Hi all,

I am working with a mom in a hard spot: she has a very ill, hospitalized 1
month old (cardiac surgery at birth and many complications from then on)
whom she is pumping her milk for. At home, she has a three year old child
with autism. She and her husband have very little support from family and
friends, because the mom is terrified of her baby gettiing any kind of
infection - she does not let anyone help her with the older child so as not
to expose him to germs that he then might pass on to her and she to her
hospitalized baby.

So she and har husband are taking 12 hours turns, in which one of them is
at home with the older child and the other is at the hospital with baby. Of
course, the older child is reacting strongly to the whole situation.

And she´s trying to mantain a milk supply (plus eating a few meals, getting
some sleep - you know). Support for breastfeeding and kangaroo care at the
hospital is disastrous.

The main pumping issue with her is that when she starts pumping it takes
12-14 minutes for the milk to START flowing. Once it starts she gets good
amounts (80-100 ml from each breast). We have tried hands on pumping, we´ve
got the right size flange and a good pump. She breastfeed her first child
for a year and a half with no problems.

My guess is that, with her exhaustion and high-stress situation she just
does not make enough oxytocin to have let downs... can this be? And I don´t
know how to help her more, we are in touch constantly by phone, I am giving
all the emotional support I can, her husband is great - they are just not
weeing each other because of the shifts. It´s just such a difficult
situation all around.

Any ideas?

Warmly,
Kika

-- 
Dra. Carmela Baeza
Médico de Familia
Consultora Certificada en Lactancia Materna IBCLC
www.centroraices.com
http://www.facebook.com/Consulta.Lactancia.Raices
<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Centro-de-Atenci%C3%B3n-a-la-Familia-Ra%C3%ADces/274415189309122>
Autora de "Amar con los Brazos Abiertos"
http://www.ediciones-encuentro.es/libro/amar-con-los-brazos-abiertos.html

Comprometida con el Derecho a Vivir
http://derechoavivir.org

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