings), but the mother says her breasts don't look like 7 day pp
breasts at all. I said I would try to find out.

Thanks, if anyone knows anything to help.

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc Newcastle upon Tyne UK

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