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From:
vgthorley <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 15 Jan 2008 09:53:08 +1000
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On Mon, 14 Jan 2008  Lisa Marasco posted:

I'm wondering-what is the most ususual thing you've seen or heard (and
considered plausible) that has increased milk production for a mother?

Hi Lisa
 #1)  In recent years I have come back more and more to the old idea I got from LLLi about forty years ago of the "holiday in bed with the baby".  Lots of rest while in a horizontal position, some napping, skin-to-skin contact, the mother able to get in tune with her baby's feeding cues.  I work with the mother to find some way where she can do this, or a modified form of it.  If her partner (or a family member or friend) can be there, or can care for an older child for the day, we plan a 1-2 day "holiday in bed".  If this isn't possible, we work out how she can manage one or more half-day mother-baby rests.  So often, this strategy turns things round.  I've also found it helpful in turning round a really bad cases of mastitis, where all the other advice will then work better.
#2)   A surprising experience I once had with a mother with low supply, is something I try to keep in mind today.  A mother came to see me with her first baby, for low supply. She had no family in Australia and had been here only a few months.  So she really needed my support.  The baby was well and willing to feed and had no physical hindarance to effective latch and suck.  The supply was less than it should have been, despite frequency of feeding.  I checked mother factors and at first could find nothing.  The mother was well-educated, well-dressed, well-spoken, and so I almost didn't ask the one question that mattered - her diet!  It turned out that, in a new country with no family to help, and anxious to do everything "right", she had focused so much on doing things for her baby that she didn't have time to eat breakfast.  What is more, because she had been getting ready for her appointment with me and wanted herself and the baby to look good, she had neglected to eat lunch that day - and it was now 3 p.m.  So she had gone all day till 3 p.m without food.
    So I asked her what she'd like to eat and I went right out in the kitchen and fixed her a light meal.  Once she'd eaten, she let down her milk better and we did a really good feed.  We discussed how she could work into her day the necessary meals, including a light but nourishing breakfast and a nourishing but quickly prepared lunch, snacking, etc..  She followed this thereafter and, along with reassurance about breastfeeding, this is what got her supply up to speed.
    These two factors are so simple, that it is easy to forget them and focus on obscure factors or look for galactogogues first, instead of after these very basic ideas are tried.  (Of course, it doesn't replace a thorough history-taking and examination, which shoudl still be done.)  Mums may be quick to ask "what can I take?", and not realise that what will work best for them is the "holiday in bed with the baby" (rest, skin-to-skin, and tuning in to baby cues) or making sure the mother hasn't been forgotting to eat.
Cheers
Virginia

Dr Virginia Thorley

(Certified IBCLC in original cohort, 1985)
Honorary Research Fellow
School of History, Philosophy, Religion & Classics
The University of Queensland, QLD 4072
Australia

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