To:  Marie Harnish,

I have breastfed 2 preemies while steriod dependant and would like to share some
information.  I noticed that prednisone seems to be dose related.  With my first
it took 5 days for my milk to come in, (I wanted to do it naturally and not
pump).  With my second 6 wks early I pumped from the first nursing and it took 3
days.

Whenever I increased the dose of the steriods above 20mg my milk supply
decreased  immediately and came back in full supply at 20 mg.  I'm not sure if
this level is different for each mother.  Can anyone speak to why this happens?
It has recurred more than 20 times during the months I nursed my children.  Both
of my sons nursed through the decreased supply and didn't care.  Increasing the
frequency helped to override the low supply and so did pumping on a few
occasions.

Have your mother keep a record of her dose and her milk supply and see if she
can see a correlation in dose.  Hope this insight helps.

Sue Wright RN,BSN,IBCLC  (mother of 2 wonderful sons nursed on steriods, and
they're fine.)