Hi All,
Pamela, I LOVE your Gentle disagreement!  :)
You wrote:

>> While I agree that *usually* the baby can obtain more milk than the mom
can by >>pumping, this is not an invariable rule.

I agree with you wholeheartedly on this one.  I had a client who pumped for
over 18 mo for her baby (Had a severe case of Pierre Robin and could not
feed by mouth at all - baby had a trache tube for almost 24 mo).  She had a
full supply until she was started on bcp then her supply dropped, she called
me, and she then went off the bcp and had to struggle to regain her supply.
She did regain almost a full supply for her daughter, thankfully!

However, what about this thought (or thoughts...)?  Maybe some women can
sustain full supplies while pumping and others simply can't.  Even if they
have the benefit of the baby BF too, maybe for some women, the pump just
doesn't get enough drainage for them to be able to keep up their supply
while away from the baby.  Maybe this is literally a "mind" thing? Maybe for
some women, the pump is no big deal and they have no "mind" problems with BF
a "plastic baby" (LOVE that one!).  So, if it is possibly a "mind" thing
rather than a pump vs baby thing, how do we help the mother?  Also, why, if
it is possibly a "mind" thing, do herbs and meds (such as domperidone and
reglen) work to increase the supply when the moms supply drops (placebo
effect??)?
I know that for me, I can not use an electric pump effectively anymore after
my experience pumping for Ben back in '94.  I tried last year when PJ was
only a few months old, and with a full breast, I got a whopping 1/2 oz after
20 min of pumping.  It was pathetic. I couldn't even get a let-down!  Did
all the usual "tricks" I recommend to my clients too.  If I hadn't known any
better, I'd have been convinced that my supply was drying up.  There is only
one pump that I can use now, and it is a handpump that has a unique silicone
shield with petals on it that press gently on the sinuses when you do the
pumping.  (if anyone wants to know what brand it is - e-mail me...)  With
this little hand pump I can get SPRAYS and PJ is almost 2yrs old now!  But
put me on one of the hospital quality pumps and forget it.
Anyway, lots of interesting thoughts about this topic - I wonder if we'll
ever get the "facts" about how this all works!  I'd love to see a research
study by Peter Hartman about this!

Jay
doing lots more thinking and lots less coughing...
Jay Simpson, CLE
Sacramento, California, West Coast, USA
"No Miracles performed here, just a lot of love and hard work."