Karleen, the simple way I explain the separation situation to new mothers is
that the minute the placenta pulls away from the body, new hormones start
flowing throughout her body.  The next step is to give the mother's body the
message,   ' yes indeed there is a baby to feed' and this is where nipple
stimulation comes in.  The more hand stimulation, massaging, pumping, hand
expression, the better off she will be, because this keeps the hormone levels
high and is a constant message that there is  a baby to feed.  I believe it
was Michael Woolridge several years ago at ILCA that talked about the ability
to get a mother's milk supply up very quickly in the first week and how very
important that is.  Her body will self regulate based on baby's demands over
the next few weeks, but her ability to make a  'more than adequate supply'
(which is ideal) diminishes quickly and this would obviously play into
keeping up with growth spurts and keeping up with the rigoruos demands of
pumping mothers for long periods. Involution begins quickly...
Our hospital protocol requires a mother separated from her infant must be set
up with an electric breastpump within two hours of separation.  Whether she
is 'up to' using it is another issue, but the pump is there ready to use at
her bedsise, when mom is ready.  She knows we support her and her ability to
do what is best for her infant.

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